decalshopmike

You can use a wet application to line up the second layer to get it spot on, isnt too hard, and a lot easier than using registration marks. We do ship to the UK on account of being in Cardiff Mike

You know I watched both Kill Bill films 2 nights ago and the guitar design didnt click with me at all think Tarantino is losing the plot though, nowhere near as good as his previous stuff.... Anyway, back to the question - yes you can lacquer over vinyl no problem - its the same stuff I use for bike graphics, and most of those get lacquered - you'd need to build up a few coats to get it all level, but not that much more than using a waterslide. One thing I thought of if you did want to spray it instead, I could do 2 masks - one a negative with the blood design cut out of it, and then another with the black stripe with gaps where the blood would go. This way you can spray the black as one layer, let that dry, then apply the blood mask and spray the red - all the design would end up being one layer of paint so you wouldnt need to build up the red to stop the black showing through ( as there would be no black paint under the red anywhere ) - then clear coat the top as normal.

OK, couple of points. If you laser print it onto clear vinyl : 1) you wont be able to lacquer over it without using a specialist sealer on it first. 2) If you dont lacquer over it, then it'll wear off really quickly. 3) You will see the edges of the clear vinyl 4) Laser printing will fade really badly, probably within 12 months as the ink isnt designed to be left in daylight for long periods. If you laser print onto waterslide decal paper : 1,2 and 4 as above 3) You can only get A4 sheets, so would need two of them and have a join. 5) The decal will be too opaque over the black, you'll end up seeing a big dark stripe going through the middle of the design. Doing waterslide decals for guitars isnt worth bothering with unless you have a thermal printer - inkjet and laser inks arent suitable, and wont last, they are a pain to lacquer over and will still fade. We can do thermal printing of decals like this, but the printers cost over £5K each, so it isnt something you want to be doing at home really What I would suggest is using a solid cut vinyl decal, with no background or surround - this can be done from one piece of vinyl and all the individual drops and splatters cut out as well - the vinyl will be covered with a clear application tape that holds the pieces in the correct positions relevant to each other, once applied the tape is removed leaving all the blood spots in the correct places. The vinyl wont fade, is waterproof ( sweat proof ) and you can always remove it easily if you get bored with the design. Or, you can get a negative mask done of the design, lay this on the guitar, spray the red and then remove the mask - downside of this is that you'll need quite a few coats of paint to cover the black. To be honest, this isnt something I would think about doing as a DIY job as you're never going to get a decent finish. Getting the vinyl decal made isnt goign to cost you much if you have an EPS or AI file to cut from and the results are going to look much better without all the hassle. Mike

You can apply them anywhere you want - a couple of things to note though : 1) Depending on the design and the colour of the guitar, the decal image may appear opaque and show through some of the background - especially if the decal is going to be quite light. 2) Solid colour vinyl kits like the Bullseye ones on Ebay are fine, theres no need to lacquer over these, and the colour will look solid. 3) With printed decals, unless they are thermally printed you wont be able to lacquer them as the ink used on other types will react. If you are after something in particular or have any questions e-mail me Mike

Check on some scrap first that the sanding sealer wont react with the lacquer - some of them do and can make a right mess - also make sure once you've applied it that you sand it as flat as possible with no dips in the grain as this will save a lot of time with the lacquering.

Auto cellulose is fine - imho there is no such thing as 'special instrument lacquer' - it just seems to be a reason for the companies to sell it for more than auto stuff by putting a picture of a guitar on the packaging When manufacturers started lacquering guitars originally, they used what was already available ( in the same way Fender used dupont paints ) - over the years I've found nearly everything that claims to be specifically for use on guitars is just repackaged standard stuff sold at a premium - you can generally find exactly the same product under its generic name much cheaper. Mike

I think there may be some confusion between Acrylic and Nitro here Nitro definitely WILL yellow - look at any older Gibson guitar - its not so bad over dark colours as you dont notice it as much, but on white, or over inlays or plain maple you will. I've removed damaged lacquer on vintage Gibsons that has been almost orange it has discoloured so badly. Acrylic doesnt yellow as much, but may do if left in sunlight a lot - acrylic also needs less hardening time and can be repaired, patched etc... just as easily as Nitro - acrylic also doesnt sink into the grain as much as nitro over time. This is why nearly every commercial manufacturer has been using acrylic rather than nitro now. As for the accoustic properties of nitro - I think this is mostly voodoo - I've refinished some of my own guitars in acrylic from nitro and there is absolutely no difference in sound. Any finish will alter the sound slightly if you put it on an inch thick, but on electrics the difference is negligable. Poly is not really suitable for guitars though - it stays very soft and is prone to denting more easily. I would suggest either nitro or acrylic, you can get both from most auto spares places in aerosols and can get very good results with these without needing specialist spray equipment.

I've got one that I've used for doing sunbursts in the past and its fine -cant remeber the number, but its one that allows you to spray up to an inch wide with a different nozzle on it. For occasional use they are fine as long as you avoid the really cheap ones they do.

I'm pretty sure Zemaitis used silver, or silver plated brass ( ??? ) sheet for the guitar tops on these - they would have been pretty easy to hand engrave as the metal is very soft - obviously getting the design right would be the hard part. I also dont think he engraved them himself, some guy who used to engrave guns and stuff used to do them for him ( this is from memory from an old Keith Richards interview about them ). I know someone who's got an 80's one he had personally made for him by Tony, think he got it for half retail at the time ( around $4000 ) - now its probably worth about $100,000 as the top was very personalised and the design was a one off.

What I should point out here is that the guide we do is intended for our decals, which are not inkjet, laser or overhead transparency types, so may not work with them ! The clear film we print on is only a couple of microns thick, so they dont need much lacquering over to cover them - also once lacquered and levelled, the clear film and its edges are not visible. We can also supply vinyl stencils for spraying, but these are only really suitable for single colour work unless you have a lot of experience doing them. Mike

I havent done any tests on inkjet ink as such, but know its not designed to be resistant to UV light so it will fade - direct sunlight will be worse, but any daylight is going to have an effect on it over time. If anyone on here has any they did ages ago and can provide some info it would be useful.

The problem you will get with inkjet decals is that inkjet ink ( and laser toner ) isnt designed to be left in sunlight over a long period - the ink will fade really badly over time, and your headstock will look crappy ! They are OK for short term things, or for trying out ideas, but not for permenant projects. In answer to the other question - you can lacquer over pretty much anything, the thicker it is the more coats you need to get it all level, but it will get there in the end ! With the stuff we do the clear film is only a few microns thick, so you dont need many coats to cover it. I've never tried lacquering over inkjet stuff, but as the ink isnt waterproof or lacquerproof you'd need to apply a few really dry coats to seal it in before putting finish coats on just to be safe. Mike

You can get rid of any edges around a decal by building up the lacquer coats and then sanding all of it flat - if anyone wants it you can download a fitting and refinishing guide from our website at www.thedecalshop.co.uk which explains it all. Mike

Let me know if you cant get any, I can supply holographic vinyl in blue, silver, purple, black, pink, red or orange - price depends on how much you need but email me and we can sort something out. Mike

Or, check out our website www.thedecalshop.co.uk - we carry all the Fender stuff and ours are probably as close to the original as you'll get - PLUS - ours are made with lacquerproof and fadeproof inks ! There are occasionally some good ones on Ebay, but most are inkjet or laser copied ones, and the ink will fade really badly after a year or less - make sure you ask the seller if it is done on a laser or inkjet, and steer clear if it has been. If anyone is interested, we've also just got some vinyl cutting machinery in so we can do logos in unusual finishes like neon colours, chrome, carbon etc... perfect for those Jem projects or matching your custom paint job ! Mike

I'd be interested to know what multi finish things Martin have used ? As far as I know every large scale manufacturer mainly just uses solid paint lacquer ( tinted or clear ) and sprays it on with a gun in a big booth - its cheap, you can do lots at once, and doesnt involve fiddling around. I have used blades for flattening finish in the past, but it is very tricky and if the blade sticks or digs you can ruin the finish easily - it is quicker than using lots of grades of sandpaper though. If it helps, on plain wood I use 600 grit as a finish and have never had a problem with marks showing through, dont think I'd like to leave it done with 240 though before lacquering as it could still be pretty rough, especially on maple which you really want to get smooth before lacquering as it saves loads of blocking the finish afterwards. I think most people have their own finishing method they have come up with over time that works for them, and rarely do 2 people use exactly the same technique.

If you're planning to print on it from an inkjet, beware that the inks are not waterproof and the lacquer will probably ruin it - also, inkjet inks will fade badly over time so you'll lose the original look. If you can get access to somewhere that has a colour laser copier, get it printed with that as the toner will be easier to work with. You may also find that the design is quite transparent and will have to think about the base colours you use to make sure it comes out right. I've never really bothered with inkjets or lasers as the printing system we use is much better than those, but its not really suitable for big designs. I would still say save up and get a good airbrush artist to do it ;0)

As far as the UK goes, pretty much all auto paint is acrylic, the lacquer is usually marked as 'acrylic plus' which is the same thing ( the plus bit generally means you can use if over nitro finished without a reaction ). If you get a colour and lacquer that are made by the same manufacturer from the same shop you should be pretty safe. One good thing about refinishing guitars is that you dont really need any specialist sort of paint ( despite what some shops say ) - if its good enough to paint a car that sits outside in the rain, snow and sun, it'll be fine for a guitar ! mike

Nitro was traditionally used as it was readily available in the past - most guitars you buy now use an Acrylic based finish, which is what I prefer for refinishing unless the customer particularly wants nitro. Gibson still use nitro, and it causes all sorts of problems, I've seen guitars only a few months old where the finish has seperated from the wood and peeled away in big chunks ! It also discolours more easily than acrylic. I think the tone thing is just voodoo ! I've had my own guitars finished in both, and there is no discernable difference in the sound - I think a lot of people assume that cos a 50 year old accoustic that is finished in nitro sounds good, then nitro must be a better 'sounding' finish - the guitar sounds good cos its 50 years old ! Another plus with acrylic is that it hardens quicker, so if you're doing repairs etc... you dont have to wait as long before you can polish.

Aha I see ! how does one go about getting to be that then ?

Sorry if I'm being dense here, but where exactly is the download section ?? I cant seem to find it - is it cos I'm not enough of a member ?? I've already got a vector of the Ibanez, but have loads of other vector logos and could put some of those up if they'd be useful for members.

Interesting bit of info for you - the 'blank' guitar without the inlay work on, but complete with all hardware, lacquered and finished probably costs Jay Turser around $40 with the quantity discounts they get ! I've had price lists from some of these far eastern no name manufacturers, and they can do most superstrat type guitars with quilted or flamed maple veneer tops for under $80, and that was for only buying a small quantity from them - lets you know what sort of quality these guitars are. I often get accoustics from these factories in for repair as the necks always warp after about a year, or the tops pull up around the bridge - in most cases I just tell the owner to throw it away and get another one as the repair will cost more than the guitar is worth.

Have a look on the web for pictures of the old Kramer Nightswan guitar which had an airbrushed graphic almost the same as that. For anyone who is an experienced airbrush artist that should actually be pretty easy to do, ask around a few motorbike graphics guys as they are usually the best at custom work.

It is getting pretty common - the stuff they usually use is called p38 filler - its widely used in the auto industry - custom sprayers use it a lot as a base coat on bike parts as it dries really quickly, is rock hard and sands very smooth to give a good base for your paints. The Japanese makers used a clear version a lot in the 80's as well to go under transparant finishes. Easiest way to remove it is to heat it with a blow torch until the top surface just begins to darken, it then goes really crumbly and you can take it off with a scraper.

yeah, the bottom pic in the post above looks better - maybe slightly smaller and a bit higher up so its not touching against the tailpiece, but I think as a design that is more appealing. one thing to remember with any custom guitar design is looking at how it fits with the existing body shape, LP's are quite difficult to design for as the hardware gets in the way of everything - bold designs like the ZW Bullseye work well, and small designs in clear areas, but pretty much anything else will start looking cluttered. still dont think I'd got for something like that on my guitars, but then being in the UK if you start putting the union jack all over things people think you are National Front and you risk getting a kicking