Finishing a unfinished strat body Question

[Dave N.]

Hey fellas, Hope everyone is doing ok.

I have a question. I have an strat body made of basswood that has a very thin polyurathane finish that I did recently, but now I decided I would like to do a quick and simple paint job to this strat. Just one color, matte finish.

I have a korean made Ibanez RG320 that has this very cool looking gun metal matte finish that I really like and was thinking about doing the same kind of paint job on the strat body but I do not know what this thin paint is that Ibanez used for the matte finish paint job.

I'm not wanting to go hi gloss but the matte finish on the Ibanez seems to show no hand prints and wears well so I thought this would be an excellent type of paint to put on the strat body. Cool looking too.

Any one have any advice to do this kind of project or what paint the korean made Ibanez might have used for a matte finish?

Thanks

Dave N.

[rockinrendell]

you want to make sure you pick a paint type that is combatible with the polyurethane or you should strip it back down to bare wood. you should use a sealer before any finish is applied too. the old ones used nitorcelulose laquer, which is in my opinion the best. its easy to work with and easy to repair somewhat but can be damaged easy. polyurethane has more of an elasticity to it and is water proof. some of todays guitars use chemical urethanes and epoxy types. laquer is not combatible with polyurethane or other paints. it will lift previous finishes. acylic enamels are used on cars now days those should cover over your finish ok. you have to prep your surface before you start. give finish a good sanding with some 220/320 grit paper and work your way up to 800 or so. if you use coarser paper, the scratches will show through the new layers. sand between coats and recoat as directed. if your good you can use spray can finishes. i hope this helps and dont scare you away from doing it. my best advise is BE PATIENT!! let the finish cure properly before doing any wet sanding and buffing. some finishes you wont have to buff out. do research on your materials of choice. the keys to a good finish is 1-preration, prep real good or you could have unsatisfactory results,2-keep your work and your hands clean, contamination is a bitch(fisheyes,orange peel,etc),3 patience, wait,wait,wait and then wait some more. if you try to work with a soft finish it can roll,peel,rubthrough.

[Djinn Guitars]

For a matte finish I'd suggest a trip to your local auto body supply shop. A catalyzed urethane semi-gloss or satin is what I'd go for a true flat will show finger prints and dust. This does mean buying paint, catalyst, reducer, and retarder.

[rockinrendell]

catalized finishes are good tough finishes. if you put satin/flat finish on neck it will be turn glossy as you play, you hand acts as a buffer.

[Djinn Guitars]

If you use a flattening agent it will never take a gloss no matter how much you buff.

[rockinrendell]

what kind of products do that? ive thought about those too but, i dont have any experience with flattening agents. tell me more.

[Dave N.]

Wow, what a crazy past few weeks. The place where I work just riffed 3000 folks and in January letting go another 800. I have been working like mad to get through this and still have a job luckily, or at least till January...

Thanks all for the reply posting. I have considered putting on a flat black primer and just that only sinse I sort of like the flat look. Besides its a EVH style one HB body and I want to keep the finish thin as too keep tone.

Since I did originally used a hand rubbed polyurathane finish, what would a good can spray car paint primer that would go on but not melt the original polyurathane finish but would be hard enough to last?

Building guitars is fun but I always hated trying to do finishes and usually bought bodies already painted.

Thanks

Dave

[Chuck H]

If your going to use spray cans you should at least sand and dust/tack the surface before you start. There are lots of great satin finishes in spray cans. I REALLY don't recommend going flat. If you do it, you'll know why I say this in less than a week. Matt is OK as long as it has some sheen. Almost any quality brand would be fine. Some have special tips that do a better job than the standard "hole".

FWIW Ibanez used to use a two componant polyester finish. It was extemely tough. And nearly impossible to remove. I've stripped several guitars but trying to remove that polyester finish was a srtuggle with the best stripper. And I tried several others too. If your guitar has this finish I would never try to strip it.

Chuck