spraying a guitar body with car paints/varnish?

axisus

spraying a guitar body with car paints/varnish, is that a no-go or can it be done?

Just wondering. 

WezV

what do you mean by car paints/varnish? 

before some pedantic sod points out nitro was a car paint, and fender custom colours were mostly car colours available at the time

 

axisus

WezV said:

what do you mean by car paints/varnish? 

before some pedantic sod points out nitro was a car paint, and fender custom colours were mostly car colours available at the time

Stuff from Halfords. Easy to obtain!

more

If your talking about the type of  spray paint you might   find in  Halfords  , it can  be good . It is  important to use a good quality primer that is a suitable colour  for  the  top coat . The  primer must be rubbed down  with decreasing grits of wet and dry . You need to  keep the wood dry , so there is a need to be carful with the water . The primers should look like it is the top  coat before you  can spray on the  finish . If you have never used spray cans , try and buy some odd discounted tins to practise with . The art of it is to spray  a  coat the is not too thin , and not so thick it runs . It is a combination of being the right distance from what your spraying  and moving at the right seed . The nozzles on the cans  clog up , so it is worth buying some  spares. it is  easier to replace them,  than cleaning them. I have seen replacements  with different sprays and ones with a  handle, but I have never used them.      You can always rub down again if you need to.   

Kalimna

Honestly, i would spend the extra and go with Steve Robinsons' cans. Top notch stuff, and a better product for guitars than you're likely to get at Halfords.

davros

The only times I've used Halfords car paint, it's never hardened properly, marked by a fingernail years later.

Never had a problem with Steve's nitro cans, well worth the extra cost.

munckee

I also would go with nitro, although I’ve sprayed guitars with various general spray paints and clear coated over the top and always been fine. 

If you are spraying over poly you can just rough up with sand paper and start spraying. 

axisus

Actually I've used Steve's Nitro on all my guitars so far, I just wondered about doing something different.

Kalimna

If you're after something different, why not go the oiling route with dye?

axisus

Kalimna said:

If you're after something different, why not go the oiling route with dye?

because I'm doing a painting on the body!

Kalimna

axisus said:

Kalimna said:

If you're after something different, why not go the oiling route with dye?

because I'm doing a painting on the body!

Ahhh, that would do it

more

The quality of Halfords paint  Is  good . But you might find it expensive if your going to use many colours  . You can buy smaller cans of paint, on eBay  . Also,  model shops like Games warehouse sell small tins as well .   

axisus

more said:

The quality of Halfords paint  Is  good . But you might find it expensive if your going to use many colours  . You can buy smaller cans of paint, on eBay  . Also,  model shops like Games warehouse sell small tins as well .   

The painting process won't involve spraying, I'm just thinking about the lacquer to use afterwards.

WezV

davros said:

The only times I've used Halfords car paint, it's never hardened properly, marked by a fingernail years later.

Never had a problem with Steve's nitro cans, well worth the extra cost.

i had the same issue with one of my early guitars.  sprayed the back gloss black with Halfords paint.  waited 2 months to buff, it still picked up marks for about 2 years.

I did do one a few years later, but it was literally two light coats directly onto the wood for a sunken grain finish.  That coped better, but I wouldn't try to get a gloss finish on wood again.

also, they always had a round nozzle pattern rather than a fan, which leads to a much higher chance of getting runs.

axisus said:

Kalimna said:

If you're after something different, why not go the oiling route with dye?

because I'm doing a painting on the body!

What paints are you using?    The big question here is compatibility.

axisus

WezV said:

davros said:

The only times I've used Halfords car paint, it's never hardened properly, marked by a fingernail years later.

Never had a problem with Steve's nitro cans, well worth the extra cost.

i had the same issue with one of my early guitars.  sprayed the back gloss black with Halfords paint.  waited 2 months to buff, it still picked up marks for about 2 years.

I did do one a few years later, but it was literally two light coats directly onto the wood for a sunken grain finish.  That coped better, but I wouldn't try to get a gloss finish on wood again.

also, they always had a round nozzle pattern rather than a fan, which leads to a much higher chance of getting runs.

axisus said:

Kalimna said:

If you're after something different, why not go the oiling route with dye?

because I'm doing a painting on the body!

What paints are you using?    The big question here is compatibility.

Probably acrylic. Needless to say I would test any lacquer before using it!

mikem8634

I let my nieces loose with Posca Pens on a couple of guitar bodies. I've been getting some decent results with MTN glossy varnish over the top -

https://www.montanacolors.com/en/productos/varnish-water-based/

Got it from Graff City as it seemed the cheapest, plus an extra 6.4% off if you go via Quidco. Result!

axisus

mikem8634 said:

I let my nieces loose with Posca Pens on a couple of guitar bodies. I've been getting some decent results with MTN glossy varnish over the top -

https://www.montanacolors.com/en/productos/varnish-water-based/

Got it from Graff City as it seemed the cheapest, plus an extra 6.4% off if you go via Quidco. Result!

Ta, that's a definite contender!

mikem8634

axisus said:

mikem8634 said:

I let my nieces loose with Posca Pens on a couple of guitar bodies. I've been getting some decent results with MTN glossy varnish over the top -

https://www.montanacolors.com/en/productos/varnish-water-based/

Got it from Graff City as it seemed the cheapest, plus an extra 6.4% off if you go via Quidco. Result!

Ta, that's a definite contender!

Bit of an update on this. Please excuse a clueless novice.

Day 1 - did 3 light coats more than an hour apart

Left for a week

Day 2 - did 2 light coats and one 'wet' coat more that an hour apart

Sanded back to denib

Day 3 - did 3 light coats more than an hour apart

Day 4 - did 2 light coats and one 'wet' coat more that an hour apart

Left hanging in an airing cupboard for almost a week

It looks great, but is still tacky to the touch. So much so that it even sticks a little to anything it leans against. Enough to mark the finish.

Is this normal and just what to expect as it needs to cure?

Or have I (entirely possibly) screwed it up by spraying too thick and too quick and should I sand it back and start again?

WezV

it could be that your light coats are nto as light as someone else's, or it could be an incompatibility causing the issue

try to put it somewhere with ventilation, airing cupboard may sound ideal but if those fumes don't have anywhere to go they can slow the cure

mikem8634

Cheers @WezV

I'll give that a go

thermionic

Not guitars but I painted a pedal with halfords metallic blue and it was soft and sticky for months and months. Handling it left fingerprints, never mind fingernails. It also stuck to things.

I’ve just painted another with white gloss hammerite and it was rock hard within days (I left it on radiator).