Finishing Paint - HELP!

Hi All,

Its been a few months since I've been on the forum, as i've been really busy and also waiting for good weather to start my first guitar build! I have the SV-1 and super excited to start especially as this is the first time building anything!

I finally got into the sanding and now up to looking a finishing but not sure where to go from here. I've read heaps on this forum and others, and each time I think i've got things under control i read something that just makes me question everything. So i though i'd put up a post and get your expert advice :)

What i've done so far:

1. Mock Build - All Good
2. Sanded the body and neck (240, 600 and 1200) - Came up really good, better than expected

But now i'm confused on what sealer, base coat, colour coat and clear finish products to use. What i do know is what i want it to look like, see pic below. This is how i want mine to look but not sure what products to use to get there.

Attachment 29619

Do i use something like the Dupli-Color range or something else, and what filler / sealer do i use prior to a base coat?

Any help would be really appreciated!

Hey mate, nice choice of kit. I’m planning one of those at the moment.

With paint you need the surface to be keyed for it to stick, so unfortunately 1200 is too fine and isn’t enough for the paint to grab onto. You’ll need to go back over it with 240-320 (I usually go 240 as I have a lot of that on hand)

I’ve had good results using behlen vinyl sealer. Have you figured out what colour you would like? Solid/metallic/pearl/translucent
Because depending on your final choice, it can give you some different sealer options.

Hi Richy17, thanks for your reply.

Serious...more sanding....hahaha, i thought my smooth finish was too good to be true. I watched the sanding video from here but i guess thinking about it, it must have been for a wood finish not solid colour finish.

Ok cool, i'll re-sand a little with 240 just to rough up the surface.

I definitely want to keep it Solid White with that nice polished top as i have the pearl scratch plate (if i didn't have a scratch plate i would have thought about a pearl finish).

Do i need to use wood sealer or filler first? Having sanded to 1200 its already pretty smooth so its levelled things out pretty good?

Where's the best place to get the Behlen Vinyl Sealer?

Yeah sorry to be the bearer of bad news regarding more sanding. I’m a weirdo who actually enjoys sanding ;)

You can order it from guitaraust.com.au

But seeing as you are thinking of using duplicolour - you could get away with applying a couple nice coats of their clear and block that back with 320 and then apply the white over that. Seeing as it’s a basswood body you could pretty much get away with painting the white straight onto it. The first couple coats will soak in. Just let it dry and knock it back before adding more coats. With solid colours you don’t really need to put clear on top. There’s pros and cons to using it and not using it.


Are you thinking of using rattle cans or do you have access to spray equipment ?

240 is too harsh, the paint will fill in the scratches but you will require a decent amount of coats. 320 or 400 is my recommendation.

Primer: https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/...gment=1&page=1

Colour: https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/...cgid=SCA011004

Clear: https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/...cgid=SCA011004

Check out some of the threads by fellow forum dweller 'Phrozin'. He was a spray painter, he has done quite the number of kits and he swears by SCA (Supercheap Auto) branded spray paint when he isn't using an actual spray gun. He has pictures of kits he has finished using SCA spray paint, the results are pretty mint.

Thanks Richy17 for the info. I have so much to learn! Unfortunately i don't have access to spray equipment so was going to chance using spray cans. I was hoping that given i'm doing a solid colour it should be fairly straight forward. Don't want to be too adventurous on my first build. Just want to keep it simple with nice clean lines.

Thanks also Joe3334 for the additional info and advice plus links on paint range. I'll check out 'Phrozin' as well to see what more i can learn before starting the next stage.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a_novice

Thanks Richy17 for the info. I have so much to learn! Unfortunately i don't have access to spray equipment so was going to chance using spray cans. I was hoping that given i'm doing a solid colour it should be fairly straight forward. Don't want to be too adventurous on my first build. Just want to keep it simple with nice clean lines.

Thanks also Joe3334 for the additional info and advice plus links on paint range. I'll check out 'Phrozin' as well to see what more i can learn before starting the next stage.

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No worries mate. Just follow the directions on whatever brand you choose and you’ll be fine. They all work. Also don’t worry that you’re using cans. I’ve done a few with cans and got good results, I do prefer to use guns but I am a spray painter so that’s what I’m used to.

Where abouts are you located ?

All good. I thought about getting a spray gun etc but happy to use spray cans for my first. If i decide to build a few more i might invest in one but for now happy to give the cans a go and at least see how it works out. Will be good experience for me and will learn a lot.

This is what i was planning on doing, what do you think?

1. Rough up my beautifully smooth sanded guitar using 320 or 400 grit (dry)
2. Spray a Primer straight on as mentioned (so no sealer), say 3 or 4 coats lightly added, 15min between and let dry for a few days
3. Sand the Primer with say 400 grit (dry)
4. Spray Colour, say 2 or 3 coats 15min between, then leaving say 2 hours between coats, with a sand of say 400 grit (dry) between every coat after that? Do i use a finer grit sand paper?
5. Not sure about the clear finish yet, and how to go about it if i add it.
6. Also, given the neck is almost all clear (only colour is on the top of the headstock), do i apply the clear as the first and only coats?

Actually, just a quick question, given i've over sanded for a solid paint (1200 light sand), will the SCA primer filler still be ok to spray straight on rather than go back to a light sand of say 400??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a_novice

Actually, just a quick question, given i've over sanded for a solid paint (1200 light sand), will the SCA primer filler still be ok to spray straight on rather than go back to a light sand of say 400??

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I personally sand in between coats of paint with 600, it's just on the verge of being too smooth for painting but also rough enough to actually remove material/paint. Your prep work makes up for about 80% of the end result and the actual process of painting, wet sanding and polishing is the remaining 20%. Adding the clear is kind of the same as adding colour or applying primer, it's just that you'll need waaaaaay more coats of clear then you'll need of colour and primer. There's some extra things you'll need to do after applying the clear but I won't elaborate on that just yet.

Also, I'd recommend sanding again with a lower grit e.g 400 so that the paint really sticks, 1200 is a bit too smooth.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joe3334

I personally sand in between coats of paint with 600, it's just on the verge of being too smooth for painting but also rough enough to actually remove material/paint. Your prep work makes up for about 80% of the end result and the actual process of painting, wet sanding and polishing is the remaining 20%. Adding the clear is kind of the same as adding colour or applying primer, it's just that you'll need waaaaaay more coats of clear then you'll need of colour and primer. There's some extra things you'll need to do after applying the clear but I won't elaborate on that just yet.

Also, I'd recommend sanding again with a lower grit e.g 400 so that the paint really sticks, 1200 is a bit too smooth.

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Thanks for that. I'll go back over with 400 just enough to provide a good base for the primer to stick, as i don't want to take too much off given its basewood (not that i've sanded too much as it was already in good shape when i got it). Then i'll get my first coats of primer / filler on. I ended up getting the SCA Primer Filler, White and Clear cans last night :-)

I just need to setup a good place to spray now :-)

Phrozin recommends only dry sanding the primer coats (and he normally recommends 6 coats). You can start wet sanding once you've got a your first set of three colour coats on.

Thanks Simon.

Tapped the body today and will finish off the 400 sand tomorrow and put my first coats of primer / filler on, supper excited! Thinking of Teak Oil for back of the neck and back of the headstock. What do you think? Get that shine without a huge gloss finish that can be sticking on the hand.