Hi, guys!
If you've followed the video instructions on how to paint your Pitbull guitar, you'll have an axe ready to go and impress people!
We all want to put it together ASAP, string it up, and get out there and play it. You might
- be happy with the finish as it comes out of the can;
want to "distress" it, or slap a couple of decals the body, so a mirror finish is pretty unimportant;
put it together to play, with the idea of pulling it apart later and polishing it up; or
have incredible patience and be willing to hang it up until the paint is fully cured. I don't know what they do now, but Gibson used to hang up its acrylic painted guitars for 3 - 6 months.
The big question for the people in the last two situations- who want to cut back their Pitbull guitar's finish- is when is the paint ready? The answer is-
Smell it.
The more it smells like paint, the less ready it is. The paint you sprayed on isn't just paint. It's paint in solvent, and paint really does dry- the solvents are evaporating. When you smell your guitar, it's the solvents you are smelling.
The more solvents, the softer the finish at that time. And the softer the finish, the more damage can be caused by sandpaper etc. You will find the paint is ripped up and clogs the paper and rips the paint again. If that starts to happen, stop. Stop straight away. You are doing it no good.
And please use good quality sandpaper. The stuff found at Bunnings or Supercheap is not that good, sheds it's abrasive and clogs like you wouldn't believe. You're doing yourself no favours.
There are many more questions about paint, and I'll try to answer some of them shortly. But the answer to just about every question about building a Pitbull guitar- Have patience, and don't rush it.
(The Telecowster, one of my guitars, took almost FOUR YEARS from when I purchased the first part to its first gig. I knew what I wanted, and how much I wanted to pay. The painted body hung up for 3 months before I was ready to polish the finish- and there was NO paint smell.)
