handpainting on body before topcoat

[The Vine]

I'm making some guitars right now, and i am also into hand painting. I have a particular design i want to paint by hand (with acrylics, brushes etc...) but want to make sure i use the right finishes to be compatible with the acrylic paints i use for painting.

Right now, i am building with swamp ash, and african mahogany.

I want to try out using the stew mac colortone waterbase fillers, sealers, pigments and lacquers.

Will these be compatible with acrylic paints that artists use?

And as far as the order of applying the finishes on........i'm a bit confused.

I plan to hand paint over a solid jet black base paint.........and then apply the topcoat.

What other kinds/brands of paint can i use for the basecoat, besides the colortone pigments from stew mac??

If the order of application below is wrong, can you please correct me so i do this right?

1. Sand body to 220 , prep the body (clean, fix any flaws etc...)

2. apply grain filler, sand smooth.......until all pores are filled

3. apply adequate coats of sanding sealer.......sand smooth

4. spray enough coats of the black base coat paint. (can i mix this with the sealer or lacquer?)

4. sand black basecoat level.

5. handpaint the artwork

6. Shoot the clear for the topcoats........wet sand, buff

I'm confused as to when or how to apply the sealer and basecoat pigments. Do i mix the two and apply/spray?

Just so you all know, i will be testing on scrap wood first!

Thanks in advance!

[JohnJohn]

Keep your sealer and basecoat layers seperate.Even if they are the same base and company there could still be some differences in shrinkage as it cures.

I've seen handpainted guitars,first thing that I noticed was elevation in the finish.Unless you were to build the image up with washes,but that would really add to the time.