Noob inquiring about finishing a strat black

[Chrisp250]

Thanks a lot Dave. What's a good brand of acrylic aerosols? Also roughly just so that I get an idea, how long is the sanding process? I know it depends on how you receive the body, but people keep saying sanding sanding and more sanding. Are we talking a couple hours? 5 hours? Or more?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm just getting started on this journey.
Christian

[dave.king1]

No worries Christian, as they sand until you are totally stuffed and you're about half way there.

To be honest I don't know how long I sanded for but it was a bit here and a bit there over quite a few days, I did have to go to a lot of extra effort because I smoothed out the transition of the forearm and belly cuts with a palm sander using coarse grit so that they blend into the body rather than being angular as they are in the kit.

As per the advice of the others on here you don't want to go much below 400 grit on the bare wood because you need a bit of key in the surface not something totally glassy.

Take care sanding basswood because it's very soft and it's very easy to remove more than you want and also very easy to scar the surface of the wood if you get a crease in the sand paper.

The paint is branded SCA ( Supercheap Auto )

Where abouts are you located Christian you will most likely find an experienced builder near by, perhaps adding a broad location in your profile could help.

[Chrisp250]

Thanks Dave.
I'm in Cooma NSW but spend quite a bit of time in Canberra.

[corsair]

Now this may be heretical, but hear me out...

I get a bloke what does motorcycle tins to do any artwork I have, and that these days includes all colour coats. My reasoning is that I've used spray bombs and guns and been pleased with the results. Then I've had one done by my bloke, and never again will I buggerise about with paint; the job is beyond good and the clear is a two pack acrylic that just jumps off the gun. This finish, when cured, is also absolutely bullet proof; tough as old boots and that, to me, is important as I may take the guitars and play 'em out!

I know, I know... this sort of goes against the ethos of building your own, but I know my limitations and I do all of the prep work; I've had bodies come back to me because he's not 100% happy with the sanding!!

It also helps that he doesn't charge me anything like the going rate... and I know how much he charges to do a set of bike tins!!

My point, I suppose, is don't get locked into a single way of thinking and/or doing things - there's always options and sometimes, outsourcing a vital part of a job can be the best way in the long run!!

[Chrisp250]

Thanks Corsair.
I get your point and if I was trying to put out the best guitar ever I would definitely go down that road. Another option would be to buy a cheap Squier and improve it. I can do a bit of fretwork, adjust the neck, upgrade the electronics, etc.
However. in this case as I'm trying to build something for my son and I would prefer to do as much as I can myself, even if it's not top notch. I think he would appreciate that more.
Cheers
Christian

[dave.king1]

Thanks Corsair.
I get your point and if I was trying to put out the best guitar ever I would definitely go down that road. Another option would be to buy a cheap Squier and improve it. I can do a bit of fretwork, adjust the neck, upgrade the electronics, etc.
However. in this case as I'm trying to build something for my son and I would prefer to do as much as I can myself, even if it's not top notch. I think he would appreciate that more.
Cheers
Christian

This + 1

Personally I wouldn't buy a cheap Squier, I have a Classic Vibe Thinline that is brilliant but you would spend close to 3 times as much for this as you would for an Affinity ( the last best street price I found in Oz was close to a gorilla, I paid $500.00 in Bali three years ago )

[wazkelly]

I have been down the let an auto spray painter do the job and it killed the tone by making it sound too bright and seriously lacked any warmth at all.

Some may want to bring up the tone wood argument and there are plenty of opinions on that topic and I lean more towards letting the timber talk rather than kill it with too much dense finish as that reflects the sound more than projecting the resonating body sound.

[andrewdosborne]

I have been down the let an auto spray painter do the job and it killed the tone by making it sound too bright and seriously lacked any warmth at all.

Some may want to bring up the tone wood argument and there are plenty of opinions on that topic and I lean more towards letting the timber talk rather than kill it with too much dense finish as that reflects the sound more than projecting the resonating body sound.

Yes, thinner the finish the better. I recently had a play on one of the new American Fender Elite series Jazz basses (natural ash finish) Lacked resonance with what I could only put down to the rather thick gloss polyurethane finish. A real disappointment considering the asking price

Sent from Android Nougat

[corsair]

I really don't know if the whole tonewood/thin finish argument is particularly valid at anything over lounge room volumes... on a solid body electric guitar!! After 25+ years of gigging at stage volumes, I'd be prepared to bet that all noise coming from the FOH is pickup/FX generated with not a jot of noticeable tonewood nuance.

As an example of bodywood snobbery over pragmatism, Alembic style thru necks were all the rage in the early 80s, the premise being that the strings would resonate better if they were attached to the same piece of wood at both ends.... which was fine in theory but then Floyd Rose floating trems became popular and people were carving huge holes through the neck/body to fit the bridge. The affect on the sound from a guitar thus modified was negligable, especially at stage volume. Guitar history is littered with just such "You beaut!" moments which under closer examination, prove a little wobbly!

Personally, I believe that on a solid body electric guitar, wood and construction style - butcher block, solid wood, plywood - matter less than quality pickups and electronic components. Of course, on an acoustic or hollow body guitar, all bets are off ....

And, of course, we often like the way natural timbers look and feel under our hands, and once again, that's a whole different kettle of petunias...

YMMV....

[wazkelly]

Hi Corsair, my comments relate back to when I had 2 exactly the same quite rare Ibanez Bass Guitars which had a P Bass body with P & J Pickups and fitted with a J style neck. Both were off white coloured and being only 22 at the time thought the reliced one needed a new paint job and ended up letting a panel beater spray it black.

Always played the same amp settings and when switching between the 2 the black one sounded too bright and thin compared to the other one that was left untouched where before the respray they sounded identical. The only difference was in the refinish.

Here is a picture from the original catalogue, it is the white one on the left and only ever seen the two I owned and none ever since.


Same deal on my original Explorer (2nd picture above) which was painted black by Chris Kinman who was an up & coming luthier come guitar builder in Brisbane during early 1980's. When it was Korina and with a few chunks missing it had lots of mids but after the black respray (probably nitro) they also disappeared. Again the only difference was the refinish and on both occasions it had a massive impact to the overall sound.

Acknowledge your comments about electronic signal being projected through FOH but if miced or DI'd both Bass guitars sounded different. Your theory makes sense but in both of my refinish experiences the natural earthy tones disappeared. Mind you, I didn't use a lot of signal processors as was the go back in the 80's which tend to disguise and distort the true sound anyways so had to rely on what the pickups sent to whichever amp that was supplying the grunt for the final sound. If anything, going through FOH just magnified the differences even more, so much so that swapping axes caused frowns on the face of the sound guy trying to figure why the mix had changed.