Paint or build first?

Sorry if this is an FAQ, but I didn't find anything from my search.
I have an ST-1 kit.
The manual seems to suggest painting the body first, before mounting hardware. In particular, I am concerned about the bridge.
While painting before doing any drilling etc... seems attractive (nice smooth body, no drill holes), wouldn't the process of then fitting the bridge, pickguard etc... risk damaging the paint?
Would it be better to mount everything and get the alignment etc right, the then paint the body?
Or am I missing something?

Thanks,
Damon

Hi and welcome.

It's a good question and one there's no definitive answer to.

It's perfectly possible to drill any undrilled holes after the finish has been applied, and that's the way I've built my kits. You just need to be careful, and use protective measures like masking tape and ensure you are using sharp drill bits.

Or you can get the main component holes sorted first (I'd always leave pickguard holes until the finish is on) and then do the finish. The thing to be careful of here is getting water in the holes when you wet sand the finish (if you are going for a smooth glossy finish rather than a rougher 'natural' look). Water in the holes will swell the wood and can crack the finish around holes. There's a much greater risk of the finish being damaged like this, and over a much larger area, than by drilling after the finish is on. However you can fill the smaller screw holes with a wax paste to stop water getting in, and for larger holes make sure that there's finish going all the way into the holes.

Whilst not ideal, almost any mass-produced guitar (say Fender), there will be some small chips around the pickguard holes as they will have been drilled after the finish was applied. But as the pickguard covers the small chips, no-one is particularly concerned.

Do whatever you feel happiest doing. Just be aware that both methods have their benefits and their drawbacks.

generally you would do a dry fit, Sort out the position of the bridge exct , drill what ever holes need to be drilled, then dismantle. Paint what ever needs to be painted and re-assemble. The main reason for the dry fit is not only to sort out the location of the hardware, and make sure that everything fits. You don't want to go to the trouble of doing a killer finish and then find things don't fit and you then may have to start removing some of that pretty finish, and at worse, have to re-finish the whole thing.

Thanks Simon and Rabbit -- good suggestions. I was aware of the issue of water getting into screw holes.
The bridge is my main concern.
I think I'll fit that first, align the neck etc... then disassemble and paint.

Quote:

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The bridge is my main concern.
I think I'll fit that first, align the neck etc... then disassemble and paint.

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This has been my preferred method. I have drilled the pickguard holes both before and after depending on the project, but definitely before for hardware like a bridge.
However one thing I'll add is I do a small countersink to the holes before the finish goes on. Especially if I'm spraying paint.
The countersink removes the square edge at the top of the hole so the paint doesn't collect on the lip.

I use bee's wax to plug the holes when I'm ready to wet sand (have used surfboard wax also). After the wet sanding and polishing is done, and before I start mounting hardware, I will clean up the countersunk holes with an appropriately sized drill bit*, just twisted with my thumb and index finger (no power drill). This will prevent (or at least help prevent) the finish lifting when a screw is turned in.

*I actually use a conical shaped dremel bit for doing this now.