Ageing/tint lacquer

scalino65

hi. Can anyone give me some tips for spraying ageing lacquer from an aerosol please. Specifically, how do you get an even application. I end up with very uneven and even blotchy ‘ageing’. I’ll do one pass from the can and then move on but the overlap means I get a heavier ageing stripe. Do I need to have the can further from the body and try and have the paint fall over a wider area? I feel that I need a spray fan the whole width of the guitar! Any tips at all? Many thanks. Will

Bridgehouse

What type of paint, what colour are you spraying over and what tint are you using?

WezV

What tint are you using?  

Amber or heavy tint is often harder to control, lighter tints take more time but are easier to control.

scalino65

Ha. Yes, info missing! It’s nitro. From Manchester guitar tech. I have tried the light tint amber to age. Just can’t seem to get it on evenly.

scalino65

P.s. I’ve tried it over metallics and solid.

Bridgehouse

I used light tint on daphne blue and kept it quite a distance (about 18” or so) faster passes and even. If you look at pics of aged guitars tho, the colour aging isn’t even...

WezV

Try it further away then.  

The fan on those cans should be enough to get an even tint with a few overlapping passes and the light tint is exactly what you want.  

Measure how how far you are holding the can away from the surface if unsure, let us know what it is.  

also, are you moving the can parallel to the surface,  it’s easy to swing it side to side instead.

scalino65

Thanks chaps. Not building anything right now. Just for future ideas.

SteveRobinson

Bridgehouse said:

I used light tint on daphne blue and kept it quite a distance (about 18” or so) faster passes and even. If you look at pics of aged guitars tho, the colour aging isn’t even...

That'll be my Light Tint? It has a very low dye loading to help avoid banding and help achieve an even shade.

scalino65

thanks Steve. That's the one. I think I just need a little more patience and practice. I was certainly closer than 18". I think its also a question of thinking that what I've done must be rubbish but as Bridgehouse says, old gtrs arent even either.  

Bridgehouse

SteveRobinson said:

Bridgehouse said:

I used light tint on daphne blue and kept it quite a distance (about 18” or so) faster passes and even. If you look at pics of aged guitars tho, the colour aging isn’t even...

That'll be my Light Tint? It has a very low dye loading to help avoid banding and help achieve an even shade.

Yes - your light tint indeed Very good it is too!

Bridgehouse

scalino65 said:

thanks Steve. That's the one. I think I just need a little more patience and practice. I was certainly closer than 18". I think its also a question of thinking that what I've done must be rubbish but as Bridgehouse says, old gtrs arent even either.  

It’s a bit of practice, a bit of luck and a bit of not being too particular about it being too even

Corvus

Sounds like it's going on too heavy, too close or two slow, or a combo of those. Maybe overlapping too close
Passes should overlap partially, outside of the the heavier wetter part in the middle of the fan. If you can, watch it go down from an angle, with light hitting, you can see the difference between too thin/dry and becoming wet. If you see it lay down thick, back off and/or move quicker. If going down a bit dry looking, slower/closer.
That'll help get the speed right and the amount laying down too.

Once that's sussed do a coat say along the body length, and next coat cross wise, another way to get more even cover and help avoid tiger stripes. But figure out the speed & distance thing first, that's really the key to it all.