Where to spray the finish?

[GuitarMaestro]

Hi!

Usually I send my guitars to a company called Clover for finishing. But as I have a high quality spraygun and compressor here I would like to kearn to spray myself.

The only problem is that I have no room with water walls or something like that. I read that some forum members here spray their guitar bodies in their garden like Drak under his "famous" maple tree. I wonder how that can work. In the garden there are winds and alot of dust and insects, etc. in the air. Doesn't that stuff get into the finish and ruin it? What is the best place for finishing if I don't have a room with water walls?

Thanks,

MK!

[Southpa]

No other options for me but outside. Normally, I don't do any shooting on windy days but I can minimize the effect of the guitar being a windbreak by putting barriers up around the vicinity of where the guitar is hanging. Usually whatever sticks on the surface gets sanded off in between shoots. I wait for dead calm days when doing the final coats. If any butterflies hit the wet laquer or poly ...well, its their (and my) tough luck. And if they are colorful enough, they just might become part of the finish!

[guitar_ed]

Hi MK,

I spray in my garage. I open the garage door, close the door into the house, and I go for it. I try to finish 3 ours before my wife gets home so that the garage gets a chance to air out.

Guitar Ed

[Reaper]

I wonder how that can work. In the garden there are winds and alot of dust and insects, etc. in the air. Doesn't that stuff get into the finish and ruin it?

I tried that, and ran into those exact problems... I then went to the garage: open the door, get a fan and/or a dehumidifier, lay down some newspaper, and you're set to go.

[lovekraft]

Like Southpa says, you can minimize your interaction with the great outdoors. I hang sheets of poly film on the clothesline frame, weight the bottom of the sheets, crawl inside and shoot. One problem - if it rains before the paint flashes off, i'm screwed, but so far, I've dodged the bullet. On a fairly calm day, I get little or no dust, and the lacquer fumes generally drive away the insects. I've got a huge blower to build a paint booth with as soon as I can afford to build it, but until then... and don't forget your respirator, eye protection, and don't wear anything you want to keep.

[GuitarMaestro]

Thanks alot for all your helpful opinions/answers! I guess if some of you have had problems when spraying outside then I should not attempt it here because our garden is very crowded by trees, flowers, etc.....no open field. That increases the risk of getting unwanted things in the finish. I think I'll go the garage route....