Let's talk spray cans

grinder

Hello folks! I hope you are all well and safe. Now, to the topic: Some of you may have seen my other thread regarding my super strat build. If not it's here (I 'll update with new photos as soon as I can since I now have the build with me). Moving on the next step of my build is spray painting the guitar body and this is where I 'm confused

Originally, I wanted to go with a water-based acrylic since they seem to be easier to work with eg, compared to nitrocellulose or similar. But while trying to find an off-white colour that suits me I went down the rabbit hole (one that I 've already been few months ago when I started researching this project) to find a good solution, but there are so many products out there including the known suspects (when it comes to spray painting) such as Molotow, Liquitex, Montana Gold/Black, MTN 94/WB-300, Rust-oleum, Plastikote, etc, etc to some less known (mainly UK based), eg DC paint solutions, 151, ColourIt, Hycote, etc

Apparently apart from the water-based acrylics there are so many other options including solvent-based acrylics, enamels, lacquers and so on and so forth. So, here's my situation:

1. Since autumn/winter is by the corner and I do not have a garage or big shed, everything will have to happen outside in the backyard. Will this work for eg, solvent-based acrylics or anything non water-based to that matter?
2. Is sanding sealer required in any case? Or can I skip this step since I 'm going to prime the guitar body? If it's really needed then what type? Can shellac or MDF sanding sealer work?
3. Apart from the main colour, I want  to draw some plain design/patterns (wife will help here, she has a BA Fine Arts degree, I 'm useless when it comes to that). For sure getting everything (spray paint and markers) from the same manufacturer will be the best, but do you have any recommendation for markers that potentially are compatible with spray cans?
4. Generally, what spray can solution/combination would you recommend for somebody like me that has not done this before?

I think that these are all my questions for now and I did not forget anything. I 'm looking forward for any responses and hope that this will help other people that want to try for the first time spray painting  with cans a guitar body. Thanks all!

paulnb57

Ive have rattle can sprayed many guitar bodies, so will offer my take...
Anything with few exceptions from a DIY type store are utter shite
I have never used anything water based
Halfords rattle cans, with the exception of their Satin Black, is awful
As with most things you get what you pay for...
So I pretty much exclusively go to my local paint supplier to car repairers, you can get Cellulose (1k) or 2k
Paint to thinners ratio is far better than pretty much anything else out there, so you need less paint
There are literally thousands of colours available and the paint shop will mix it into a rattle can for you..you don’t need to lacquer, the cans have good spray nozzles
Other options are Nitro from the likes of @SteveRobinson at Manchester Guitar Tech, great paint if you want Nitro and highly recommended if thats what you desire

My preference is 1 or 2k though as I have more experience with it...

Regarding grain filling it depends on what wood your body is made of and if you are happy for the paint to sink into the grain
I like sunken paint so just spray straight onto the wood, no grain fill, no primer...

I have just received a Strat body today and will paint it in the next few days, in less than favourable temperature
I will wait for a dry still day, temperature is likely not to be ideal, so I will a) stand the rattle can into warm, but not really hot water and (b) hang the guitar on its faux neck from a curtain pole over a warm radiator to warm it up
Then whip it outside after making sure the warm can is dry, a couple of light coats, bring it in and hang it back in the windows over the radiator, close the door, else the house will stink! give it and hour or so and repeat until happy with coverage, my finishes have never needed sanding or buffing for final finish...

Good luck!

goldtop

Could be a useful thread for me. I bought one of those fugly PRS SE camo-finish guitars and want to give that a (top-only) refin with spray cans.

Fez

Plus 1 for @SteveRobinson I have done a strat neck with clear satin lacquer and am currently respraying a white strat with Daphne blue. Loads of great info on Steve's website.

GoldenEraGuitars

@grinder you are using language that indicates you haven’t tried and tested anything yet, would that be right? 

Do you want a durable finish? Tbh, I’d advise against spraying anything outside now, it’s too cold to allow most types of paint to flow properly. 

Danny1969

I've had some good finishes from spray cans. Basically if you get enough paint on the there, let it harden somewhere warm like an airing cupboard and then go over it with p1200 and a cutting compound it will come up like a factory finish. 

Warm the can in hot water, shake the can for much longer than it says on the instructions. When stopping spraying turn can upside down and spray away from the body so you blow air through the nozzle to clear it out. 

Use a tack coat, this was taught by a mate who sprays guitars with cans to a whole other level than I've seen anyone else do. He gives the body a quick tack coat and then while it's tacky he sprays on a heavy coat. Always make sure there's more paint on the edges as when you cutting it back that's where it will be exposed. 

I hang the body in a cardboard box with one side cut out and then spray it in the shed. This helps keep bugs off it. This time of year you will need a halogen lamp on it as it's too cold otherwise. You can get a suitable halogen lamp in a stand from CPC for £30 ish. These chuck out a lot of light and a fair bit of heat.  

paulnb57

Well, contrary to the two comments above I have just sprayed my Limba Start body outdoors, using the method I described in my previous post on this topic...however Im not disagreeing with others Im am merely presenting my take...
Temperature was 12 degrees, 10mph wind (behind me!) sunny...Halfords (yes I know I said Halfords paint is utter shite, with the exception of Satin Black) Olive Green Drab (another exception!) I guess its the Satin/Matte paints that are OK...
Coverage is great and the finish is just right, nice and thin, good coverage, paint flowed really well, sunk into the grain, just how I like it...
Photo later when I can handle it.......

RickLucas

Looks like a quality project you have going on there. If you are considering nitro cellulose, look at Manchester Guitar Tech Steve Robinson's site for tips and excellent products, and watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7g1zw8qcdc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9_OKf1NlTE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOXB24hXRnk

I have just finished spaying a body with Steve's nitro rattle cans. I would say that sanding sealer is necessary to stop the paint sinking into the grain. I did it my small shed with the doors open under 2 halogen spots and am now waiting for a few weeks before sanding. Good luck.

paulnb57

So, as I said earlier a photo....its very matte (its supposed to be) but there's no orange peel....it will get a coat or two of Tru Oil on top in a week or so, just to make it a bit more Satin and less Matte....Im not sharing any more photos yet as it will spoil the reveal!...

grinder

Hello all. Apologies for the late response, but I was really busy with work since I started this thread. Just today I managed to get to Toolstation and buy some materials (mainly sanding paper). Thank you to everybody for their input and suggestions.

@GoldenEraGuitars Yes, I 've not tried anything yet. This is my very first effort of painting/finishing a guitar. I was mainly confused about the different materials involved when spray painting and whether people have tried certain combinations of rattle cans from different vendors that worked for them or if it was mainly everything from the same shop.

At this point I believe I have made my mind and will go with Darren from https://www.dcpaintsolutions.com (I think it was previously called CJ Aerosols, If memory serves right I 've seen this name coming up in Google while investigating spray cans for guitars). He has an amazing selection of colours and can make acrylic, cellulose or enamel based rattle cans plus 2K varnishes and primers. I want to avoid cellulose and go acrylic. If it was for nitro I would probably go with @SteveRobinson from the well known https://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/

Now some more questions:

1. I understand what the purpose of a sanding sealer is and what a primer does (this video explains it very well). But I 'm still confused whether I have to use a sanding sealer. Darren from DC paint solutions says it's not necessary, but I could use a sanding sealer if it makes me more comfortable. I 'm leaning towards using the acrylic sanding sealer from Chestnut Products (I 'm aware that some people in this forum have used their cellulose version), but what's your take? The guitar body I 'm going to paint is made of alder.
2. The guitar body has a couple of tiny cracks because of wood knots. Is it better to use an epoxy resin or a wood filler? If a filler works then I have a multipurpose one from a previous wood project (a wooden server rack, design here for anybody interested). It's this one here.
3. @Danny1969 You mentioned a halogen lamp. How many Watts did you use? I see that Toolstation has this for only ~£23 and it's 2x400W.
   

Happy to read your feedback. Thanks again!  

Jeremiah

All I can say about painting with spray cans is that getting a good finish is far beyond my skill, but getting a finish that looks OK from 20 feet away in the dark is easy.