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How To Get A High Gloss Finish


BRguitarist17

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I've seen some successful clear coats and I've seen some bad ones. One guy tried to use that "pour and wait" clear coat that is meant for table tops. He wound up with a terribly unweighted job with most of the clearcoat at the bottom of the guitar.

 

The best way is to do what Lee suggested and get someone to spray it. Short of that, you can try doing it yourself by spraying it with very light layers of clearcoat and then a light sand and buff between each layer. The more layers the better it will look.

 

There are a few guys here that build guitars that may have step by step directions and/or pics. Hopefully some of them will chime in.

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My friend's brother owns a paint and collision shop. One time, I talked with him about how would I go about getting a high gloss clear finish on a guitar, just like BRguitarist wants to do. I figured out that it is much quicker, cheaper, and just plain better to let a professional do the job for you. He'll already have all the equipment and supplies you'll need for a finish you can be proud of.
I rock; therefore, I am.
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If you have it done, take the neck with you and show them the dye you intend to use while getting an estimate...My son-in-law finished his own neck (doing spray-on layers and sanding in-between) and it looks great. It was his first attempt, so it can be a DIY. +1 on having it done by a pro...
Take care, Larryz
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PRS and others use car clear, they wont tell you that but I had chip fixed on my PRS and the guy at the local paint shop did it and its perfect. Ask whats acceptable under it there are sealers that need to be sprayed after your stain. And your stain has to be compatible with your sealer and your clear. There are a few sites that will show you more on how to do it. One is eastwood supply.

 

Lok

if I find my how to paint your car book from 2005 book here I will try and post the clear coat process.

1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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The thing with a pro is, they'll have EXPERIENCE as well as pro spraying gear and a ventilated paint-booth to keep dust and crap out of it and buffing wheels and yada yada yada...

 

Not trying to talk you out of doing it yourself or discourage you, just telling you that I personally would strongly consider having an experienced pro do part or all of the job unless I could afford all that gear myself and really took my time...

 

All of the above having been said, go to ReRanch Guitar Refinishing for information, guitar finish related forum discussion, and supplies...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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I'll tell you what, a friend of mine who's a real world class pro uses water-based lacquer and his finishes look and feel amazing. Now, he is a real pro with decades of experience and pro equipment. But at least this tells you that water-based lacquer can be used to achieve a beautiful high-gloss finish.

 

Again, confer with the fine folks on the ReRanch forums that I threw you a link to above on this thread. They'll be an immense, experienced help to you in this.

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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Oddly, the best stuff, nitrocellulose lacquer, doesn't really do a "glassy" sort of finish. Acrylic lacquers will shine up pretty good. The glossiest stuff, polyurethane, isn't the best stuff for the job on a guitar. It's kind of like coating the guitar in plastic, and folks say it hurts the tone of the guitar by inhibiting resonation.

Whatever finish you decide to go with, the gloss is more from what you do while you're spraying, and after. It's about gradually spraying and sanding many layers until you build up a coat of even thickness, with as few irregularities as possible. Then you buff it and rub it out with very fine abrasives in rubbing compounds.

 

Hand-finishing is time-consuming & labor-intensive, and a big part of why fine guitars are so expensive. If you're going to do this, you really want to practice on something first, and get the techniques it requires down as well as you can before you start on the guitar. You need to learn to spray the finish on, how to sand it between coats so the final coat comes out even, and and how to rub the finish out. Bear in mind that you will be spraying finish on uneven and perpendicular surfaces, and it's not like spraying a flat surface. So, when you do your practicing, do it on more than just a flat board.

 

You will need a spraying booth so you can keep lint, dust, and other airborn particles out of the finish while it's wet, and the proper tools to do the rubbing and buffing. You will probably need two or three times the amount of lacquer or whatever finish you choose, sandpapers and buffing/rubbing compounds, etc than it would take an experienced painter to do the job. So, it's not gonna be cheap however you do it.

 

But, if you wanna learn to do woodwork, that's how it's done. Good luck.

 

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishing/Finishes,_solvents/i-1850.html

 

doing this route with the archtop semi hollow i'm building, gonna use the water based finish to bring out the quilt of the top, back and sides will be mahogany, and then a nice clear yellowed laquer on the top.

 

many ways to do it... i don't really want the high gloss, i found sometimes a satin finish looks better.

 

when i played with Dick Wagner a few months ago, his travel les paul is flat black, which seems kinda curious... until ya see it under lights, and it changes color to whatever is being thrown at it... looks almost like a mirror..

 

anyways..

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