OT, About painting a guitar in Automotive paint

I have a question for the musicians on here. I know this isnt really an automotive question but becuz its gonna be done in flake i thought someone on here may be able to help answer it.

My friend has a Fender knock off type electric guitar (westone spectrum), cheaper version, and wants to flake it. She was talking with a music shop here and they told her NOOOO dont do that it will ruin the sound, as well NEVER use automotive paint on a guitar... I have seen flaked guitars and such before, can anyone out there help me out on this question... can it be painted without ruining it? Can it be painted in automotive paints?

Thanks

 

Ever heard the color Candy Apple Red? How about Inca Silver? Both popular colors from Fenders 'Custom Color' line in the 60's. Except Fender didn't design those colors.

DuPont did.

Almost all Fender custom colors were automotive paints back then. Anything you put on a guitar is going to effect the sound on some level, whether you can hear it or not. But type of wood, weight, bridge type and most importantly, pickups, are the things that will change the sound of a guitar. Not paint.

Tell her to pick a pretty color, prep the guitar very well, and get spraying!

 

Do yourself a favor, go to www.reranch.com. They sell every Fender color ever in nitro-cellulose lacquer. It comes in aerosol cans believe it or not. They also sell ambered clears, neck amber, everything to re-finish a guitar. Me and a buddy have done 3 guitars with their stuff, all with killer results. As already suggested, candy apple red, lake placid blue, inca silver would all be good for a "flakey" feel. This is my '59 Jazzmaster, done in olympic white with a bit of ambered clear. Hope this helps.

 

I just did one in PPG base clear.
Its black with black diamond flake, customer loves it.
It came out nice.

 

I did a stand up bass a while ago. White DuPont Base with Dupont Blue flames on it, with HOK blue flake, DuPont Clear. No problems at all. I would say to at leat prime it in HOK's Epoxy Primer. It adheres great to anything and is compatible with wood as well.

 

I've done a couple with base coat clear coat for other people. Never had any complaints about the sound quality.

 

We did a bunch of guitars with automotive paint in the 80's.
Even had a business "Mojo Guitar design"
Did a couple bases for Eddie Jackson in Queensryche !! yeaaaheee.
(that was my heavy metal scream)
And all the guitars the pop sensation of Seattle "Red Platinum" used on stage.

 

I've painted several, my own and customers never any complaints as to a change in tone.

 

I used to repair guitars for a living (over 15 years), and all the paint I ever used was automotive acrylic lacquer (except when Gibson sent nitrocellulose lacquer for warranty work).
You just have to be smarter than the usual body shop guy about guitars, plug the right holes, and have some respect for the instrument. (No disrespect to body shops intended)
Most big time makers were using automotive paint, some even used auto enamel, and two-part epoxy paint.
It won't ruin the sound (unless you put a whole gallon on the thing).
And finally - most players can't tell the difference anyway. I know whereof I speak!

 

Hi,

I can't imagine that it would cause any problems... Ever see Dick Dale? He painted his in a wild gold/lime green metal flake, way back in the late 50's. He still plays it, and the sound is unreal... I was in a guitar shop in Memphis back in the late 90's and some guy was talking about the show. The first thing he said was "That's the way a Strat should sound"... I would only assume they must have used automotive paint. Just in case you don't know who I'm talking about, visit:

http://www.dickdale.com/

The guy is one of greats....

Hope that helps!

Kevin

 

hey,

I can't advise on paintin' "gee-tars", but I've painted pianos before,
and in solid black .
As the finish of musical insterments is largely cosmetic, not for pro-
tection, use light film builds. Sand the body to perfection using little
or no surfacer and piss-coat,finish coats.

Swankey Devils C.C.

 

I had the painter at the dealership I used to work at paint my guitars with auto paint. He turned one that was black into a bright white. He turned another that was a grey/gold metallic into silver with black flames. Both looked bad ass and the sound didn't change. You couldn't get a better look or color from the manufacturer.

 

For an instrument like a violin, mandolin or an acoustic guitar, the type of finish would affect the sound. But for a solid body electric strat copy, I don't see that happening.

 

I was wrong. Paint will not affect tone or sound on a solid body guitar.
Unless you are an oscilloscope.

 

I painted one once. It worked out fine. Didnt seem to effect the sound of an electric guitar according to the customer. You can alter the sound so much that it wouldnt really matter i wouldnt think......

 

I've done a BUNCH of them, all in modern paints, mostly HOK urethane candies, pearls.
Agree with Billy (how about that!!!), I use HOK epoxy to seal the wood, so no graining comes up later.
No one ever complained...even had one I did "tuned" by a famous guitar guy in NJ, who does Springsteen's instruments (Parillo ?, or something), who really dug the double ghost flames. Again, no complaints about sound quality.
Even did one in a tie-die pattern, in HOK pastel pearls, to match a musician's favorite shirt!!!!!!!!!!

 

The resonance of the wood is a product of how dense it is and it's weight. If you were to add several pounds of paint to the guitar then you may have some issues with sustain. Cheap guitars sound cheap because of construction methods and materials, i.e. cheap pots and poorly wound pickups. I think the most decerning musician would have trouble hearing any difference at all, if any.

 

Oh come on Mark like this is the first time we've ever agreed. Tie-die pattern, hmpf hippie!! JK haha.

 

i painted a fender knock off guitar with krylon spray bombs. krylon sun yellow, followed by a coat of spray glitter (found in the craft dept. at wal mart)wetsanded and then followed by about 10 coats of krylon clear. the glitter spray added the flake (it's rainbow flakes). in my opinion, the paint didn't hurt the sound at all. i have messed with guitars for about 20 years, and still can not figure out how the paint could hurt the sound...the sound is produced through the pickups. i can understand how the wood will add to the resonance...but i don't understand how paint type can hurt it. oh yeah, i painted this guitar 3 years ago, and the krylon is holding up great...and it shines like crazy.

 

Yeah you are right , I just went back and looked at the source of my info and it was speaking of losing tone with laminates not paint. I probably mixed that info with the different wood resonance issue and came up with wrong info. Paint away!!!!

 

Isn't he the guy with the razor sharp sideburns?

 

Friend of mine is a paint and body guy. He just painted his J-bass, and it had FLAKES in it! I'm talking 80's bass boat kind of flakes. And it still sounds thunderous. Didn't bother the sound too much at all. He can't play worth a damn, but it sounds ok.

 

Mostly I play acoustics. I try to leave on the original finish, if it's a vintage piece - otherwise I strip 'em down to bare wood, to let those pores breathe. But on a solidbody electric - it's rod and custom time! Cosmetically, anything goes, since the tone is all up to the pickups. Be creative and have fun...

 

Cool site, thanks for posting.

 

Ive restored a bunch of guitars, I like laquer the best But have used automotive paints a few times. The only hard parts is all the grain filler and sand n sealer coats you have to put on before you get can prime it, then you can paint it with almost any finishes. Even when you think all the grain is filled once the max hardenin time is reached the grain will still start to show, thats why you have to go over it again and again with all the sealer coats before paint.

takes along time lot of work and alot of block sanding etc..to get a pro lookin finish. The reranch website is a good one

 

Ok, I'll take the other side here. I am a touring guitar tech and have played more than one guitar that have had a base/clear finish, where there used to be nitro lacquer, and didn't like it. Neither did the guitar player I was working for. I don't like the feel of the automotive clear coats, especially on the neck. It can be too smooth causing more friction on your hand resulting in a slower neck. It also did seem to choke the guitar. This occurs on cheap import guitars also, as they are often finished with polyester, it's impervious but it's super durable and buffs out well, like an auto clear coat. I agree that a lot of the tone comes from pickups and other design qualities, but there is a reason some guitars are way better than others. Lacquer is meant to "breathe," and is traditional for fretted instruments. A lot of those Fender DuPont colors were NITROCELLULOSE LACQUER, the automakers phased it out in favor of more high tech resins. Nitro Lacquer as a finish/topcoat is also traditional because of its repairability. The coats melt into each other resulting in one film, as opposed to several layers.
Having said all of that, if your friend just wants a sparkly guitar, paint and seal it however you like, just keep it to light coats.
I am building and repairing guitars when not on tour and built this guitar. I am experimenting with waterbased lacquers with mixed results. I did this guitar as follows: grain fill (mahogany), prime, DuPont Chromobase color, pinstriped with HOK, seal/topcoat lacquer. I am about to finish some more guitars, and am going to try Auto-Air Colors waterbase colors and flakes.

 

Here's my bass. The basecoat was black and the flames were airbrushed with Dodge Viper red, yellow and white - all automotive paints. The flame borders were pinstriped and the whole thing was shot with clearcoat. In addition, I have about 25 automotive and band stickers on the sides. A symphony player might be able to hear the differences in tone, but playing ampllified at loud volumes, I guarantee nobody can tell the difference. Hell, I can't tell the difference amplified OR acoustic.

Look at King Doublebass. They sell "Sparkle King" model upright basses with beautuful big metal flake and they are some of the best made touring basses in the business.

...and yes, I painted my bass and my car the same!

 

That looks like a cross between piss yellow and puke green!

 

Zaemo, I really like your work. That guitar looks great. I will agree with you on the neck finishes, clear on the back of a neck is really sticky in sweaty hands.

And although I don't think base/clear would really affect the sound, playability is another thing to consider. I built my Jbass from scratch using Warmoth parts and an American neck and it's only stained in tung oil. It has no finish at all. My forearm and palms would get wore out rubbing against the finish on my last guitar.