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GTJem's Painting Guide
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BriGuy  





Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 1894
Location: Boston

PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:46 pm    Post subject: GTJem's Painting Guide Reply with quote

Sticker removal:
To remove stickers from your guitar without leaving behind a sticky residue there, I would recommend only using Goo Gone.
Apply the goo gone to the sticker while it is still whole. Let it soak in for a minute or two and peel off the sticker. Wipe it down after.
It is also safe to use rubbing alcohol or WD-40 to clean up the sticky residue.
DO NOT USE: Acetone (nail polish remover), Goof Off, heat, gasoline, lighter fluid, paint thinner, turpentine, water, or razors.


Check the Guitar Modding 101 guide that has several threads on how to dissasemble your particular guitar model. In general, all you need is either a small thin philips head screwdriver or a Torx T-10 wrench for the 360 GH models. Keep all of the pieces organized so you can easily reassemble your guitar later.


Big thanks go out to the author of the majority of this guide: GTJem who is the owner/operator of a great custom guitar skin website: www.herogear.net


Prep
The work you do before any painting begins is called prep. If you are using Krylon Fusion paint the alcohol wipe down is sufficient to begin painting. If you are using any other type of paint, or you’re overly cautious, you should sand down the surface before your first application. For general paint prep use either 400 or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper (the higher the number the finer the grit), and always sand wet. To sand something wet you'll need a container of water (I use an empty country crock tub), your sandpaper, and some paper towels. Tear off several pieces of sand paper approximately 2X3 inches and put them in your container of water, make sure you let them set in the container at least one minute before you begin sanding as this will help soften the backing on the sandpaper and make it more pliable. Pull a piece out of the water and begin sanding the surface of the guitar, you don't have to use any pressure when you sand, let the paper do the work. As you sand the paper will clog with particles remove from the guitar, when this happens, or your surface is no longer wet, dunk you piece of paper back in the bucket, this will clean the paper and give you more water for the surface. The surface should be wet at all times while sanding, there is no such thing as too much water, another method would be to sit on the edge of you bathtub with the water running and run the part under the water occasionally to keep it wet. As you work an area, occasionally wipe it dry with paper towels to see if more work in that area is needed. When properly sanded the surface should have a dull even appearance, any bright spots means that area needs more work. After all sanding is completed, rinse off and dry the parts, this can be followed with the alcohol wipe down when you are ready to begin painting.

Painting technique
How you spray your paint is more important than what brand you use, even the cheapest spray can paint can make you SG look beautiful, if it is applied properly. NEVER spray on heavy coats, if the paint is dripping off of the bottom of the piece wipe it off as best you can, let it dry, and sand it back down. Paint that is applied too thickly will never dry properly, and will not give you a durable finish. The directions that are printed on the can are EXACTLY right; always do as they say because they have formulated that paint to be sprayed that way. Also practice your strokes without depressing the nozzle at least once before you actually spray, a smooth even pass is very important.

First coat of paint
Your first coat of paint is the most critical; remember everything you do wrong at this stage will only get worse with each additional layer. The first coat should be very light, you should still see some of the original color showing through. This is often referred to as a “dusted” or “tack” coat. Let it set the appropriate time as per the directions on the can, before spraying the next coat (usually 5-15 minutes) This next coat of paint is your first “true” coat of paint, it should cover evenly and no original color should be showing through.

Additional coats
All subsequent coats should be sprayed just like your first “true” coat, a nice even coat over the entire surface. What happens at this point depends on what design you are painting. If you are spraying a single solid color design you have two options, clear coat or no clear coat. I highly recommend applying a clear coat as it has several benefits that will extend the life of you paint job. Clear dries to a harder finish than paint, and it adds additional layers that help keep you from wearing off the finish. If you are planning on spraying a clear, you should spray two to three colors coats, then let it dry for at least 24 hours before spraying the clear. If you are NOT using a clear, then apply three to five coats of color (these extra coats will be needed for the color sanding). If you are spraying a multi-color design, the possibilities are endless; I could fill this entire forum with the different ways and techniques of custom painting. But for a simple designs (EVH, Union Jack, rising sun, ect) You should spray two base coats, let it dry for 24 hours, mask it off, and spray the next color. You want to minimize the number of coats of each additional color, to prevent there from being a ridge at the edges of the masking. The proper order for this type of job would be to spray the lightest color first, as it will need the most coats for coverage. Followed by the next darkest color, and so on, making sure to allow 24 hours between colors. This technique will allow you to only need to spray one to two coats of each color and still achieve full color coverage, which will also help minimize the ridge between colors. I would always apply a clear coat on any multi-color job, if no other reason than to protect the edges of each color since they would be the most vulnerable to chipping.

Masking
Masking your design is a very critical step, and you must use the correct products to achieve good results. Only use blue painters tape for masking off designs, 3M makes the best but other brands will work. Never use plain masking tape, scotch tape, or packing tape as the adhesive on these types of tape can cause all sorts of problems, ranging from bleed under to pulling up paint. Make sure your paint has set up for at least 24 hours before applying masking, and don’t mask off your design until you are ready to spray the next color as leaving masking on for long periods of time can also cause problems. After spraying your next color you MUST remove the masking, I usually wait 10 to 15 minutes after spraying to remove the masking. Even if you are spraying additional colors, remove all masking, then re-mask when you are ready to spray your next color. There are two main reasons for this; first removing the masking before the paint dries helps prevent the masking from pulling up the fresh paint along the edges, and second it will allow the edge to sag slightly as it dries so you don’t have a hard edge between colors.

Types of paint
There has been much debate about what type or brand of paint to use. The brand isn’t important, but don’t mix brands without testing them together first as they can cause problems due to differences in formulation. I can say that as long as you stick to one brand you will not have compatibility problems. The one exception to this is with the Fusion paints. Because this paint has strong chemicals designed to soften plastic to allow better adhesion, I would only use them for the base coat in a multi-color design followed by regular Krylon paint for additional colors. The extra bonding chemicals only help adhesion to plastic, when sprayed over previous layers of paint it will melt into the earlier layers and cause bleeding problems under any masking. The additional advantage of not using Fusion paint for all of your colors is a wider selection of colors.

Clearing
Adding a clear coat to you paint job has several advantages over not using one. Clear paint is harder than color paint, because it doesn’t contain pigment, the harder the finish the longer it will last. Adding a clear will also help smooth the edges between colors on a multi-color design, and help prevent the edges from chipping. If you are not planning to color sand and polish the finish, then two to three coats of clear is enough. If you plan on polishing, then apply three to five coats of clear to allow for the removal of material during the polishing process without cutting into the color coats. Clear should be applied just like pigmented paint, the first coat should be a light “tack” coat (which should not be counted as a full coat), followed by additional heavier coats at the intervals recommended by the clear you are using. If you are planning to polish out the finish, wait at least one week before beginning that process. You could color sand and polish the finish after 24 hours, but the deeper layers of clear haven’t fully cured by that time and additional changes in the surface will occur requiring you to polish it again.

I hope this guide will help answer all your questions about painting, I will add a section on color sanding and polishing at a later date.


Additional posts

GTJem wrote:
The ability to re-sand between coats depends on the type of paint being used. If you are using opaque paint, then you can sand at any time, I wouldn't use anything courser than 400 grit though as it will leave sanding scratches that your next coat can't level out. On candies, pearls, and tinting clears (the second stage of color shifting paint is a tinting clear) you CAN NOT sand between coats because it will alter the color in the area where you sanded.
This rule also holds true when preparing to clear, so it is VERY important that you avoid all contaminates when using transparent colors since you can't sand them out.


GTJem wrote:
Most paints don't fully cure for 5-7 days, and will be especially tacky when up against another painted object. Also the added thickness of paint on the buttons can be a real problem, as there is very little clearance to begin with. Did you also paint the fret board? If you did that also adds to the problem. Take it apart and wait for a week, then colorsand and polish the paint on both the buttons and the button holes in the fret board, the smoother the painted surface the better they will work. The worst case is you sprayed too much paint on the buttons, which would mean you need to sand them down and start over.


Painting fading colors:
GTJem wrote:
Let's see if I can answer all your questions.

The best way to spray is light to dark, if you can find a light blue in Fusion paint that you like it will not need any basecoat.
Spray the entire controller with the fusion paint first, let it set for 2 days before spraying your royal blue. The Royal blue should
NOT be fusion paint, get regular Krylon for this color. An old trick of painting fades with rattle cans is to spray at a large angle from the surface, I'll try to explain.

Normal way to spray:

Paint can Surface to paint
| |
| |

Painting a fade:

Paint can Surface to paint
| /
| /

You should spray at about a 45 degree angle from your surface, make sure your tilting your surface not your spray can.
You will work from the bottom, the part that you want darkest (in your case the whammy side) and work up towards the point where you want the fade to start.
I would take some cardboard and practice with a couple of cans of regular Krylon, they're cheap and it will save you from screwing up your controller.

They sell clear coat in rattle cans, Krylon calls theirs Crystal Clear, and it's always a good idea to clear your finish.
Clear by virtue of not having any pigment in it is a much harder surface than paint, and will make your paint job last longer.


Stenciling:
GTJem wrote:
the type of stencil depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. If you're trying to make simple designs with a soft edge to them, you can cut your stencils from thin cardstock. Manila file folders work very well for this, and are nice and cheap. You can adjust the softness of the edges by how far off the surface you hold the stencil. If you are working on more detailed work that needs clean defined edges, you need to go to a hobby/craft store and buy some Frisket film. Some of the stores that carry this would be Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or MJ Designs. This stencil material is for airbrushing, and will be found on the same isle as the airbrush supplies. It is a thin clear sheet with a adhesive backing. You place it directly on the surface to be painted and then cut out the areas to be painted using a X-Acto knife, make sure you have a sharp blade and cut VERY lightly. You don't want to cut into the surface. Also remember that you must remove the masking BEFORE the new paint dries, waiting until the paint dries will cause lifting around the edges of the mask.


Adding silver highlights

BriGuy wrote:
I've noticed people complaining about sticky buttons after painting the neck. This may be obvious to some but here are pictures of how I masked off the button area with painters tape It's less sticky tape that is thin enough to get clean edges. I cut a strip about I dunno 3-4 inches and used the natural straight edge to rim the inside of the fret button holes. This should prevent most if not all paint from hitting the inner surface of the button sleeve.






Guide to painting your fret buttons


BriGuy wrote:

So you messed up painting your guitar? Your gonna need to strip the paint on that bad boy and start again?
Don't use regular paint strippers because most are not safe to use with plastics. They will melt and soften the plasic. So what do you do?
I recently had the displeasure of this exact scenario and needed to find a solution other than sanding it all down. I needed to find a plastic safe paint stripper so I called up a local hobby store (Tech Toys in Parsippany, NJ) and found this:


It is safe for plastics, non-caustic, biodegradable, environmentaly safe, water soluable, and works like a charm.

Call your local hobby store or find their products at www.chameleonproductsonline.com


Black_Heaven wrote:
Just wanted to point any and everyone that's interested in chrome to AlsaCorp.

http://www.alsacorp.com/products/killercans/kc/killerchrome_price.htm

This is the best chrome paint I have ever seen. You actually get a mirror like finish instead of just a very bright silver. It is expensive but well worth it for it's results. Also they have alot of other cool stuff I think anyone interested in painting their controllers should check out. So take a look at their site over all.

http://www.alsacorp.com/


Black_Heaven wrote:
Just figured I'd also bring up that there are plastic primers out there. Works like two sided tape, adheres to the plastic and any paint you spray on top of it sticks as it should. I just got done using HoKs Shimrins to paint my SG and it turned out awesome. Used the clear pastic primer then just went from there.
Well the cool thing about the HoK Shimrin line is that it's available in 6oz. spray cans, thanks in part to Plasti-kote, that can be found at Wal-Mart and probably auto parts stores. It's a simple 3 step process, well 4 since you have to use the clear plastic primer. But none the less only prep work is to clean the surface to be painted.

Check it out.

http://www.plastikote.com/plastikote/auto/whatsnew.jsp


Black_Heaven wrote:
I used Plastikote's House of Kolor Kandys and Pearls 3 step paint process, well 4 if you include the plastic primer, umm well 5 if you include surface prep. It comes in spray cans but is still a bit pricey, about $8-11 dollars a can, each can being 6oz.. Check out the Plastikote site for a bit more info.

Kandys - http://www.plastikote.com/plastikote/auto/template.jsp?searchcode=RES&product=ShimrinsKandys

Pearls - http://www.plastikote.com/plastikote/auto/template.jsp?searchcode=RES&product=ShimrinsPearls

There you can learn a bit on the painting process of kandys and pearls.
Hope that helps. There are other ways of getting the same effect but not many will shine as bright.


GTJem wrote:

Frisket is a specially designed plastic film for creating masking. It is used extensively to do airbrushing as it won't lift the delicate airbrush paints.
I strongly suggest the Fusion for a base coat, then you can spray any type of Krylon over it, just don't use another color of Fusion as it will melt into the base coat. Gloss, satin, or flat white won't effect your final finish. You can use all flat paints if you apply a gloss clear over it, you still get a gloss finish.

A white basecoat is best for opaque colors, as it will make your colors their brightest. If you use a dark basecoat, your colors will be darker and dull looking. If you are going to use Candies or Pearls you will need to do an additional step. Candies require a silver or gold undercoat before spraying the candy, this is needed because candies are translucent. Pearls have many different requirements, make sure to read the can to make sure you have everthing you need before choosing these.

I wouldn't do more than two basecoats. Color coats will depend on the type of paint (as candies can take many coats) but 2-3 will work in most cases. If you are planning to colorsand and polish your finish then I would use 4-5 coats of clear. The reason for the increased clear is because you will be sanding and polishing away 2 coats during the process.



wumpus's Sparkle effect tutorial

lygalday1212's Three-tone sunburst tutorial


GTJem wrote:
...I'm about to do another custom paintjob, and this time I will be taking lots of pictures along the way. As soon as I get finished, I will be completely redoing the painting guide. This time it will be step by step with pictures of every step.
Still waiting Jem
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Last edited by BriGuy on Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:03 am; edited 9 times in total
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rude95841  





Joined: 18 Aug 2006
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Location: chico ca

PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 10:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

this is an awesome guide.

explaining how to carefully take the controller apart to paint the pieces would be usefull also.

I know when i took mine apart, as I pulled the top from the bottom i watched a spring fly out and acrossed the room.

anyways if i had know before hand i would have been more carefull.
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BriGuy  





Joined: 04 Mar 2006
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I posted that link in the Guitar Modding 101 thread, but I might as well include it here too.

Last edited by BriGuy on Thu Aug 30, 2007 7:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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KoGCommando  





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PostPosted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

guys would paint that goes on plastic work??
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BriGuy  





Joined: 04 Mar 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

KoGCommando wrote:
guys would paint that goes on plastic work??

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Which product are you talking about.
If it is paint that specifies that it works on plastic, that sounds okay. But keep in mind that there are a lot of different kinds of plastic and they can react differently.


Last edited by BriGuy on Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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demigod75360  





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PostPosted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:38 pm    Post subject: Re: GTJem's Painting Guide Reply with quote

okay will i be able to spray the guitar without making it ibcrease in size?
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RiskyBusiness  





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PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 12:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

do you HAVE to sand? I am painting my controller next week and would like to avoid sanding.
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DeanHartley  





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PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I started painting my LP today, and since I'm using Krylon Fusion, I just whiped it down good with alcohol.
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GTJem  





Joined: 07 Mar 2007
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Location: Bedrock, Texas

PostPosted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 6:45 am    Post subject: Now making painted faceplates Reply with quote

Since so many people have followed/read my guide, I had an oppertunity drop in my lap, so I thought I'd share. I managed to buy a good number of the Sex Pistols facepates for a penny apiece. So I am custom painting them and auctioning them on Ebay to raise money for the new equipment I need.
The first one just went up today, I'll be adding more as I get them finished. These are originals, there will be no duplicates. I may make some of them carbon fiber, and some will be mixed media designs (paint and graphics under clear)

They will be listed under the xbox360 accesories section, here is the first one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=150185400587&Category=122517&_trksid=p3907.m29
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MasterAce  





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PostPosted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DeanHartley wrote:
I started painting my LP today, and since I'm using Krylon Fusion, I just whiped it down good with alcohol.


Is it necessary to sand the LP faceplate?
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GTJem  





Joined: 07 Mar 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are using fusion, just an alcohol wipedown will do just fine.
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thedark1wot  





Joined: 09 Nov 2007
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:22 pm    Post subject: airbrushing vs spaypaint Reply with quote

i want to do a jet black background w/ a monster logo/name on front and back which would be better jet black+neon green i would like a detailed reply please seeing as ima newb painter lol also anyone think that would be a cool idea?
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MLdemon137  





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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

this might have been answered already, but if i had stickers on my SG before i wanted to paint it. i removed the stickers, but that sticky gunk is still on there, i tried using household cleaners(Ok for plastics), and im sick of wiping it down many times over with no affect. so my question is that when im sanding down the whole guitar, sould i just sand off the gunk, or would it not work right.
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BriGuy  





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PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The sticker residue will gunk up your sandpaper and make it a more difficult job. Just get some Goo Gone to remove the stickers. It's a citrus based product that loosens stickers and works like a charm.

Last edited by BriGuy on Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
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MLdemon137  





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PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i used 220 sandpaper with water and after about 30 minutes of sanding, wiping, sanding, wiping, scraping, sanding. wiping and checking, it got most of it off. this was on the red on the black pickgaurd it came right off with no residue at all
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