It's so good that Matt is a part of this series. Someone has to demonstrate all the screwups that the rest of us will be doing so that Chris has the opportunity to explain the fixes. Chris, keep Matt around! 🙃
Pro tip that Chris did, but didn't highlight; When applying multiple coats of colour, always run the can or gun perpendicular to the last coat you applied. So first coat, left to right. Second coat, up and down. Third coat, left to right. Ensures excellent coverage. 😉
The quality is there , because of the time put it and using propper technique and great products , and of course experience. Very well done. Process , process , process !!!!!!!!!
The amount of detail here is astounding. It's better and more informative than your average book! This is a new standard in instructional vids. Very well done. In particular, I love the attention to detail to call out what can go wrong and to answers viewers questions before they even ask them. I also highly recommend Stewmac's guitar inlay video. Fantastic job!
Ditto all the positive remarks here. I've had 3 goes at repainting a pretty decent 1987 FujiGen build Fender Squier Stratocaster. The instrument itself is considered the best build series of this instrument ever. "Made in Japan" really meant something as the "Squier" series of Strats were only overseas builds. None were made in the US. And the Japanese exceeded all expectations. Many have been made in Mexico, Indonesia and China. I bought this beauty off a mate for $300 bucks. What a bargain. The point being the aesthetic needs to match the genuine quality and sound of a musical instrument were investing in. This series is THE best I have seen on the topic by far. God - 14 coats of clear!!! I was so way off the mark in prior attempts. Thanks again guys. Truly brilliant.
refinished my first jazzmaster years ago and thankfully had noooo issues, but this video would have saved me the anxiety of not knowing whether what I was doing was "right" or not. Such a helpful video I'll be referencing from now on!
I've watched this series of videos several times because I am getting ready to paint my short scale bass. Chris and Matt are the best. They are very detailed and I feel confident I will be able to do a good job after these tutorials. I am gathering the materials and I will be ready to start soon. I think Matt made the mistake on purpose so Chris could show us how to fix it and so Chris could yell at him. All the Stewmac videos I have seen are just great.
Thank you for doing this video. I am very interested in doing this. I have 10 guitars and this seems like the only thing left for me to do. I learned soooooo much guys. It was a long series but WELL worth it. 13 coats of clear! I can't get over that. Amazing job!!
Thanks. Been using this technique on guitar pedals. I was TERRIFIED of the "orange peel" but now I learned it's a necessary part of the process and I thank you for that.
Great Tutorial, the first guitar I painted I skipped the filler stage thinking that I didn't need it. After Sealer, Paint, Lacquer, Sanding and buffing it looked great. 3 months later the lacquer had shrunk and I had to start over. Take your time, do all the steps, have patience.
I am going to make a LP Cherry Burst finish, I have the Colortone spray cans, the powder pore filler and the vinyl sealer. these videos have shown me how. Thank You guys for making this video. I am a big fan of Stewmac videos and setup tools. Dan E. is a wealth of knowledge. I repaired a broken neck on a LP clone. It was broken at the scarf joint, I used Titebond III and cedar shims to create splints, the neck was held together by the fret board. I used several clamps to hold the splints and the neck in place. I let it setup for 24 hours, then I put it in my pickup truck in the sunshine to heat treat the glue joint. Then clean up the excess glue, I used 800 wet/dry grit paper to smooth the joint.. I sprayed it with Colortone Black Lacquer with many light coats. The spraying melted into the existing black finish. It looks great, I did a fret leveling, now I have a playable guitar again.
After watching the1st video, I was hooked. I've got an offset solid body in my closet and I think the series may inspire me to finally start trying use what Chris and Matt are teaching.
Thanks for showing first how we might get it right the first time and then including what to do when it goes wrong. An expert is just someone who's made more mistakes than everyone else so getting it wrong is, just as you said, an opportunity to do it again and gain more expertise.
Thank you so much for this guys, I am in the middle of a project of what you guys have done here and this video has inspired me to keep going, thanks again👍
In regards to the decal, use a soft paintbrush to move the decal around and if it starts sticking too much you can put several drops of water on it and float it back into place. I built plastic model aircraft for many years and have put hundreds of decals on. 😉
"I did that thing you're not supposed to do". At least he didn't cry about it or throw it. Not many projects go perfectly, so it was nice to show how to rectify a boo-boo.
Thanks for the amazing and in-depth guide. 35:00 This just happened to me. I'm so glad I had just watched this video before it happened because if I didn't know there was an easy fix I would have gone mad.
Great video and tutorial. I'm glad Matt sanded through the color so it could be addressed. Great information. Thanks for putting it together and posting it.
Part 2 is also very comprehensive and well produced… two important tricks I use . 1. Soak your sand paper in distilled water over night … it makes it much more softer/pliable and therefor wraps around radius much easier minimizing burn through…2. Never ever store a Nitro Lacquer finish on plastic or petroleum based surface .. also don’t ever use plastic bubble wrap to ship a nitro finished item.. it will burn into the finish leaving a transference image …
Also, beware Contact Cleaner sprays! I had some extra drip out from the pots onto the surface of a Tele, and it destroyed the nitro. aound the control panel.
Claaaaassy color! Hope this and giving a kit to my friends son gets me motivated to finish mine. I wanna try a weird red and purple burst type of stain even though the grain isnt nice. .. which can always be painted if its not great, its an sg so Black is fine 😊
So true . Patience. You guys showed 2000 hours of my fuck ups just by being impatient. VERY well done. All the time you put in could have been showed in sanding out one drip. Great Job.
Stewmac has the most expensive shipping. There response to it is to join a yearly membership. This is why I don’t but from them. But love there videos lol
You guys do nice work. I'm in the middle of refinishing a Strat right now. I really dislike the orange sunburst. Just sprayed the pick guard with SW Xtreme Bond Primer and finished with Sher-Cryl Industrial Semi Gloss in Tricorn Black. I dig that spray booth. Pretty cool. Keep up the good work. I've been woodworking for a long time, but am just diving into guitars, so your videos are helpful when it comes to the nuance of the art.
Glad that all three parts are posted at same time, hate waiting for the "next episodes". Also, the logo on the guitar should have been StewMac and Driftwood Guitars Logos. Do the upgraded nozzles work with the spray can handles you can buy. These handles would provide even better control. I see a really pretty grain on that wood, and you are painting over it.
Yeah, we have a lot of discussions about that. It seems like RUclips gives more love to the videos when we release them one at a time, but it's sure nice to get the whole story all at once. 😎
Got lucky, used the same brand sealer and clear, but a different color because at the time Stew mac only had a few colors at the time (about 10-15 years ago), thankfully didn’t leave any artifacts… I made sure to let the lacquer cure for a longer while between color and clear coats though.
Chris is such an excellent teacher and he and Matt have such great chemistry together. When they did the tour of StewMac headquarters on their Driftwood Guitars channel it made me want to work there. This series is so well done and professional and I hope to see more of them on future series. Well done!
How long did you wait before the 1st wet sanding after the 9 coats of clear were applied? I'm doing a guitar now and literally using this video as my how to.
Here’s a line from instructions on a ColorTone Blond spray can: “Move can with uniform dusting strokes, letting paint become tacky between coats.” What coats are these? Seems to contradict the instruction, “Allow at least four hours between coats.” The last time I used these cans, I did wait about three hours between coats(it was hot weather & I sprayed outside). This time I did not. I guess I’ll find out soon whether the between coat time is critical.
He is 100% right about black paint jobs. I’ve painted a few guitars with lighter colors like red and surf green and my most recent project is a black strat and takes a lot more care because it shows every speck of dust or mistake.
If this is a nitro Clear coat don't you need to let it cure for like a month before wet sanding? Im about to start 5th coat of nitro and was just wondering people's thoughts about this
just jumped on... i have a sous vide to cook steaks. It would be a perfect water temp control to keep the cans at temp. Great vid. Just a though on a simple hack
Question, After applying coats 9-12, will you be Sanding with the 800 to once again obtain the "matte look" ? Just seemed like it took much less time during this segment of the video and wanted to be sure. Thank you for a great video!
I have done tons of fine furniture projects and you can learn to be 100 times better than anyone if you practice as it is a craft not a science. Anyone making their first or second guitar will not be perfect. No need to criticize or ridicule
Absolutely. 💯 It is best to look at this as a journey where it is less about the final result and more about the process of getting "just a little better" on each successive project.
Rule one when it comes to prime and paint . Always ! ALWAYS ! Sand between coats . The first coat comes off by 80-90% . Minimum coats of primer is 3 . Never spray bottom to top , gravity . P. S. Alder is low grade wood . It checks ( cracks and splits) naturally . And it is softer than the lacquer . Which causes delamination . P. P. S. I've been finishing for 35 + years .
@@tylerparker3024 there are requirements and if you don't follow them, you will fail . There are 72 way's a chemical coating will fail . That is the majority of the root problems . Adhesion and cohesion are musts . If sanding is to hard there's always a broom or the front door .
Sanding every coat has never been necessary. You flash and shoot. Thats it. Trust me i have plenty of experience doing just that and having great results :) cut and buff at the end and she looks good
Excuse me for this but at 8:57 the word you wanted to use was "Approprié" which indeed sounds like "à propos" but doesnt mean the same thing. "à propos" literally means "about" in french which doesnt make much sense used that way
Great series! It's a real boon to a hobbyist with limited resources like myself - thank you! Quick question though: Chris demos the spraying technique using horizontal strokes and uses horizontal strokes for the first coat, but on the second coat, he switches to vertical strikes for the face and back (I think for the vinyl seal, he goes back to horizontal for the 3rd coat, but for the color, stays vertical). Was that intentional or just happenstance? Thanks again!
Firstly...THANKS SO MUCH!!!! I have been doing refinishing and repairs for quite some time, and absolutely fear the process, because I always sand through. Thanks for all the tips. It will help me a lot. Secondly, why do the screws in the handle keep changing colour? Did you use two guitars for filming or did you have to remove the handle or something?
RUclips and Stewmac need MORE of these types of videos. No detail left out or missed. The best video series yet on youtube!
46bcbvbnbc
Couldn't have put it better myself.
They make more from mistakes than they ever did from solutions
Absolutely. Well said!
It's so good that Matt is a part of this series. Someone has to demonstrate all the screwups that the rest of us will be doing so that Chris has the opportunity to explain the fixes. Chris, keep Matt around! 🙃
Pro tip that Chris did, but didn't highlight; When applying multiple coats of colour, always run the can or gun perpendicular to the last coat you applied. So first coat, left to right. Second coat, up and down. Third coat, left to right. Ensures excellent coverage. 😉
Thanks for the tip!
The quality is there , because of the time put it and using propper technique and great products , and of course experience. Very well done. Process , process , process !!!!!!!!!
After watching part 2, I was even more impressed with the quality of the presentation of the usefulness of the material.
I’m doing a bass now and I have to say these videos are absolutely outstanding.
The amount of detail here is astounding. It's better and more informative than your average book! This is a new standard in instructional vids. Very well done. In particular, I love the attention to detail to call out what can go wrong and to answers viewers questions before they even ask them. I also highly recommend Stewmac's guitar inlay video. Fantastic job!
Ditto all the positive remarks here. I've had 3 goes at repainting a pretty decent 1987 FujiGen build Fender Squier Stratocaster. The instrument itself is considered the best build series of this instrument ever. "Made in Japan" really meant something as the "Squier" series of Strats were only overseas builds. None were made in the US. And the Japanese exceeded all expectations. Many have been made in Mexico, Indonesia and China. I bought this beauty off a mate for $300 bucks. What a bargain. The point being the aesthetic needs to match the genuine quality and sound of a musical instrument were investing in. This series is THE best I have seen on the topic by far. God - 14 coats of clear!!! I was so way off the mark in prior attempts. Thanks again guys. Truly brilliant.
refinished my first jazzmaster years ago and thankfully had noooo issues, but this video would have saved me the anxiety of not knowing whether what I was doing was "right" or not. Such a helpful video I'll be referencing from now on!
Just painted my 1st guitar with Oxford
Nitrocellulose guitar Lacquer.Your videos showed me the way,thank you guys
I've watched this series of videos several times because I am getting ready to paint my short scale bass. Chris and Matt are the best. They are very detailed and I feel confident I will be able to do a good job after these tutorials. I am gathering the materials and I will be ready to start soon. I think Matt made the mistake on purpose so Chris could show us how to fix it and so Chris could yell at him. All the Stewmac videos I have seen are just great.
Thank you for doing this video. I am very interested in doing this. I have 10 guitars and this seems like the only thing left for me to do. I learned soooooo much guys. It was a long series but WELL worth it. 13 coats of clear! I can't get over that. Amazing job!!
Thank you!
Thanks. Been using this technique on guitar pedals. I was TERRIFIED of the "orange peel" but now I learned it's a necessary part of the process and I thank you for that.
Great Tutorial, the first guitar I painted I skipped the filler stage thinking that I didn't need it. After Sealer, Paint, Lacquer, Sanding and buffing it looked great. 3 months later the lacquer had shrunk and I had to start over. Take your time, do all the steps, have patience.
*That* is what they call experience! 😂 It's painful in the moment, but priceless over the long haul.
Heating up the spray cans for 15 minutes in hot water prior to spraying was a helpful tip. Very insightful series.
Hands down the best video on guitar refinishing
I have been putting my Stewmac Aerosol finish off for years. This is super helpful, and different from the stewmac finishing book. thank for this!
I am going to make a LP Cherry Burst finish, I have the Colortone spray cans, the powder pore filler and the vinyl sealer. these videos have shown me how. Thank You guys for making this video. I am a big fan of Stewmac videos and setup tools. Dan E. is a wealth of knowledge. I repaired a broken neck on a LP clone. It was broken at the scarf joint, I used Titebond III and cedar shims to create splints, the neck was held together by the fret board. I used several clamps to hold the splints and the neck in place. I let it setup for 24 hours, then I put it in my pickup truck in the sunshine to heat treat the glue joint. Then clean up the excess glue, I used 800 wet/dry grit paper to smooth the joint.. I sprayed it with Colortone Black Lacquer with many light coats. The spraying melted into the existing black finish. It looks great, I did a fret leveling, now I have a playable guitar again.
After watching the1st video, I was hooked. I've got an offset solid body in my closet and I think the series may inspire me to finally start trying use what Chris and Matt are teaching.
Great to hear! Good luck!
Thanks for showing first how we might get it right the first time and then including what to do when it goes wrong. An expert is just someone who's made more mistakes than everyone else so getting it wrong is, just as you said, an opportunity to do it again and gain more expertise.
Thank you so much for this guys, I am in the middle of a project of what you guys have done here and this video has inspired me to keep going, thanks again👍
In regards to the decal, use a soft paintbrush to move the decal around and if it starts sticking too much you can put several drops of water on it and float it back into place.
I built plastic model aircraft for many years and have put hundreds of decals on. 😉
"I did that thing you're not supposed to do". At least he didn't cry about it or throw it. Not many projects go perfectly, so it was nice to show how to rectify a boo-boo.
Thanks for the amazing and in-depth guide. 35:00 This just happened to me. I'm so glad I had just watched this video before it happened because if I didn't know there was an easy fix I would have gone mad.
Really well made video!! With all situations and mistakes. Congrats!!!
Thanks a lot!
Wow! I've watched so many videos, and guitar finish groups on Facebook. This is ALL you need, what a great job. Stew Mac Video #1
Great video and tutorial. I'm glad Matt sanded through the color so it could be addressed. Great information. Thanks for putting it together and posting it.
Very helpful to see all the steps laid out, and to be reminded to be patient with the process.
Goodness this whole process takes forever... I thought it'd be done by the end of this episode. About to change my mind about re-painting my guitar
I learned a ton about finishing. Thanks StewMac!
The mistake only added to my learning. I didn't realize how much work goes into a guitar finish. Looks great.
Mistakes can be GREAT learning opportunities!
Part 2 is also very comprehensive and well produced… two important tricks I use . 1. Soak your sand paper in distilled water over night … it makes it much more softer/pliable and therefor wraps around radius much easier minimizing burn through…2. Never ever store a Nitro Lacquer finish on plastic or petroleum based surface .. also don’t ever use plastic bubble wrap to ship a nitro finished item.. it will burn into the finish leaving a transference image …
Also, beware Contact Cleaner sprays! I had some extra drip out from the pots onto the surface of a Tele, and it destroyed the nitro. aound the control panel.
Thanks to the videos, I love the information given to provide better results with aerosol cans. Great product. I use them all the time.
I been using Aerosol paint in instruments forr the past 2 years and it does a great job but I use lacre for clear coating....Great work... nicely done
Claaaaassy color! Hope this and giving a kit to my friends son gets me motivated to finish mine. I wanna try a weird red and purple burst type of stain even though the grain isnt nice. .. which can always be painted if its not great, its an sg so Black is fine 😊
Man, I’m getting anxious now. This is such a cool process.
Looks so good already. Can’t wait to finish the last video
Wow. Love the attention to detail. The result speaks to your preparation. I will definitely bookmark this for future reference.
So true . Patience. You guys showed 2000 hours of my fuck ups just by being impatient. VERY well done. All the time you put in could have been showed in sanding out one drip. Great Job.
Alright alright alright!!! Gonna learn today!
In your best Matthew McConaughey voice, right? 😎
Really a great series, thank you. Worth every minute of it. Thank you very much!
That blue looks amazing!
Thanks!
Enjoying this series big time! Great work guys!
Stewmac has the most expensive shipping. There response to it is to join a yearly membership. This is why I don’t but from them. But love there videos lol
You guys do nice work. I'm in the middle of refinishing a Strat right now. I really dislike the orange sunburst. Just sprayed the pick guard with SW Xtreme Bond Primer and finished with Sher-Cryl Industrial Semi Gloss in Tricorn Black. I dig that spray booth. Pretty cool. Keep up the good work. I've been woodworking for a long time, but am just diving into guitars, so your videos are helpful when it comes to the nuance of the art.
The inflatable spray room is also impressive!
Once again 💥💥💥💥💥
Glad that all three parts are posted at same time, hate waiting for the "next episodes". Also, the logo on the guitar should have been StewMac and Driftwood Guitars Logos. Do the upgraded nozzles work with the spray can handles you can buy. These handles would provide even better control. I see a really pretty grain on that wood, and you are painting over it.
Yeah, we have a lot of discussions about that. It seems like RUclips gives more love to the videos when we release them one at a time, but it's sure nice to get the whole story all at once. 😎
Love the series, guys, more please!
Excellent camera work and editing. Makes for a very professional presentation.
Respect The Edge is what ya shoulda been saying while playing badminton on the roof top. LoL. Great videos Thanks
I love the fact that we were shown how to repair our potential mistakes. Can't wait to start a new project.
Very thorough explanation on the process 👌🏻 cool blue too!
Great tips, especially the recovery ones.
Thank you for creating these detailed videos. This has been very helpful!!
Got lucky, used the same brand sealer and clear, but a different color because at the time Stew mac only had a few colors at the time (about 10-15 years ago), thankfully didn’t leave any artifacts… I made sure to let the lacquer cure for a longer while between color and clear coats though.
god damn it matt you had one job
I almost feel like stealing when I'm watching those tutorials - thanks a lot for sharing them (for free)! Insane amount of work.
You’re not stealing, they are graciously giving, and we are accepting. ❤
Another Great Video!!
thank you
I’ve totally ran into incompatibility between aerosol products. Mangled a pedal!
Thank you for this! I’m refinishing my very first guitar from 20 years ago and this gave me the idea to do the headstock too with a custom logo. 🙌
Pretty cool I do woodwork but painting is my achilles heel learnt a few good tips 🤗
Learning alot, it's looking good!
Great, can't wait to get started.
i love u guys for ur content!!
For anyone watching in Australia, if you can’t find Naptha, go to Bunnings and buy “Shellite”. It’s the same thing
This has been excellent!
It would have been nice if you would have actually shown what to do when dust gets on the color before shooting clear coat.
Great video.
Where’s the video on how to build a giant cardboard spray booth? Lol
Super helpful videos Part 1 and 2.
Chris is such an excellent teacher and he and Matt have such great chemistry together. When they did the tour of StewMac headquarters on their Driftwood Guitars channel it made me want to work there. This series is so well done and professional and I hope to see more of them on future series. Well done!
Couldn't agree more! I can almost guarantee we will find more projects to do together. It was a lot of fun shooting this series with them.
I agree. Very good chemistry together. Entertaining and educational.
I could tell matt was pushing down to hard while sanding but we've all been there.
Excellent
34:55 and it was at just that moment when most people would decide to turn this into a relic project. 😉
ha ha.. where's the fun in that? 😜
@@stewmac 😂 Those two are amazing. Me thinks that was done intentionally just to show off their mad refinishing skills. 👍🏻
hahahahahaha!!! That's also what I'm thinking exactly!!!!!!
Thanks for tips.
Three coats per day. Got it.
This is good teaching
I'd call that more a baby blue colour I could be wrong
I love these how.to videos! Thanks for them. :) Also... I hear Dave Grohl talking :D
How long did you wait before the 1st wet sanding after the 9 coats of clear were applied? I'm doing a guitar now and literally using this video as my how to.
Thank you.
Great detail, very helpful.
Here’s a line from instructions on a ColorTone Blond spray can: “Move can with uniform dusting strokes, letting paint become tacky between coats.”
What coats are these? Seems to contradict the instruction, “Allow at least four hours between coats.” The last time I used these cans, I did wait about three hours between coats(it was hot weather & I sprayed outside). This time I did not. I guess I’ll find out soon whether the between coat time is critical.
He is 100% right about black paint jobs. I’ve painted a few guitars with lighter colors like red and surf green and my most recent project is a black strat and takes a lot more care because it shows every speck of dust or mistake.
Absolutely. 💯
Not "slag", but "slurry". That is the word you seek, to describe the residue from wet sanding the clear coat.
Yup... sometimes our words fail us when the cameras are on. :)
If this is a nitro Clear coat don't you need to let it cure for like a month before wet sanding? Im about to start 5th coat of nitro and was just wondering people's thoughts about this
just jumped on... i have a sous vide to cook steaks. It would be a perfect water temp control to keep the cans at temp. Great vid. Just a though on a simple hack
Great idea!
Love it, great tutorial!
NOW, I'm in shock!!! This was EXTREMELY helpful!! Different nozzles?? Heating the cans??? WOW!!!! Thanks guys!!!!
Question,
After applying coats 9-12, will you be Sanding with the 800 to once again obtain the "matte look" ?
Just seemed like it took much less time during this segment of the video and wanted to be sure.
Thank you for a great video!
I have done tons of fine furniture projects and you can learn to be 100 times better than anyone if you practice as it is a craft not a science. Anyone making their first or second guitar will not be perfect. No need to criticize or ridicule
Absolutely. 💯 It is best to look at this as a journey where it is less about the final result and more about the process of getting "just a little better" on each successive project.
@@stewmac Says the laqcuer supplier haha.
Rule one when it comes to prime and paint .
Always ! ALWAYS ! Sand between coats . The first coat comes off by 80-90% . Minimum coats of primer is 3 . Never spray bottom to top , gravity .
P. S. Alder is low grade wood . It checks ( cracks and splits) naturally .
And it is softer than the lacquer . Which causes delamination .
P. P. S. I've been finishing for 35 + years .
You sand between EVERY coat??
What a waste of time.
@@tylerparker3024 there are requirements and if you don't follow them, you will fail . There are 72 way's a chemical coating will fail . That is the majority of the root problems . Adhesion and cohesion are musts .
If sanding is to hard there's always a broom or the front door .
Sanding every coat has never been necessary. You flash and shoot. Thats it. Trust me i have plenty of experience doing just that and having great results :) cut and buff at the end and she looks good
I love Sonic blue
I always spray the edges first, then the back then the front last. I want any overspray to be on the sides and not the front and back.
Very informative 👍🏻
Excuse me for this but at 8:57 the word you wanted to use was "Approprié" which indeed sounds like "à propos" but doesnt mean the same thing. "à propos" literally means "about" in french which doesnt make much sense used that way
Great series! It's a real boon to a hobbyist with limited resources like myself - thank you!
Quick question though: Chris demos the spraying technique using horizontal strokes and uses horizontal strokes for the first coat, but on the second coat, he switches to vertical strikes for the face and back (I think for the vinyl seal, he goes back to horizontal for the 3rd coat, but for the color, stays vertical). Was that intentional or just happenstance? Thanks again!
Firstly...THANKS SO MUCH!!!! I have been doing refinishing and repairs for quite some time, and absolutely fear the process, because I always sand through. Thanks for all the tips. It will help me a lot. Secondly, why do the screws in the handle keep changing colour? Did you use two guitars for filming or did you have to remove the handle or something?