PaintIt

Pick up some bulldog adhesion promoter to prep the plastic for paint. It comes in rattle can also if you do not have a gun. Scuff the plastic and coat with bulldog and then paint. No need for primer if you use the bulldog.

" I also use a product called "Sticky Micky's" masking paper. It's mainly used in the automotive industry and works well for these types of graphics, however I didn't want to have to cut out the shapes while the paper was on the guitar body. Cutting them out with scissors made for smoother patterns and I didn't have to worry about leaving razor blade marks in the finish. " Nice job on the guitar and also the progression pics. Alsway hard to remember to take them at the correct time. I like to use the positive shapes or masks which is another reason I start with the light colors and work darker. I first paint the light color and stick the shapes to the object and then paint the medium color. Next I stick the medium color shapes leaving the light colored shapes covered. Spray the dark color over the whole thing and remove the masking from the light and medium shapes. I find it easier to lay out the positive shapes and you also do not have to mask of the whole guitar each time. No wrong way to do this just different. I use application tape for a lot of masking (similar to Sticky Mickeys) and it is available at any sign supply store. I have a plotter so I use a lot of Gerber Mask which is a low tack paint mask vinyl. This same material ccan be cut by hand and has good flex for going around curved areas.

Got it all finsihed and put together minus stringd which the owner will do. Very happy with the finished product and hoping it sounds fine.

Spraying the lightest color of the camo as your base would only work if you're going for a lighter camo design, such as the Desert Strom camo. This was the order in which I did mine in order to achieve a more comventional camo look ... 1. Olive Green as your base 2. Then brown patterns 3. Then khaki patterns Had I not used the color black for stripes, I would have then used black for my third and final patterns. Guess it really all depends on the look you're going for and which camo design you want to achieve. Good luck. It can be done either way of course. The reason I use the lightest colors and go darker is an issue of coverage. The darker colors need less coats to achieve the color so you get less of an edge when unmasking each color. This saves tim in the clearing stage when you are trying to bury those paint edges. I have done it both ways and the design does indeed dictate the best method.

Yeah, that is nice. A friend of mine GAVE me a very nice airbrush set. Looks like I should start practicin. Thanks Guys. This is actually my first portrait although I airbrush quite a bit. I just finished a wicked darth vader spare tire cover. I painted this guitar for free for a talented friend who is a working and touring musician. He saw the pictures and commented " I should have given you a better guitar because this will get played a lot now". Here is a picture of the back of the design. The pink and blue candy were used to create the purple.

Yeah, that is nice. A friend of mine GAVE me a very nice airbrush set. Looks like I should start practicin. Thanks Guys. This is actually my first portrait although I airbrush quite a bit. I just finished a wicked darth vader spare tire cover. I painted this guitar for free for a talented friend who is a working and touring musician. He saw the pictures and commented " I should have given you a better guitar because this will get played a lot now".

I am In the New Orleans area. Metairie to be exact.

If you are going to clear the camo it does not really matter if the colors are shiny or flat. The final shine will be relative to the clear used. Use a flat clear and it will all be flat regardless of the paint shine. If I were painting any object with automotive paints this is how I would do it. 1. Prime 2 Spray the lightest color of the camo as the base. 3. mask out the light color shapes 4. spray the medium color 5. mask out the medium color shapes 6. paint the darkest color and unmask 7 spray Gloss clearcoat to level the desgn 8 sand the gloss coat perfectly smooth 9. Spray a couple coats of Clear that has had flattener added to get the matte finish. The reason for using the gloss clear to level is that it dries harder than the matt clear. This process is for Automotive basecoat clear coat system but would also work with spray can but the drying time would be lengthed greatly. hope this helps

Thanks. I thought as much but was not sure because of the pickups being mounted to the plastic not the body. As far as paint I have a little expierence. The paint it Dupont , House of Kolor automotive base coat and it will be cleared with a Dupont high soilds clearcoat. I have actually cleared it and am in the process of polishing. A little about my experience Creative Cycle Works

Hello Everyone. I am a painter but this is the first guitar and I had a question. I have painted the pickgaurd and pickup cover on a mexican strat. Wondering if the combo of paint and clear has any effect on the sound. The pickups are mounted to the pick gaurd. I have included a pic of the project before clearcoat. Any advice is appreciated. Allan