Using 2-Part Polyurethane Paint on a Guitar

I just purchased some polyurethane paint, which I was told I can use on my guitar body. I do not have a sprayer, so I was wondering if there is any special technique for brushing this on, and what preparation is necessary (the body is unfinished, and made from alder). Also, if anyone knows somewhere with a sprayer that I can send my guitar body to be painted (with the paint I purchased), please let me know. Thanks!

Reply to
junkemaile
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Post this in alt.guitar.bass. You'll get quite a few responses there. I'm sure some of those people can give you the names of some good luthiers.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Polyurethane is a poor choice for a guitar finish. Nitrocellulose Lacquer is very much preferred. You can buy it in spray cans from places like Luthiers Merchantile, Stewart McDonald, or Allied Lutherie. All have websites where you can order it. The "lacquer" you find at paint and automoticve stores is not the same thing, and will never harden enough. It must be Nitrocellulose Lacquer.

Reply to
Mys Terry

Call your local guitar shops there probably are good locals that do this work.

Reply to
m Ransley

I used to paint guitars for people. For a very basic 1-color job on a clean body I charged a minimum of $250 plus materials, and that was about 15 years ago.

Reply to
Mys Terry

I wonder if its a Carvin kit, alder body. Alder looks good natural finish.

Reply to
m Ransley

Alder is a very common wood for solid body guitars. Most of the Fenders were and still are made from Alder. It gets used because it is inexpensive, easy to work, is medium weight, and takes stains and finishes well. In other words, it's good for production. The drawback to a natural or stain finish on Alder is that it has a very unexciting grain. There just isn't anything happening. That's why Fender painted most in solid duco colors that were bright and snappy, and when they had a pieced body that didn't have blems, they would do a sunburst to make up for the lack of personality in the wood itself. Alder trees don't grow very big, so all of the Alder bodies are glued up from pieces.

Terry & Skipper, Clearlake Texas

Reply to
Mys Terry

Spraying 2 part polyurethane is a rather more specialized art than most who have never dealt with it might believe. Anyone who does it will likely have their own preferred materials and you would be better off to let them go with what they know than provide them with something which may be unfamiliar to them.

There are also toxicity issues--if you are going to spray multipart polyurethane do it either in a NIOSH-approved spray booth or outdoors with the wind blowing it away from you or using an air-supplied respirator with the air intake in a location not exposed to the vapors. The thing is, many people can spray it without these protections and get away with it, but if you are one of the unlucky ones who is sensitive to the components, it can cause a reaction that requires _prompt_ medical attention lest you die. And the fact that you got away with it yesterday doesn't mean you'll get away with it today--exposure can cause one to become sensitized if one wasn't before, once saw a guy who had been spraying it every day for 20 years with no trouble have to be rushed to the hospital one day and he couldn't be in the same room with an open can of the stuff after that without going into shock.

As for brushing, if it's one of the formulations that is specified to be brushable then yes, you can brush it. If not then you can try but I doubt that you'll like the results.

Surface preparation should be in accordance with the materials provided by the manufacturer of the coating--most have application data on their Web sites.

Reply to
J. Clarke

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