Preparing a Guitar for Paint (what you need to know)
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- In this video we discuss what you need to know about preparing a guitar, or guitar kit, for paint. Depending on the situation there are different sanding grits that work best. We speak about painting over an existing paint job, a sealed guitar kit, and raw wood. Each of these involves a slightly different preparation process depending on what you plan to put over top of it.
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The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/bradangove07211
Finally! Can't wait for the 335 kit to be painted. Yaaaay! And don't listen to the complainers about "not enough painting". You LITERALLY have dozens of those videos. Keep up da good work EH! 🇨🇦
Thanks Brian
The old guy who taught me to spray paint always said prep is 90% of the process! The actual painting is the easy part.. if its painted just scuff and clean ( i use glass cleaner) awesome as always brother! Now get them necks built 💪
The old guy was right.
Nice job man. This is of great value🤙
I gave up trying to sand the sealer completely off of those solo kits in order to dye or stain. It’s a non starter IMO. If you want to see the wood grain, leverage the sealer that is already on there as per Brad’s advice, then apply a bit more, get it good and flat, and spray over it with toner paint(s). The sealer depth is irregular across the body and there will always be places where you just can’t get through it for a good looking dye job. “Ask me how I know” as one person said. Thanks for the great video Brad! Greetings from Spain.
Great information as always my friend!
Thanks again Brad!
Thanks Jack
I'm a car painter and have painted plenty of parts casters . This is a tip for raw wood guitars.I generally with opaque finishes will use a catalyzed high build urethane primer ( 3 to 4 coats) and sand it smooth with 400 grit to remove every bit of orange peel and finish my sanding up to 800 grit with a Grey scotchbrite to finish my sanding . The primer acts as sort of a grain filler and you can really lay a flat and solid foundation for your basecoat to sit on and fills the grain very well. After base I clear with a 2k catalyzed clear coat. I do 2 to 3 coats depending on what kinda finish I'm doing.
Thanks for your insight. Do you have a catalyzed high build primer you like to use when painting guitars?
With any paint job, no matter what you are painting, preparation is everything. I always make sure the surface is real smooth and clean before I paint. The same with staining. I would suggest on veneer to ever so lightly sand only if it rough because you can sand through it very easily, ask me how I know. I have never used oil finishes and I have seen some beautiful jobs done that way, but I stick with what works for me, no need to experiment with other stuff. Now I have used lacquer, and it comes out great, but a pain to deal with and long drying times...etc. Not anymore. I use poly on stain and clear enamel on enamel paint. Works great, but make sure you don't use enamel over lacquer base paint or you will have a mess. Ask me how I know. Nice little informative video. I have used many of your tricks and tips with painting guitars and they all came out great. Thanks for what you do.
Take care buddy good advice as always cuz I'm just at that point with my second set of twins. He really liked the black and gold twins I built, bass and six string, Now he wants me to build a set with silver accessories and oils and stains. I know they're going to turn out beautiful because I've had some really good teachers on RUclips. You have been a very fine teacher Brad. I can't thank you enough buddy!
Cheers my friend
Good work as usual!
Thank you!
Very helpful vid thanks Brad!! However, about time time Brad you have been teasing that sologear kit since the unboxing vid on 25 Apr 2019!! 😉 TBH I can't wait to see what you're going to do with it such a lovely kit pity I'm not Canadian.
Proje Prep Spray is just amazing. I'm using Mohawk MI Clear nitro. It's like a magic surfactant and I used just a little on lint-free t-shirt piece. I'm a wax and grease remover convert for sure.
Hey, this one was really helpful! I guess when I did my first full paint job recently I hadn't watched this. It went surprisingly well - not perfect, but close enough - considering I went ultra cheap with Rustoleum 2x primer, paint (deep yellow - Strat style cheapo) and clear. Under $20! Anyway, the next patient is a similarly cheap Tele that's one of my favorite guitars, so I really want it to be perfect(er). Now I know that I don't need the primer! Just scuff the poly with 6-800, wipe down with naphtha, then start with the paint (orange this time - I'm an Orioles fan).
So yeah, huge thanks for all these clips. It took me a while to warm up to your style (good looking people can be intimidating), but your information is always helpful and articulately presented. Also, you're Canadian, always a plus in my book. Thanks again!
Cheers Chris!
Would love to see a vid on different types of sealers for different types of paints / stains / dyes / oils. With water based wood dyes (Keda), I've found absorption is more about the wood type, and no so much how smooth it is. I've gone as fine as 2000 grit before dyeing. And yes, a paint job is only as good as the prep job.
Brad has a ton of videos, take a look around and I bet you find what you need.
Brad somehow always manages to upload the video i just needed
Bad timing?
Hi Brad,
purposes
Thanks in advance.
I really wasn't prepped for this video!
Hahaha
As usual, great info from one of my favorite Canuckistanians. Thank you!
Thanks
Really appreciate the videos Brad, I’ve done 2 solo kits and currently working on refinishing a classical, very humbling hobby. I’m curious as to what type of sealer you will use before applying paint to this kit.
This kit is getting sanding sealer from Oxford Supply.
Hi Brad! I was wondering if you knew if the Solo Les Paul kits have a maple veneer or if there is an actual maple cap? I want to get a kit and try to stain/dye to highlight the grain...but if there is only a veneer I don't know if I want to risk sanding after the initial dye/stain. Thanks! Love the videos.
Solo has a number of different Les Paul kits. Most are veneer, but there is one with a cap. It is specifically labeled as having a cap.
Cool Beans...looks like I get it. Doing the final coats of sealer on the Menard's Hawaiian. I used Keda Dye and alcohol with Bulls Eye shellac for that maple syrup looking amber ...yup, did the Rosewood, too. The Glow Powder/Casting Resin, though not to my perfection, looks pretty darn good, too. Now, what to do for the final clear coat...hmmm...do I just lacquer it for the "aged" look as time goes on, or seal it in time with some 2k plastic? I'll just be glad to play it finally! Then, back to the "regular" electrics...maybe the RRV?...hahahahaha. Don't feel behind until it takes 7 years to finish a project.
I’m sure I’m approaching that on at least something haha.
Hey Brad, Great vid. What do you use for "wax and grease remover?"
Usually duplicolor wax and grease remover.
For the solo kits, when you sand that initial sealer that comes shipped , do you need to do grain filler next or can you go ahead to your few coats of sanding sealer ?
I generally go straight to the new sanding sealer.
Hey Brad. Great vidoes and tips. You meantioned guitars finished with oils. I am going to paint a guitar that is a natural mahogany body with an oil finish. Would you recommend sanding the body first with a 320 or so grit to prep it? Or is it possible to just paint directly over the oil finish with primer? Your input would be much appreciated. Keep up the good work man.
Hi Scott, paint doesn’t like to stick to oil generally so I would suggest wiping it down with acetone, then sanding with the 320 grit, then wiping with acetone again. Then you can start spraying.
Thank you Brad. Appreciate your help. Enjoy your vidoes and your work. Thanks again.
Brad I have a procedure question I ordered a black body from guitar fetish I am going to make black white van halen style guitar. Should i just tape the guitar up then sand after that, then just spray white on that remove take sand and clearcoat ? will be a spray can laquer finish put on ?
I would sand with 600 grit, clean, tape, spray your white, unmask, and then move on to the clear coat phase.
@@BradAngove Thank you so much!!!!
What can I use to clean instead of the grease remover? Is windex ok?
Yes
Hey Brad, thanks for the video. I've noticed the veneer is not connected to the pickup cavities, there seems to be a bit of a gap there, is that an issue?
Not an issue. It’s just the way the top ply is formed.
Oh I see, The pickup rings or whatever you call them will cover it.
Indeed.
Have you done any videos on how to recover from sanding through the veneer? Or how to paint over wood filler?
When I sand through the veneer and use wood filler fix it, I usually call those “Sunburst”. Lol
I’ve painted over wood filler in many contexts Brett. It’s no different really than painting over wood. But like Michael said, if you sand through veneer and have to fill you will probably want that area opaque or at least quite dark.
I just cut through the veneer on a 335 kit I was trying to dye North Carolina blue (got it too dark). Now I'm looking for a sweet metallic red to squirt it. Once you ruin your stain grade body, you can always fall back to a paint grade body. I also did a build once where I stained the body, then masked it off and squirted the sides and 1/2" around the edges of the front and back with paint. Something like that would cover sanding through at the edge.
I screwed up bad on one, sanded through a big spot. I didn't realize that veneer was so thin, ridiculously thin. I fixed it by using wood filler, but ended up painting when I wanted a nice stained spalted maple. I learned a valuable lesson. I would not have sanded at all.
Hi Brad, thanks for your videos. I am repainting my American Strat, and I spent the time to strip the paint because I was hoping the wood grain might be nice enough to stain (it isn't). So since I'm going to paint over it now, I was going to do some Duplicolor with filler/primer like one of your other videos. Should I be sealing first in this case? Or will the primer act as a sealer as well? I'm just worried the grain will raise and be obvious, and I want it to be mirror finished when all is said and done. Thanks again.
The primer will seal it. Do two coats, let it dry fully, sand smooth, and do another two coats. At that point you should not see any grain. If you do, let me know.
@@BradAngove Awesome, thanks a lot!
@@BradAngove I forgot to mention that I had to use a wood filler because I had a couple of scratches that were too deep. So I just finished priming, and I can see through the primer the spots where I used the wood filler. Like it soaked up the primer. Going to sand it down a bit and reprime those spots, should I consider using something other than wood filler to fix those? Or will the primer itself be fine once it's sanded and recoated?
The primer might suffice to finish filling. Wood filler tends to shrink a bit as it dries.
Hi Brad,
Excellent video!
I 'm currently building my first guitar, and want to color it with dyes (Rit all purposes dye). My guitar body is made of poplar. What is the proper finish for it before the dies? Should I use grain filler? Is it good to sand it up to 400/600? Before the dyes, should I use sanding sealer? After the dies are dry, should I spray sanding sealer before the clear coat (I'm planning to use Wipe on Poly)
Thanks in advance
I would sand to 400 or 600, clean, dye, then use sanding sealer and finally clear coat.
@@BradAngove Thanks for the reply.
Is the Wipe on Poly a good finish option? Or the mixture of Poly+Mineral Spirit+Boiled Linseed Oil is better? in terms of durability/look. How many coats should I put before buffing?
Thanks again
Wipe on poly is fine. I’d do probably 10 coats to be safe. It goes on thin.
@@BradAngove Hi Brad, sorry for bother you again. HOw is your workflow to apply WOP? should I sand between coats (in that case which grits to use)? or apply the 10 coats and then do a leveling sanding?
Thanks
The safe option is to apply a coat, wait a day, sand and repeat.
For an ash Tele body that's already been grain filled and sealed, it has some small dings and scratches. How would you recommend that I approach repairing/filling these dings and scratches?
How small are they? Do they go through the sealer?
@@BradAngove the small ding doesn't go "through" the sealer, per se, but it's a small depression in the wood, maybe a divot is the right word, not quite a half centimeter wide, maybe a millimeter or two feet at most. Still sealed, so not sure if filling it with something clear is a possibility.
The scratch (NOT a gouge) is in the sealer, but I don't think it's in the wood. It's only about three to four centimeters long at most.
You could probably sand back a bit to deal with the scratch and lessen the divot. Then add some more sealer which will continue to lessen both of those. You may have to drop fill the divot.
@@BradAngove gotchya. Thank you!
I’m in a bit of a weird position with my Kit. I didn’t do enough research and just sanded and painted it with a few coats of colour. when I got it. Then I wanted to restart so I sanded back down to the wood and restarted with 3 coats of primer and then 4 coats of colour. Then I did the research I should have done in the first place and realized everything I’ve done wrong hahah. So now I’ve sanded back down to the wood but it’s still very blotchy with blotches of the white primer everywhere, but the guitar feels smooth. Can I start with my vinyl sealer or should I start a little earlier than that?
The primer may just have soaked into the wood. That shouldn’t be a problem if it has had plenty of time to dry and has been sanded (probably 320 grit). Vinyl sealer next will likely be fine.
@@BradAngove awesome, thanks so much!!
16th.
Great video as always. 2 questions:
1. I'm repainting a black factory finish with a Duplicolor perfect match green metallic as per your previous video. From this video it's sounds like I can sand and go straight to color. No primer needed, correct? Or should I still prime anyway? If primer is still recommended do you suggest white or grey primer?... or does primer color matter?
2. I need to move a strap button from the upper horn to another location on the body. This of course will leave a screw hole. What is the best way to fill and hide the old screw hole before paining?
Thanks!
No need to prime over a factory finish, just move to color. I like to glue a toothpick or two into holes like that and then just use a bit of wood filler to finish up.
@@BradAngove I decided to do a grey primer coat anyway after sanding the original black finish with 320 grit. How perfect does a prime coat need to be as far as smoothness and coverage? Despite laying down three coats of primer and sanding lightly with 800 grit I still accidentally sanded through the primer to the black factory finish underneath in some places. Will the base coat cover this or I should I re-prime? For my base coat I am using Spray Max 1K Fillclean (Custom java-green metallic color).
Those metallics are a bit transparent so it needs to be even. See my recent video on how to do a metallic paint job with spray cans.
what is this "transparent paint" of which you speak, young Brad? Would this make a good video?
Certainly. I have done quite a few videos on transparent/candy/tinted finishes I believe.
@@BradAngove I have watched and learned. funny how my first search didn't turn up anything ;-)
You found them?
@@BradAngove I believe so, there was one on a dragon scale finish, the dish soap trick, the whitewash...interesting stuff.
I shared it but I didn't say that you have to pay to subscribe to watch commercials LOL
Not sure what you mean. You don’t have to pay to subscribe.
@@BradAngove I thought we were still paying like $5.95 a month or something like that to subscribe to your channel. I never pay much attention to my bank account I just check it every now and then LOL well that's cool sorry about that buddy cheers to you
I don’t have the “members” feature enabled. Must be a different channel
Haha.
Okay my Canadian friend. I’m trying to understand why you don’t use the metric measurements for sandpaper grits.🤔
Because they aren’t sold that way here and the bulk of my viewers are American.
@@BradAngove , there’s a reason their American! Hahahaha 😬
@@kmichaelp4508 There is a reason some are Canadian. lol
@@jthonn , I don’t understand. You have a car don’t you. Hahahaha 😬
@@kmichaelp4508 I guess I didn't quite understand either.
What type of sealer do you recommend?
It depends on the type of paint you’re using.
@@BradAngove I will probably use a rattle can, with a primer.
Ok, but what paint type?
@@BradAngove I just saw your tutorial on sealers versus primers. It sounds like for what I want to do would be the vinyl sealer. I was thinking of using Rust-Oleum spray cans for the color. Based on your tutorial, primer really isn't necessary if I use a good sealer. Would you agree?
Yes, that sounds like a reasonable way to proceed.
How bout some legit art nouvea real deep chit!!!
Brad too many tutorials and not enough actual coloring or painting .
Hi Mark. I’m pretty sure almost all of my recent tutorials have involved me doing the actual work, but I appreciate the feedback and will keep it in mind.
About prepping factory finish guitar bodies: You made no mention of the importance of establishing beforehand the type of finish already in place. I.e. lacquer or etc. The sanding to dull and go at it method is a pipe dream if you don't know FOR SURE. As far as I know there is NO WAY to determine what's there and I learned through disaster to simply remove factory paint and clear coat to bare wood or grain filler, whichever you encounter 1st. Best removal tool is scraping by very sharp knife. Nobody will believe that but it IS fastest and least damaging. I bin doing it for years AFTER trying stripper and heat which are hopeless. Now after some sanding the paintless body I go after the refinishing with Rustoleum products. Always good.
I made no mention of it because it’s generally unimportant. Factory finished guitars are mostly the same couple paint types, and are already fully cured so the chemical composition makes little difference.
Rustoleum are a reasonable diy hardware store type option for repainting, no doubt.