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that's a tough one Chuck, so looking at the surfboard there is a blue 'sperm tail' shape over the white with a thin black border ?
Either way you have a truckload of masking to do, and it has to be done right or the paint will seep under the tape.
Is it worth considering get a signwriter to print the shape in adhesive vinyl ?
The hardest part will be the thin black border next to the blue.
Yep, that's the idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Yep, a truckload! I really want to do this all myself rather than get something done externally so wouldn't look at getting something like vinyl. The only other thing I did think of was getting some pinstriping tape - thin black stuff - rather than painting, but I'm getting mixed messages when I look it up: some say it will react badly with the clear over the top, some say it's fine. I know I could do a test, which is probably what I should do anyway with whatever option I choose.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
maybe look into guides for car/motorcycle painting? I know I've seen something similar done on a car show before so I'm sure you'll find something on youtube
good idea Maddog,
@ Chuck I would ask a professional/automotive painter the best method. I haven't tried to paint a shape this intricate
How about just using a black pinstripe like auto-painters would use? Sure, it will sit a fraction higher than the paint, but that could be leveled out under clear coats.
I had thought of that, but that's the one I'm getting mixed messages about re the way it will react with the clear - I'd have to try it first. I'm steering towards having a crack at spraying it - I did as Maddogm (thanks Maddogm!) suggested and looked at a few automotive detailer videos. Seems the trick is getting the masking really flush with the body to avoid any paint creep. On that basis I might do an extra coat of the white base and sand it a little more - not sure if 800 would take away the "tooth" for the next layers to adhere to though. And there's still the issue of the keyline over the top of the "join" or next to it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Zandit75
It might be worth checking out how much it would cost for a hot-rod pin-striping expert to paint the line on?
Otherwise possibly get some drafting film, draw the pin-striping line on that, use some low-tac spray glue to fix it to the surface, then cut out the stripe section with a scalpel. Clean off the glue in the gap, spray black, remove film, then clear off the rest of the glue before clear coating.
Any keyline step should be taken care of by the clear coats.
Cheers Simon, but I think - like many of us - I'd like to do it myself rather than use someone else!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
That's an interesting idea, but given the keyline must follow the paint masking I'll have already done I think I'd struggle to get it accurate off the body. Maybe I'm too concerned about the "ledge" that the blue will create on the white base, because the clear should hopefully cover that off as you (and Zandit) say. Perhaps I should just finish the blue, then reassess rather than worry about potential issues before I get to the pinstripe stage!Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Let the paint dry well, then a light wet sand with 1200 or 1500 grit wet and dry paper should knock off any high ridges.
At the Big Green Shed in the tiling section they sell a tape for doing silicon which is two rows already spaced, so at least your spacing would be equal but I'm not sure how it would release from your paint prior. Anyway it's a thought
Another possible option (apologies if you've already thought of this) is to paint the whole thing black first (or just paint a wide black line but that risks uneven tone in the other colours later). Then mask your pinstripe with narrow masking tape. Then paint the whole thing white. Then leave the pinstripe masking on and mask the white side off - which will be easier because you have the pinstripe width to overlap the masking on - then paint the blue.
Harder to describe than do
Interesting idea billb, thanks for that. Given I've already got the white down, I'm going to forge ahead and see what happens. If it all goes pear-shaped I can just sand back and start again (a bugger, but an option) and perhaps look at your option.Quote:
Originally Posted by billb
Thanks JB, another interesting one. I'll have a look next time I venture over to the dark side ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by JB RETRO
So, I'm now at the stage where both the body and the pickguard have had their base white coats...
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Next I'll lightly "wipe" some 600 or 800 over them, in particular along the masking line as I want the tape to make good contact to minimise bleeding. Then I need to actually fit the pickguard as the next step of masking and painting require it to be in place.
I've also whipped up a quick dummy pickguard and mounted the electronic stuff on it - I know this is going to be a fiddly wiring effort so wanted something nice and stable to work from. I've also roughly marked the routing wiring can be kept to the right length. Once this is finished it will simply a matter of attaching it to the real pickguard and then wiring in the jack and bridge ground.
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Well, pride before a fall! Went to mount the pickguard and two of the mounting screws are in spots over the cavity. Normally I turn mistakes into opportunities to do something different but no real options here. I've plugged one with timbermate and glued a small piece of wood in the cavity for another. Sadly it means I'm on hold for the next stage until I paint over the plug... ah well, thems the breaks.
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A good day - including a trip to Anagote Timbers to pick up some supplies for another build! On this one, all the white basecoating is done, and the issues with the pickguard are all solved. Today I've masked up the body, first with 3mm plastic auto trimmers masking tape, then with a couple of other tapes and a bunch of plastic sheeting. If the temperature drops a little in the next hour or so and the wind dies down, I'll try and get the first mist coat on. Btw, to get the long curves, I attached a pencil to a piece of string and then played around with the length of string to my thumb to get the right curve - made it a pretty simple job.
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Nice thinking and good string work there, Chuck! Looking good.
Cheers Simon, the string technique is something I've used when marking up bodies for reshaping too - it's a nice way to ensure a smooth curve!Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
Tonight, after three coats of the blue, I unmasked! Pretty happy with the result other than a couple of bleed points where the blue joins the pickguard and on the corner of the neck pocket. The pickguard ones I kind of expected as it proved pretty difficult to mask the "step" between the two surfaces, and I've got no idea at all how the neck one happened!! Still, I think I should be able to clean them up enough to get by - it probably looks a bit worse in the photo than it does in real life. I'm really happy with the blue in that I wanted it to look like the blue was sprayed on a surfboard blank rather than absolutely solid. It'll be interesting to see how it all looks after clear coating.
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Still working on a couple of ideas for the black keyline...
looks awesome Chuck well done, it looks how I thought it would when you originally posted the surfboard pic !
Looking good. I'd try cleaning it up quickly before the paint dries too hard.
Cheers Simon, good point! I immediately went down to the workshop when I saw your post and got most of it out using 800 and 1200. The pickguard is all clear, but the body is still a little off, although I think it should be less visable once the black keyline goes on. You might also see on the body shot a small black line on the body holder - that was a test using a black posca pen. I'm toying with either that or using black auto pinstripe tape, but I'll need to do a test to see how it reacts to the clear coat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
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Thanks Wok - it's actually closer to my original vision that I thought it would be!Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
I'm lovin this!
Nice work Chuck, the curves look really nice and love the colour scheme
Quick keyline question off the top of my head to bounce off everyone: I'm thinking about using a posca pen for the black keyline (it worked okay in my trial) but it's quite thin paint and did bleed a little. I'm thinking that I might do say three/four coats of clear, then sand that back with 1200/1500 to get a really clean surface. I'd then remask for the keyline, draw them in, then do the rest of the clear coats (I think I'll do a bunch on this one to try and get a "fiberglassed surfboard" look). I'm thinking that I'll get a much better surface to draw the keylines on after clearcoating... what do you think?
Chuck, not sure how the posca pen will go ontop of clear coats, might be worth a trial on scrap wood.
At least with your planned method the surface should be flatter after a few clear coats.
If the pen works on the clear coats I vote yes go that method.
I'd imagine the solution there would be to mask underneath the pickguard before attaching it and continuing the mask.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck
Good call Maddogm - wish I'd thought of that!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddogm
Great contrast between the selected shade of blue with white Chuck.
Thanks cade, it's probably more a credit to the colour chart for MTN 94 paints - it's pretty accurate, maybe a fraction darker. You can pick your colours from there with a good degree of confidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by cade711
Also, add a clear coat or 2 after masking and before drawing the line. The clear provides an extra seal between the masking tape and the surface which helps stop the paint bleeding under the masking tape.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck
That's a great idea billb, thanks so much!Quote:
Originally Posted by billb
A few days and a bit of progress! With colour coats complete, on a whim I decided on a different approach. First a did a couple of light layers of clear, then did the pinstriping with automotive tape (after a long discussion with the bloke in the shop who assured me he'd applied acrylic over the tape and it had worked fine!). It was very easy to do I have to say. I then did another clear. At this point the tape decided to lift a little and I thought I was screwed, but I've managed to keep it in place and do a couple more coats. I think I've got it firmly fixed now. I'm happy with the pickguard and front, the back isn't quite as tight but close enough! I'm going to do a heap of clears to get try and get a glassed look so I'll have to be patient!!
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now thats different the tape will be fine under clear just dont spray the 1st 2 coats over it to wet after a couple of dry costs you'll be fine, if it was me i would have put the tape over a few coats of clear as will stick better
It did do a couple of clears first but probably a bit too light to make for a really good surface to stick it to. Your suggestion would have been spot on! I've now done three over the top and it's settling down.Quote:
Originally Posted by phrozin
With all the heat/rain/humidity, painting on the body is going very, very slowly! So at the very least I figured some logos were in order. Funny thing is that when I originally started this project I'd called this one the Surfcaster, but at some point I've created logos with word Surfmaster. Oh, well, let's just go with Surfmaster from now on! I also did a very small logo from the surfboard I'm basing this on and put that on the back of the headstock as a nod to its origins.
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A few more coats of TO, then some dingowax on the fretboard and at least the neck will be ready to roll...
Looking awesome Chuck! I really love the headstock shape man. How did you create your headstock decal? Is it just a water-slide? Could you tell me the font, color, printer type etc. to replicate? I would really like to do something similar.
thanks dude.
cheers,
Gav.
love the headstock shape and logo's Chuck ! really looks like rolling waves or a spare beer bottle opener ! haha
If I'd thought about it more it would have been great to get a stainless steel insert for the hook so it really could crack a beer!!Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy