ANIM4L

Well i all ready ordered my paint 2 weeks ago from ReRanch, so im using thier paint. Question about going down to sealer, how do i know whats sealer and whats wood? i sanded using 60 grit, waiting for reranch delivery to get to 120 grit, and i see parts that are light brown, its a mahogony body, so how do i know whats sealer and whats bare wood?

bump

PS Syxxxstrings, i live in vegas too, so where would you go to get the stuff i need to make a stencil?

I cant find where to find Seral Paper, i googed it too I may do that tho. I am painting the guitar with primer, then base coat, then laying the stencil and painting the white for the image, then clearing. Now if i layed down tape and used an x-acto knife to cut it out, and it left little lines, would those lines idsappear witht he clear coats? i heard they would and wouldnt, so i would liek mroe opinions on that please

anyone have an idea or answer?

Well i have the design drawn out by hand, its kinda complex, but i dont know how to exactly transfer it. I am painting it on, so not decals, but i didnt know if there is something to use as a stencil or if someone could tell me how to go about this

I watched a video on Google of someone laying tape on the guitar, carefully cutting away to make the design, then painting, then removing the tape, but he then started over because he saw the lines in the guitar, i didnt think you would see them either but aparently you do. I can just cut the shape then place it on the guitar that way, but it seems likea lot of work. That paint build up does make sense, i didnt even think of that. So then would using the knife leave lines you can see or not? I can either do it where there is a white undercoat and i paint over a "stencil" of some sort, or i can paint the guitar the metallic blue then make a stencil and do light coats of white... which would be better?

I would need some way of leaving a cover over the white undercoat to leave that image there as i paint the main guitar body color, so when i pull up whatever i put there, it will be white underneath. I cant do tape because i have no way of cutting it on the body, because having little etch marks all over would make me have to start all over again

I am goignt o take everyones advice and go with it how i think i should, if i come out with a problem or big question ill write up a post in btoh forums, thanks a lot for everyones help!

Also i am on hotmail

Thanks so much, i rushed over to purchase eveyrthing! I bought (for my guitar, my friend is oding two for himself) 3 cans of clear coat, one can white, one can lake placid, one can white primer. and 1 pack of the sandpaper It wasnt as expensive as i thought, i am glad i went this route thanks so much, ill be asking questions once i get confused about things again, but yes i printed out everything on how to do all of this i also am borrowing 3 large fan systems to put in the room to help dry the paints

I have a drawing i made that I would like to transfer onto the body. The image will be white and the guitar will be dark metallic blue. So i will be painting with grey primer, then a coat fo white, then i want to lay down this image in a tape form, so i can pull it up later, then paint over it with the blue. Then i should be able to lift the tape off and have my image. I dont know how to transfer this image onto the guitar tho. If there something else i could use? I cant cut the image out on the guitar cuz that will leave little indentations. I will be using reranch spray cans to do this job. Thank you

Well that was kind of wierd. I cant sign up to post on ReRanch. It says my email was banned, yet I have never signed up there before. Umm well i guess i have my plans, ill keep everyone up to date on the progress. Im going to try to buy some paint as soon as the store opens, it is usually open atleast once a week? I am going to attempt to also find out how to transfer an image onto the guitar...

Ok, ya i got your Pm, i printed it out. I am heading off to bed now, but tomorrow morning i will post my plans and see what peopel say. So check back every day, he doesnt have a set schedule, that sucks O well I just looked at what you sent me again, i see what to do now Thanks I think i may be in ok shape now to give it a go How much do fans make the curing process go by? I see the time to wait if 3-4 weeks before clear coating, with a fan is it less? Also i just realized a new question, since i will most like (Yes i will check with reranch forum) be laying one coat of under layer for the logo, the clear coating, then doing my main metallic blue coat, will i need to let the one coat of white cure before clearing it? or not really cuz its one coat?

P.S. - Just went to ReRanch, checked otu forums, havent posted anything, just reading (Yay another forum to go through ) but I have decided, taht si if everyone here agrees, that i will paint with ReRanch's paints. I just gotta get lucky to get him when he is open, when does he usualyl open?

WOW ok thanks for all the replies. For the wolf design, i have drawn out what i want it to look like, i just need some way to transfer over a "tape" type object so i can spray over the tape and not mess up the design below. For painting schedule then, this is what i have come up with (Please fill in when I sand and wet sand - wet sanding is where you lightly wet the top of the guitar with warm water froma bowl that had ivory soap soaking in it? correct?) Sand down with 1000+ grit sandpaper to remove the finish on old paint Lay down Grey primer (about 2 coats?) Sand (Not sure on grit) to smooth out primer Lay down White coat Lay down clear coat (1 coat?) to lock in color Lay down design to cover area Spray down with 4-6 coats of metallic blue paint Obviously let fully cure with fans going Lay down a few coats of clear coat Wet sand down? Not sure where to go from here Is that correct on procedure I am not trying to rush anything, im just trying to learn and see what is the best approach. ATM i am heading towards ease fo paint so some type of Rattle can, but i dont know which brand to use, heard duplicolor was good, not sure, but i DONT want the guitar to look like crap after a month! I am talking to my friend tomorrow to see if he has a pressurized paint sprayer so i would use that instead. <-- Thats the best route from what i am reading a lto of. I am learnign so much, please keep the info coming, my guitar wont be here for 4 -5 days so i am still in learning mode

Ok so i decided i am oging to just take off the finish on the guitar instead of sanding to the wood. This way i dont have as much work ahead of me. The color of the body is going to now be a dark metallic blue. I will be doing a couple coats of primer. Then a coat of white (for the design i am putting in). When that dries i will lay down the design i want (still dont knwo waht to use to make the design i am making) and then go over it with a metallic blue paint. when that cures (will be putting a fan on it after every coat front and back, large fans) i will put on some clear coat. fan cure that fro however long that takes, then wet sand it down to smooth it out. that is a rough idea of how and what i am doing, does that sound right at all? also still have questions in my last few posts needing to be answered

Anyone out there?

Hmm ok i may look into that. One more thing, i found posts on curing with heat lamps, i may try that, but i am starting to think safety now: Where i will be painting is a spare bedroom in the house, since we are tearing out the flooring after ym project is complete, and i will hang the guitars below the fan in the room, ill turn the fan on when i am done with each coat, and also i will have the window open with a screen there to block large stuff from coming in. Will this be ok, i will wear a mask obviously, and if i do the heating method, i can get two heat lamps, one for each side, and turn them on half an hour after painting, and leave them on for 15 minutes. I am also looking into the method of curing using fans... sorry i have lots of questions, my last 4 posts are full of unanswered questions for those looking to help me out

Also i heard there were ways to speed up the curing process with UV lights or Infared Heat lights or something like that? I cant find the posts for them, so if anyone has any info on that, please tell me. I have EASY access to infared heat lamps

Also, how would i make the logo. It is of two wolves howling at a moon, the wolves are one color shadows (pure black) and the moon will either be one coat light orange and one coat yellow, or just yellow. Would i do a few coats of the cream color, then somehow (PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE THIS OUT!) block of a stencil of the yellow circle for the moon, paint that, then stencil of the wolves, paint that, then clear coat it? or do i clear coat inbetween each new color (from the base to the moon to the wolves)

I actually dont have personal access to an air compressor. Remember, i am completely new at this painting thing I am a very hands on person so I can get the hang of things pretty quick tho. Someone I know may have a spray gun i can use to paint with, but he lives 2 hours away and he wants me to leave the guitar at his place. That means me driving there and back every day for a wek, not able to do that. May be he will let me borrow it. If i can borrow it can i just buy the paint and put it in the canister and spray away? If i cant get a hold of a spray gun, what brand and how do i go about using a spray can. I want it to look good 3 months from now, so Krylon is out of the question. I have looked up websites on everything people have said and do lieka few things i have seen. Now a mopnth to cure... i realized what day it was (i thought it was closer to end of november) and if i need to wait a month for it to cure so it looks good, then so be it, liek you said, i want it to look good for my dad. The color i am painting it is a light cream color. So if there is a brand of rattle cans (im completely assuming this is the spray cans) that will work great, even if i have to let it cure for a few weeks, please tell em which one. I cant wait 2+ months tho, so whichever brands those are i wont use. Also, is it a good investment to get the e-book from paintyourownguitar.com just for a learning reference, or is it pretty easy to paint a guitar that just reading and tkaing notes from you guys should be enough for me to do a good job?

Thanks for the info, i went to Stew Macs website, and saw the paints, but i dont knwo what to buy. Do i buy the spray gun for liek 40$ then buy the waterbased paints or the non water based laquer? How long does that stuff take to cure? is there anything i could paint and have done befroe one month from now? any ideas on how to do the images or when to sand also?

I have spent atleast 6 hours total over the past couple days reading through the forums, i have over 30 pages printed out from reranch and here about how to do things to get the general idea. A couple things i dont get, but i think i MAY understand are when to sand down. After i finish the base/primer coat sand right? and after i finsih the color coats? Also how can i get an image i drew onto the guitar? I have read a few different ideas, about aluminum foil and stuff, but i am wondering what you think? Also, my biggest wuestion is what should i use to paint it with that isnt SUPER expensive, easy to do, and dries relatively quickly (remember i would hope to get this done in less than a month) Thanks for the replys so far, printed them out Im doing a search for minwax now, i did look up duplicolor and read that the guy from Paintyourownguitar.com uses it, does it work good and LAST (Obviously i dont want a stupid looking guitar after a month). I would like to use a rattle can, as of ease of getting them and price, but i would rather have quality over cost efficiency if it came down to it. In other words, i woudl rather spend a bit mroe to a have a paint job that lasts. Keep the info coming! Thanks everyone!

Ok so the story goes: My dad is in India until middle of December. He has been playing guitar for 40+ years. He got me into music at an early age and have been playing the drums for 12 years. I wanted to make him the ultimate christmas present, a custom guitar by his son. His favorite type of guitar is a Les Paul (im hearing thats no shocker) and I am kind of on a budget. I decided to buy a used Epiphone Les Paul Studio from Ebay and also bought two new humbuckers to get the sound he likes, new gibson pots, plus a few other things. Now I am planning everything i do with this project to make sure it goes right. I am now planning the painting stages: The guitar I won has a scratch in the body, which is ok since i was planning on repainting anyways, but i need to know how to do this all. I have been thinking about spending the 27 dollars on that Paintyourownguitar.com book. My biggest dillemma is I dont know how to do this AND i dont want it to take too long. Now if it will eb done a bit after christmas thats ok, i can deal with that, but i wanted ti to be simple so i was going to paint it a cream color with a little image on the back that a drew (Two wolves howling at a moon, simple image, i think i know how to get it on the guitar with paint, yellow cuircle for moon, then make a stencil fo the wolves and paint them pure black). I need help with this project though! I dont know what paint to use, i am on a budget, and have heard that duplicolor works well and theni have read that it takes forever to cure. I dont know the process of painting it, from what i have read: 1) sand down to wood OR just take off the finish and go from there 2) Put on white or grey primer (4 coats?) 3) sand the primer a bit to smooth it out using 2000 grit 4) put on color coats (2-6 coats?) 5) sand down after drying to make smooth using 2000 grit 6) apply clear coat? I am a smart guy, but have neevr apinted before, so i am learning. I need some hand holding here PLEASE! this is a gift for my dad i really want to do but i need to be helped out, put into the right direction, and told what to use an do. I guess the first improtant tihng is what do i paint with to not break my bank but not wait forever to dry (anything out there dry in a few hours every coat?), then i will go from there. Sorry this is all jumpled and probably a very unorganized post, i just started typing I need help on this guitar, please!