mlennon

It can be quite difficult to dye maple blue as the natural tone of the wood can give it a greenish hue. I've used Rustins wood bleach on a couple of jobs now Wood Bleach

Hi Wez, I did bleach the top first Pic before bleaching And after process pictures Activating solution applied (part a) makes the wood darker which is normal Bleach applied (part b ) pic taken after a couple of hours bleach washed off - taken in daylight

From looking at the pictures I'd say the issue was some from of airborne or surface contamination such as silicones or oil and not orange peel that would polish out. This is a good link that describes paint problems and how to fix them. paint problems

There are dozens of 2k paint brands available in the uk and nothing much to separate them on performance etc. Just be aware of the health and safety risks associated with such products

"sustain in your brain".....the guy is a bit of a numpty.

First and foremost a booth is intended to create a safe environment for spraying highly flammable (solvent based) and toxic material (water & solvent) so my advice would be to ensure you create a safe working zone for yourself and anyone else in the area before worrying about dust etc. A well ventilated area with good air movement and free from any source of ignition is what your after.

I also picked the one that is currently in the lead but was torn between this and the one currently second, compared the clean sound a few times before deciding. The other bridge sounded too harsh in both clean and dirty examples for my taste.

Just checked out the progress pics on your website, I knew if that's the back of the guitar then the front's going to be really special...love the way it's standing on the pickups. Mike

If you can't get the information from the manufacturer then the only way to tell for sure is a bit destructive so I'm not suggesting you do this..... Nitro cellulose paints/lacquers can be "wetted" with their own thinner, what this means is that the thinner will soften / melt the paint. Poly and arcylics once cured cannot be "wetted" and thinner will not soften the finish. The problem with the stands / wall hangers is the protective foam that covers the supports which can also mark nitro finished guitars. Hopefully someone on here can tell you what finish was applied by the manufacturer so you don't have to test your guitars.

Nice to see it all together. That guitar has a real attraction about it...it just felt right

While all of the polishes listed on that link will be formulated for different finishes you only need a compound and finishing polish. Just as you work through the different grades of wet and dry paper, the compound will polish the flatting marks left by 1500 and the finishing polish will remove the (very fine) swirls left by the compound. will you be polishing by hand or by machine?

The polish you bought will be ok. It's a fast cut compound which means it will be quite abrassive (as is T-cut). Make sure your paint is fully cured and dont over polish on edges as it's possible to polish through the topcoat. You may also find that some very fine scratches are left which will require a finer polish to remove them such as 3m Perfect it "finishing compound" If you don't see this on ebay try 3m Finesse it which you can get from here http://www.smartexpress.co.uk/shop/product...products_id=126 another brand to consider is Farecla which can be supplied in smaller bottles http://www.smartexpress.co.uk/shop/product...products_id=135 Farecla & 3m are the 2 brands most commonly used in UK Paintshops.

Did you fill any screwholes or similar with a 2-part filler? sometimes the hardener can bleed through the paint and cause pinkish spots.

What your looking for is an isolated motor so that there is no chance of explosive fumes being drawn over an ignition source and as a secondary issue, the fans should not generate Static. (I can never remember if that means plastic blades are to be avoided - please check 1st) If the booth is going to get constant use, you should be looking at commercially available equipment. If it will only see occassional use, there are some hobby/craft paint booths available that may be what your after. Remember that light fittings, switches and electrical sockets are also possible sources of ignition.

Will the scratches left by 220 grit paper cover/disapear when another coat of lacquer is applied? I have many years of painting experience and although I've never tried to cover anything less than 800 grit with clear it kinda goes against what I was taught as an apprentice automotive paintsprayer.

If your paper is clogging up it normally means the finish is not yet fully cured but 220 grit paper is far too coarse to start for final wetsanding and polishing. Try to get rid of the remaining 220 grit scratches with 400 then 600 grit (adding soap to the water helps reduce clogging) and providing you haven't rubbed through your top coat, which is a real possibility, apply another few coats of clear. You will find that the clear will lay down much better and once fully cured do not use paper coarser than 1000 grit to level sand for polishing. I'd recommend starting with 1200 then 1500 and only use 1000 if you have very bad orange peel or runs etc.

Your right to question spraying on top of a polished surface, it goes against everything you'll read about spraypainting. The surface does, in this case, need to be polished to a high gloss as the chrome paint is so thin it will not cover the flatting marks left by even 1500 (polishing is not required if the gloss black undercoat is perfectly smooth &free from flaws such as dirt nibs etc.) Adhesion would normally be a concern but in this case it's the process recommended by the manufacturer, so try to follow their instructions to the letter. Swirl & haze remover is a finishing wax/glaze and probably not the best product to use, look for a "finishing compound" 3m & Farecla are the best known in the UK To get the best results from spraycans will require a little trial & error. Temperature makes a big difference, with better performance when the cans are warm. If it's cold where you are let the cans sit in warm water for a while before spraying, you will notice this helps. I'm not sure if I'm leading you down the wrong path by suggesting an Ultra high solid clear, which is just a clear with less solvent to evaporate. Alsa provide a 1k clear in their kit which is normally the total opposite to high solid products so once again I'd stick with their recommended system. Hope this helps

Long term results would be hard to guess, obviously wood shrinks & swells so you may get cracking of the finish. which is desirable to some! I've just checked the Alsa site again and they now sell a 1k clear for the Mirrachrome, which kinda knocks my theory about the solvents on its head, they do recommend a 2k clear on top of that for durability. I think I'll buy another sample kit to try again. Cukaracha - I think your going to need $350 worth of product for your guitar, if you stick to Alsa's kit, which is what I'd suggest.

Sorry if my explanation wasn't clear, the new series of Criminal Minds was about to start in the UK!!! With Alsa mirror chrome, your left with a fine layer of dusty paint particles on the surface. after a few minutes this can be "buffed" off with a soft dry cloth and your left with a very bright and smooth surface (watch the alsa video to see what I mean). I mentioned that the clearcoat was critical as I spoiled a couple of test panels which were looking stunning prior to the clearcoat being applied. I called the Alsa distributer in the uk for advice and he correctly guessed that I didn't leave the panels for long enough before Clearcoating and he also suggested using an ultra high solid clear. If you want to spray this stuff yourself, budget for a good few test pieces to ensure you get the best possible results on your project. Its not easy and very expensive to use/mess up but Alsa's premium chrome finish is by far the best I've seen.

Here's a stage by stage example of refinishing using chrome effect paint-sorry it's not a guitar. Start by applying a gloss black undercoat, once dry flatten with 1200 grit (or finer) and polish to a high gloss. This example was a partial alloy wheel repair which happens to show the colour match to the oem wheel. When applying the "Chrome" set the gun up so that very little material is sprayed but with a reasonably high air pressure, It's surprising how well the chrome covers the black as it's very thin. Apply as many coats as required to get the finish your looking for- leaving enough time to flash off between coats. With alsa's mirror chrome you then buff the dusty overspray off to get a excellent chrome effect. This does not apply to Alsa's less expensive Chrome paints - nor the one I use (Lechler's Sparkling Glass) which has a slightly less chrome like finish. With Alsa's mirror chrome, I recall the data sheet saying to leave 14 days before applying clearcoat, which is one reason I don't use it for alloy wheels. The Clearcoat is the critical stage, you may find that you completely spoil the chrome effect as soon as the clearcoat is applied due to the solvent causing the chrome to refloat resulting in a metallic silver effect as oposed to chrome. The answer to this is to allow enough time for the solvents to completely flash off and use a ultra high solid clearcoat. I was blown away with the results of Alsa's mirror chrome (as I would expect as It retails at £1300 per Gallon in the UK) but I didn't wait more than a weekend before spoiling it with my standard clearcoat and I havent purchased any more than the 100ml sample. The product I regularly use is comparable to Alsa's Ghost Chrome and works well for me at the expense of some brightness.

400/600 grit is probably to coarse for wet sanding/ polishing and unless you have an excessive amount of paint applied and you may experience rubbing through your topcoat before you get the finish your after as with every grade of paper you use you are removing material. Normally, if the finish is good enough, you can start flatting with 1200/1500 and polish from there and only use a coarser grit for flatting heavy orange peel or sinkage. The theory behind going through progressively finer grits is that you flatten out the scratches left by the previous grade and then do the same with the polish starting with a cutting compound (to remove the flatting marks left by the 1500/2000 wet or dry), then a finer compound ( to remove ther swirls left by the compound) then a glaze etc. Also note that the mirror finish will only become apparent once you start to use polish, you may get a slight reflection once you get to the finest grades of wet or dry paper but with paper your looking for a flat (matt) & even surface before you start to use polishes.

currently working on a similar project including the fishman piezo trem, 2 SD humbuckers, mag vol, piezo vol / blend, tone, mini toggle(mag/mix/piezo) & 5 way rotary selector. Would be interesting to post soundbites once complete to compare.

I've used Auto Air waterbourne basecoat in the past and I have to say, as a vehicle spray painter with over 20 years experience, it didn't work for me. The paint was supplied by the customer for a vehicle refinish - so very different circumstances to refinishing a guitar but coverage was very poor and it does not lay down well. It may well have been down to "operator error" but it's certainly not an easy product to use.