Thundergod Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Does anyone here know about finishing guitars? I got this problem... I am finishing a guitar (not for a client, for me...) and I was spraying the clear coats after finishing with the sparkle finish underneath... Everything was great, until I screwed up and used poly on top of lacquer (or was it the other way 'round? who can tell) I swear the cans looked the same when I bought them! I don't do guitar finishes for customers so I don't have the fancy equipment, I do it with cans (have done 2 so far and they ended up great but I used poly). I'd like to know what options I have besides taking all the finish out and starting from 0. This is what I got, some spots are really shiny without having to polish 'em (I will anyway) ...but then in one spot I got this weird thing: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Just burn it and start again. Or chalk it up to mojo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 BTW the spot you can see on 2 pics is where the bridge will go (I drilled some holes beforehand so I wouldn't damage the finish once it's done, don't know if that was the right thing to do, building guitars is not my thing). I know pics don't really show where it went wrong (not clearly) but it looks like crackled finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Wow.....Poly and lacquer don't mix....I've refinished two guitars years ago, worked out well.....You may have to start from scratch Thundergod; but I'm no expert.......It will be a learning experience though...Let us know how it works out.....and how you fixed it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG FAN Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 Take it back down to bare wood and strictly stick to one type of paint is my advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornflake Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I know this dont help your cause but maby it will make you feel better . I ordered paint from two diffrent copanys to paint my truck,after three coats of ebony black i sprayed the stripes with Champion Red from House Of Kolor and it bubbled up just like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shnate McDuanus Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 You know sometimes its ok not to post especially if you dont have a answer or no clue. Actually heating a finish is a good way to strip it. I would use a heat gun but the idea is basically the same. You clearly have never stripped a finish before. TGod, I'm sorry--it looks like you'll have to strip it and start over. That spot ain't gonna fix itself. At least sand (or heat and scrape) that spot down and refinish it. For detail work like that, you might want to apply the finish with a brush. Brush-on lacquer dries quickly even in thick coats, so my advice is to brush it on thinly if you plan to go this route. But it's probably best for the sake of quality to just go back to bare wood and spray it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Maybe you can pass it off as a special effect. You know, like your trademark... The Thunder Finish. ...Otherwise it looks like you'll be stripping it back to bare wood again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Yep unfortunately poly and lacquer are a bit like oil and water.... Just think of how good you will be a t stripping finishes though! Thomas Edison: "After we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure,expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed to findout anything. I cheerily assured him that we had learned something.For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn't be done that way, and that we would have to try some other way." Don't feel bad dude I spent a month repainting my guitar and when I was finish buffing it I lost my grip and it slammed to floor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Don't feel bad dude I spent a month repainting my guitar and when I was finish buffing it I lost my grip and it slammed to floor.... Noooo! [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Noooo! [crying] Yep complete bummer!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 Actually good ole sand paper is the safest way to remove that finish. Love all the back yard experts here........ With burning it you take a chance to harm or damage too much. Nice recovery for the one who has zero clue again. mmmm well Actually Aircraft stripper is about the best way to go. Cover it in the stripper and put it in a plastic bag and the finish will fall right off use a soft plastic scrapper. ( don't use if there is binding and keep away from inlays ) Then finish sand using flat and rounded blocks so you don't get finger grooves. Just my back yard 2 Cents! Definitely no FIRE OR HEAT!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 If it's only in that small area, I would let the lacquer dry for a few days then take 1000 grit sand paper to the effected area (wet sanding technique). Then tape off the complete guitar with exception of the affected area and shoot some more paint. Let it dry and blend the finish as best as possible with the other painted area. If the paint flaw is under the bridge, chances are you'll be the only one that notices it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Thanks everyone, I'll try duane's aproach and see how it works. I took some better pics of it yesterday but now I can't find the cable to wire the camera to the computer I also took pics after taking out that part of the finish (just the clear coat), the sparkle finish underneath looks nice and unaffected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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