Paisley... It begins!

this is coming along nicely Nick

Thanks mate.

Work has begun on the front now. Now that I've got the method down it's going a lot quicker!

Right, so I thought it'd be cool to take you guys through my fabric process if you guys wanna try the same.

Materials:
Fabric scissors
Woodglue (I used Titebond)
Découpage (I used mod podge)
A credit card/something to squeeze air out
Ironed fabric
Paintbrush to spread glue evenly

Step 1:
Rough cut your shape with a template and iron until perfectly flat (I had to use max heat on our iron)
http://i.imgur.com/ajQ49Ix.jpg?1

Step 2:
Get your prepped body and lay it on something soft (we want it to be comfortable for its make over ;))
Get all of your supplies at hand and ready to use because you need to work fast (especially as it gets warmer)
http://i.imgur.com/ziShkyv.jpg?1

Step 3:
Drape material over body and pull it taught on edges with curves to make sure you have enough give for it to lay flat. I had to cut a few reliefs in order for it to sit flat on this strat body
http://i.imgur.com/5kXbXI1.jpg?1

Step 4:
Working quickly, get a good design of glue on the work surface and spread evenly and flat
http://i.imgur.com/fI7CXjU.jpg?1

Step 5:
Stretch fabric across the cavities and surfaces TIGHTLY (no sag into cavities) and let the glue tack up enough to let it go. Make sure your fabric doesn't stick to the sides of the body. At this time it's good to squeeze out any air/bubbling that appears.

Step 6:
Coat in découpage and keep building layers (I did about 5 with 20mins in between each)

Step 7:
Get your scalpel and start cutting out cavities neatly, and run it around the outside of the body to get a nice edge
http://i.imgur.com/nASHi9B.jpg?1

Next in the process is getting the fabric flush with the sides.

Stay tuned!

Nice Nick. So looks like your doing front and back. With the sides how are you finishing, is it sand the fabric smooth and then paint burst on side and back onto fabric? Was looking at doing something similar for a young kids guitar using something like a super hero print.

Yeah mate. I'm going to put a bead of super glue along the edge and sand it flush with the rest of the sides then burst it.

That looks sick! So the mod podge gear was the business? I'm with vh, building a 3/4 when we find out the sex of the bean so I'll be stealing all your hard work and techniques.

Yeah it works great as a sealer mate. I've seen people use it as a clearcoat but I might use a proper clear on this one.

so... about to spray the burst

any advice?

I was wondering if I should do a primer of white before the pinky red or should I go straight on with the pinky red? There's a bit of sealer around which is pure white so I dont want it to affect the colour.

Hey Nicko,
I got no experience with paisley axe's but I'd probably dive straight into pinky red. Better tape off any areas you don't want that colour to.
Question how did you get the gif file to work in your avatar ?

Yeah I'm with Wokka. If you prime it, you'll need to cover that and also the edge of the primer so you'll get your burst on the mod anyway to mask the primed edge if you catch my drift. Just shoot the burst, also helps getting the band the thickness you want. If the primed burst is just so, the pink will be thicker.

Right on. Cheers lads.

@Wokks I just uploaded the gif from my computer. Nothing special involved. :)

Shaping up really nicely, keep it up bro!

So... It's been a while hasn't it?

Uni has finished now so I have a LOT more time to get building.

First just a quick note on the surfcaster - she's going really well. Been putting a lot of hours into the neck and it's starting to show (but I love the worn look). This is after a good clean -

http://i.imgur.com/1faawwf.jpg?1

Paisley-wise I've had a big crack at it this week. Last time I left you guys I had just finished paisley-ing the back.

So today I've started thinking about the burst. First I scaled the template down 2cm for the burst (I refined further since this photo - just in the process)

http://i.imgur.com/SrpBCUX.jpg?1

Also at some point during the last few weeks our good friend Pabs cut a pickguard for me. We were going to go tinted opaque colours but the cavity was too deep and was obvious through some test pieces I found around the house.

So... I decided to paisley the guard too.

http://i.imgur.com/ymLivuW.jpg?1

Looking very psychedelic!

And on the guitar as a mock up:

http://i.imgur.com/IyPJba4.jpg?1

So I've got paint to apply - ANY TIPS on applying the burst? I'm terrified. The body/sides are sanded up to 1200 and ready for spray but it's the technique that I don't know. I've never really sprayed anything - particularly when it's going to be on awkward angles like the sides/inside of the horns.

Onwards!

looking good Nicko, how did you get the paisley to stick to the underneath of the pickguard ?

If you don't have much spraying experience then I'd create a model with scrap wood and paisley both sides to practice.
Not worth starting the burst till you have a practice run

What are you using to spray the burst?

Ps, guard looks rad

soaked the material in thinned PVA glue and slapped it on + used credit card to flatten out

Andrew just rattle cans unfortunately. No gun and don't know anyone who would spray it for me either

nice one Nicko, must have been thinned PVA or it may have discoloured the paisley material !

With a spray can hold your can above the body and spray towards the edges. You'll get hard lines but spraying from the outside in will just get paint drops where u dont want them. If you can, put a few pieces of blue tack on the template so it sits up a few mm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andrew

With a spray can hold your can above the body and spray towards the edges. You'll get hard lines but spraying from the outside in will just get paint drops where u dont want them. If you can, put a few pieces of blue tack on the template so it sits up a few mm.

---

So shoot across the template toward the outside perimeter of the body? That should be easy enough. Most paisleys have solid lines anyway so I'm not too fussed about that.

What about the insides of the horns etc? Will the get covered this way too or should I go direct shooting towards the body?

Nah go from the outside. Google poor man's burst I think it is and there is a bit on that. Because spray cans don't really atomise as fine as a gun, if you spray from the outside in and the paint spray gets under the template it looks really fuzzy and splotchy but if you hold the can in the middle and spray at an angle towards the edges the template edges will break up the spray and give a bit of a fade but no paint will get under the template and it'll be nice and crisp.

http://youtu.be/uUMyqxKP8MI

This might help. With a bit of practice it shouldn't be too hard. Well done on the pickguard. Looks better than I imagined.

Thanks and thanks man. That video was very helpful!

looks really good nick, nice effort.

So spraying went ahead today.

Will post pics later today - 90% pleased but some issues that may or may not be sorted out

look forward to pics Nicko, what were the issues ?

as DB says there's always a workaround

Pictures! *clap/clap/clap* Pictures! *clap/clap/clap* Pictures!

Alrighty

http://i.imgur.com/DaOcSGV.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/UQh5j17.jpg?1

First time using spray cans so I got a bit heavy in a couple of spots - but the majority of it was surprisingly even.

The problem is even with copious amounts of sanding sealer + prep I still have a seam where the fabric joined the body

http://i.imgur.com/LHDOXUB.jpg?1

which sucks a bit - but then again I'm not really too phased.

doesn't look too bad Nicko, bit of wet sanding the edges should fix that !

Hey dude looking rad hey. Does the fabric sit above the line, is it just a join line? Did you prime it first at all? Very fixable man, don't settle for a weird edge. You know it will haunt you.

Yeah I used a ton of sealer and it felt smooth as before I sprayed. Musnt've have been as goo as I thought :s

any suggestions sincei t's already painted?

Spray the edge white or any other colour, let it dry, wet sand the white with 600, the low spots you will need to fill will still be white. Fill er up, level sand, respray burst, profit.

Also if you haven't, sand the edges with a block. It's too easy for the sand paper to press into your finger and conform to any ridges on the surface your sanding.

Yeah man I always use a block when sanding.

Could I theoretically use the same pink to fill the gaps? Is that really all I'm doing? Spraying heavier in the spots to fill the dents?

cheers

Depends how deep the dents are man. If it's pretty deep you'll need a tonne of paint to fill it out. Maybe try some more of the mod gear to boost it out, sand it flush and do the pink again.

Maybe use some CA (super) glue on the fabric edge. If it works you may be able to sand it? I'd certainly test if it works somewhere before trying here, but I think that the glue may give it the rigidity to be able to deal with it properly.

alright so I've done a bit of research into the matter (other paisley builders) and the general consensus is that areldite/epoxy is the go for blending the edges.

So I've gone and filled the edges and now have to wait a few days for it to cure properly.

Now we wait...

also, cheers for the suggestions lads.

nice job Nick

Those edges would not have filled well with paint.

Interested to see how the epoxy goes

Alright it set well and sanded back nicely. Started prepping for spray again but it started bucketing down here. Will have to wait until it is dry to continue.