The Fool

Hi Jimmy,

  You wouldn't happen to know any "bikers" or "hot rod" car buffs would you?  Paint shops that cater to clients looking for radical graphics for their "wheels" usually will have some talent in the use of air brushes and an artistic bent.  You know I have some friends (I have to include myself in this group), who have done or are doing that kind of "art", and the chance to try something on a different "canvas" just intrigues the heck out of our kind.  I've done a few guitars in my time and if the body is stripped of all the hardware and "sealed" ready for the magic to begin, it does not require a lot of materials or time to squirt the color layers and clear topcoat.  I would take a photo of the effect you are looking for and ask around the auto paint shops for advise.  You might just bump into one of us curious types and get a really outstanding result for a killer price.  To give you an idea... my first guitar painted for somebody other than me, I did for free using left over materials from paying jobs, just for the fun of it.

  Good Luck and Take Care;
  Doug

Hi Jimmy,

  Actually getting a good finish is not that difficult, but spraying is the best option for applying any finish (no brush stroke tracks).
There are some cool composite finishes out there that would look really nice on an electric body, including crystalline and color changing. I think it is Alsa coatings that makes one that even changes color with the temperature. www.alsacorp.com/

  If you are dealing with a raw wood body, the most time consuming thing is getting it properly sealed and sanded so that your topcoats don't just soak into the wood.  That usually requires at least three coats of clear wood sealer and sanding between coats with progressively finer grits of abrasives.  If you use an acrylic laquer based sealer, you won't have to worry about acrylic enamels and urethanes reacting adversly with the undercoating.  Here's a tip for you... if you are using an acrylic enamel color that requires a catalyst, use the compatible acrylic urethane hardener in that color coat. That way if you do not like the final gloss, or you have a tape edge to deal with, you can freely apply a urethane clear topcoat with the same hardener in it to build to a smooth result.  Some hardeners don't play well together and it is a real bummer to have the whole thing go wrinkle finish on the final clearcoat.  If your body is already painted and you want to repaint, you will have to seal that other coating also, and I would recommend one of the single step epoxy sealers for that. I happen to like DuPont Corlar, but it is white and nearly impossible to sand if you get any flaws in the sealer coat.

Take Care;

Doug