Air Bubbles-HELP!

I am building a companion 70's strat to match my tele deluxe. I built the tele from a kit, but I had a ridiculous amount of strat parts laying around, so all I really needed was a clean body that I could stain, and not have to worry about standing over for hours with a heat gun to get the body stripped.

OK, so I ordered a BEAUTIFUL Ash body from GFS, and got it smooth, drilled all of the hardware holes, and finished it with the same minwax pre-stain and special walnut that I used on the tele.
I sprayed black around the edges, just like on the tele, then started the clear coat. I am using the same type of clear coat and the same HVLP spray gun that I used on the tele.

PROBLEM-

When I got the first coat of clear on, I left it to dry, and when I came back to look at it, a million little air bubbles had materialized. I sanded down the bubbles, and shot coat 2. When I came back....same thing!

Am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have a suggested remedy? I am using the exact same technique I used in the tele. The only difference is that the tele body was basswood, and the strat is ash. Believe it ir not, a basswood body was about 30.00us more expensive than ash, and the ash obviously has a much more gorgeous grain pattern.

I have attached photos of the tele, which gave me no problems, and the strat with the bubbles.

Please help! It's driving me crazy, and I really wanna get the strat funished!

Thanks!

http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...svmxy98hn.jpeg

http://i1375.photobucket.com/albums/...pskrejgqvz.jpg

I'm no expert here, but the fact that the bubbles are going along the grain, it might be an issue with the grain filling. What did you use to fill the grain in the ash?

Looks like outgassing to me. How long did you leave between the colour and the clear?

Had this very thing happen on my sister's LP build - see in my sig.
It happened when i put it in the sun to dry - too hot, too fast, and most likely moisture from within the wood leaching out under drying conditions. Sanding back and more clear fixed it in the end...

The moisture may have been from either the stain or the timber itself, dunno which...

Crash, bummer about the air bubbles. Could be a couple of things that caused it. Has the weather been about right for spraying ? not too humid or hot ?
Also the colour coat may not have fully cured before the clear coat.

If the clear and colour coats are compatible that rules that out.

I'd let the clear coat cure for a few days and sand it back and have another go at the clear coat, ensuring the weather is ok for spraying. Would'nt hurt to wait a few days after sanding the clear coat off to ensure the colour coats underneath have fully cured.

Also looks like you didn't grain fill the ash body ? The grain is very coarse and it is recommended to grain fill before the colour coats

Also I am guilty of wiping the body with a contaminated rag to clean the body before spraying the clear coat ?

I didn't use anything to fill the grain. I used minwax pre-stain, then put 3 coats of minwax special walnut on it. I let the stain dry for 4-5 days before spraying the black around the edges, then let the black dry over night before applying the clear.

The weather here has been just about perfect for spraying. Low humidity, in the high 50's (F) to low 60's during the day, and SOMETIMES dipping into the mid forties at night..which is AMAZING for the mid southern US in February. THANK YOU, GLOBAL WARMING) I do all of my spraying in my garage though, which isn't climate controlled, but the house is build into the side of a hill, so the back portion where things are painted and hung to dry are underground , and stay at a pretty constant temp.

Hey Crash, so you sure the miniwax, black burst paint and the clear are compatible ? What type of black paint and clear was it you sprayed ? Sounds like spraying conditions have been ideal !

I used Duplicolor automotive paint and Clear. It's the exact same combination that I used on the telecaster I pictured above the strat! I wanted the finishes to be an exact match, so I made sure to use all of the same materials! The ONLY difference is that the tele is basswood, and the strat is ash

no worries Crash, its a strange one indeed. I would sand off the bubble affected areas and have another crack. Make sure you use clean rags to wipe it clean and spray light coats. Best of luck !

Its weird how most the bubbles have followed the ash grain pattern

It could simply be the temperature. What's the actual temperature in the garage? I would be wary of spraying below 57°F and ideally it would be around 68°F to avoid moisture problems. The evaporating solvent will drop the temperature of the paint significantly on the surface of the guitar (latent heat of evaporation) and you could be getting a small amount of condensation trapped under the paint as a result.

I'd take a thermometer into the garage to check the actual temperature. If possible, try and warm the space up first with a heater, but turn the heater off before spraying. Also keep the parts to be sprayed inside until the last minute and warm the spray cans up in a bowl of warm water.

It could be something more obtuse, like resin in the ash grain lines reacting with the finish, but I'd suggest trying to get warmer spray conditions first.