Paint for guitar

[Kickassicalead]

I was just wondering what the best paint for putting initials or something on a guitar would be?

[ESP_Viper]

I have never painted on or repainted a guitar before. But I would say in general you want a very durable paint. It has to be able to withstand constant rubbing for a very long time. If i was going to repaint a guitar I would take off all the parts I could from the body, sand off the paint down to the original wood, paint, then put lots of coats of durable glossy clearcoat.

[the_doors_girl]

HI

Wow what a good and interesting question we got here today. I to have never painted a guitar but just thinking out loud I would say go talk to your local guitar shop. They know alot about stuff like this cause if you were thinking about this question chances are that they have been asked it at least a dozen times. Also if you ask them maybe they could offer some helpful advise as to tools and other things that you may need. :cool:

See ya

[A Major Seventh]

Here is a great site about guitar repair:
http://www.guitar-tech.net/

What I want to know, is why you have to take off all the old paint.
Why can't you just patch it up and respray over it?

[Kickassicalead]

Get a non gloss model paint and use a air brush to do it just dont paint any parts other thant he body

[ESP_Viper]

What I was saying for taking off all the old paint is if you want to change the color of the guitar. Not patching chips. For patching chips I would say take it to a tech that is capable of doing that kind of stuff.

[Slash]

Come on guys..He just wants to paint his initials or *something* on his guitar....What is the need for stripping & repainting etc...

Just get any durable/fast drying paints (I'd say the standard fabric paints are great).

[ESP_Viper]

You need a durable paint. Because all parts on a guitar get hit, rubbed, dinged, etc and the paint needs to be able to withstand that... but other than that I don't know actually what type to use.

[jaytee]

out on a limb here....
i really dont think i would ever do such a thing to my guitar....just like id never put a bumper sticker on my car...but....

i would imagine air brushing is going to be your solution...and...unless youve air brushed before....youd do well to take it somewhere to have it done...you will spend too much money on the equipment just to do a lousy job....
i also would think if you did air brush a design on you might want to put another coat of polyurethane or laquer over the entire guitar....(and YES....any time you do something like that you need to fine sand the entire surface...this is a big project)

really i think this is awful extreme....
if it were me and i REEEEALLY felt like i needed to add a design....id probably look into a sticker or maybe even a paint marker....so that if i got tired of it or didnt like it or it started to show wear i could remove it easily with some naphtha and a bit of elbow grease....which you can buy for like 4 bucks at a hardware store....

im no expert...but these are my thoughts...

--jt

[Slash]

Guys....

If what you really want are decals and custom art, Go with what Jaytee says. The Inkjet Decal papers stick acceptably even on the smooth guitar surfaces and can be removed easily if needed. Best of all they dont look out of place.
Check the pic out.. I got it from

http://www.mcgpaper.com/inkjetguitde.html

[Coffee]

Careful guys. Its not all as simple as that. My guitar, a Yamaha AEX502 is finished with nitrocellulose lacquer. This stuff is absolutely allergic to anything with vinyl in it. Lay it on vinyl or paint it with the wrong stuff and it will destroy your finish. The only thing I didn't like about the guitar was the fact that it didn't have an indicator of where you volume or tone was set so I wanted to put a couple of small dots on it so I could be sure. I'm very concerned with the tone I'm producing.

To place the dots I knew what I wanted to do was use a nitrocellulose lacquer for the dots. Where to find it? Okay, just don't tell anyone I told you. Go to the drugstore and buy the nitrocellulose lacquer color of your choice. You guessed it. Most nail polishes use it. Just check the ingredients. Check with the manufacturer for the type of paint on your particular guitar and then find out what you can use on it. Do a search on your favorite search engine for guitar finishes. I imagine you could do letters with this as well. If the guitar is of any value to you I'd say hire an artist to do it. (Fortunately, my son is excellent.)

One other thing. On high quality accoustic instruments the finish has a huge effect on the tone of the instrument. If it needs to be refinished, take it to a professional luthier. A Stradivarius violin with original varnish just sold for in excess of $1 Million U.S. (No, that's not a misprint.) One that's been refinished? Lucky to get a few thousand for it. Unfortunately, his varnish formula has been lost forever.

[jaytee]

hey coffee....

if i may ask....
how old is that guitar?
i am just wondering because all the stuff ive read said that most guitars these days are using polyurethane...lacquer isnt as common anymore....
i guess i kind of assumed Kick's guitar was pretty new and probably polyurethane.....but yeah...youre right......he should find out what hes got before he does anything....and check for chemical reactions...
however..i believe naphtha is good for any type of finish...im sure ive read that more than once....
but i didnt know that nitrocellulose lacquer would react with VINYL!
youd think theyd avoid using it on a guitar.....with all the vinyl stuff in the world...vinyl furniture...vinyl pants....etc etc

--jt
(omg i said vinyl pants...hahahaha)