Painting a guitar

[5abre]

Hey, I'm new here :)

 

I'm interested in learning how to play a guitar, but I really want to personalise my guitar and make it my own, so I thought of painting it in the style of the single covers from Viva la Vida, such as Life In Technicolor II, Violet Hill etc.

Ergo lots of splashes and patches of paint across the guitar with the lyrics to Coldplay songs also painted on.

 

What I'd like to know is if there's anything I need to note before I attempt to do so. For example, would I be required to sand down the body of the guitar to ensure that the paint sticks?

 

Also, will painting it affect the sound produced by the guitar?

 

Thanks for all the help :D

[Dan 6N]

For best results you would need to sand the guitar down first... Also, it's recommenced that you don't take all of the strings off of a guitar at once as this reduces the tension on the neck and can lead to the neck bending slightly out of shape.

[princesanji]

nah, just cut all the strings down, that is absolutely no problem. i made 4 guitars now, so i know what i'm saying:

 

1st of all: ACOUSTIC OR ELECTRIC ?????

 

Acoustics, well, i don't have expierience with them but the painting itself is easy though. does it affect the tone? it certainly will if you have thick layers like Chris, but since he uses it with a pickup you may neglect that. but if you want to use it unamplified... hm, i'd stay away from thick layers, thin spray will hardly have an impact on the sound.

 

Electrics:

that's the way we roll, boys xD

you don't necessarily have to sand it down to the wood, roughening the top layer will do, but keep in mind that you may want to paint it completely in another color first if you'd like to have a better background (e.g. white). oh and always take off ALL the hardware, anything else will result in a bad job. that includes the neck btw, except if you want one picture that goes up the neck, too... i did never to that because i didn't paint it, but the pickguard (if any) sould be roughened also... oh just one general thing: use veeery very fine sand paper, like 1200 or more... i don't think 000 or so is necessary but if you want to go that far, feel free to do so.

i really recommend to stick to one type of color! otherwise you will srcew up different layers, e.g. nitro lacquer will be liquified by the solvants of acrylic paint!

the latter btw. are my favourites, they are easy to handle for beginners, too.

there is acrylic paint that can be used with brushes, that is what you want, and then finally, you can use spray paint to finish it and protect the colors. (also, you could think of spraying an underneath layer with different colors, i mean coldplay are totally fancying grafitti)

 

however - E or A guitar? :D

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

On the strings thing, just don't leave the strings off for weeks on end. It's probably okay if you leave them off for a week...it takes time for the damage to happen.

 

Good luck, and let's see pics!

[princesanji]

On the strings thing, just don't leave the strings off for weeks on end. It's probably okay if you leave them off for a week...it takes time for the damage to happen.

 

Good luck, and let's see pics!

 

no? .____.

what do you think how necks are stored? :D

there is really no need to worry about the neck without srings =)

 

when necks bend or break, something else has gone terribly wrong. that is due to massive heat or sudden drop/increase in temperature, as well as turning the truss rod too far -> that lets the neck twist

it they even break, then the wood was not dry enough in the first place (bad quality)

 

and yes, please keep us posted with pics/vids/whatever (also how it looked before you changed anything ;D )

[Dan 6N]

"It is important to note that some guitarists remove all strings from their guitar at once and then replace them. I highly advise against this procedure. The six tuned strings of a guitar produce a great deal of tension on the neck of the instrument, which is a good thing. Removing all six strings at once drastically changes this tension, which many guitar necks don't react well to. Sometimes, when all six strings are replaced, the strings will sit impossibly high off the fretboard. Change your strings one at a time to avoid a variety of issues."

 

"CAUTION: Only remove one string at a time! Removing all six strings at once dramatically changes the pressure exerted on the neck of the guitar. Relieving this pressure, and then quickly adding this pressure back by putting on a new set of strings can cause some serious problems for your instrument. Best to leave this to the pros."

 

"The neck of your guitar is designed to hold back the tension of your strings. If you remove all the strings, there is nothing to balance out the force that pulls back on the neck. This has the potential to damage your guitar."

 

Just saying ;). Research for yourself on the matter, Google it and you'll find that almost everyone recommends you don't take all strings off at once...

[princesanji]

Just saying ;). Research for yourself on the matter, Google it and you'll find that almost everyone recommends you don't take all strings off at once...

 

you cannot paint a guitar with the strings on ;)

the neck has a truss rod, an this is a piece of metal and will prevent your neck from any bending and twisting.

also, they are referring to changing strings, which may become an issue with vibratos! (falsly known as "tremolos").... also, radically removing all the strings with a cutter IS a bad idea, yes!! solowly tune down all the strings by the better part first and THEN cut'em off....but generally, everyone i know (and that includes some pro guitar techs and guitarists) doesn't see a problem in removing all strings for maintainance or painting etc

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

princesanji, the truss rod doesn't keep the neck straight on its own; it's meant to counterbalance the tension that the strings create themselves; hence, when the strings are off, there is no counterbalance, so the neck gradually bends one way. It won't break but it certainly can't be good if you leave it like that for a really long time (which is subjective, but I said a week because most things shouldn't take more than a week to accomplish right?....okay maybe a month jaja)

 

That said, you're pretty much right that as long as you take strings off slowly and avoid any giant heat/humidity/stress changes, then you're pretty much safe.

[chuck kottke]

> Interesting... more into this that I though there would be! :inquisitive: From micro-buses in the 60's to bodies to guitar bodies! :cool: real Freedom

[strikie]

at the moment I'm painting a guitar,

but it's a really cheap one (€ 25) and it didn't sound that great before I started, so I can take the risk =)

it's a western guitar, but can I still go for nylon strings? they sound way better imo

[princesanji]

to Marshmallow: yes you're right.

i don't even need a week, i'll do all the stuff at once in 2 days, which is about 20-24 hours of working time.

the tips etc. are actually for those who do not know how to treat a guitar right, so the instructions will be more than careful with that stuff. if you have the experience though, you'll know what you can do, how far you can go, and what you should not attempt to do^^

 

 

but it's a really cheap one (€ 25) and it didn't sound that great before I started

 

waaaaaaah :angry::angry::angry:

shame on you, don't support the cheapos xDD

 

i mean, for 25€ what would you expect? you cannot even buy the tuners and strings for that price!! by far not the wood...

since it IS trash, yes, you can take the risk with ease =P however, it might not be a bad practice for future painting jobs^^

 

so everybody, we wanna see pictures =D =D =D

[chuck kottke]

Yes!

 

& I am going to paint my car.

[strikie]

here's mine

 

 

The back is X&Y blue, the front is

And without the tape:

 

 

and for the structure of the paint:

 

[The Champion]

Wow, looks good to me.

I know it's very easy, but can you tell me step by step how did you do that?

[princesanji]

^+1

well kind of, i know how to do it but i'd like to hear what you have done

[strikie]

Of course I can!

 

first of all: I took a hands on approach, and treated it like it was an ordinary object,

and not like an instrument. There are also some things I'd do differently next time.

 

1) after removing all the loose bits I basically sanded down the whole guitar.

just with light sandpaper, so the next layer of paint would stick.

2) The first layer of paint was the primer. Next time I wouldn't spray the whole guitar with it,

since the blue on the back covered good enough on it's own.

 

3) After the primer I got myself a large brush and painted the front white.

4) when that was fully dried up over night I covered it up and sprayed the back and 'neck' of

the guitar (To many layers here, but I screwed up 2 times. When doing this, make sure the

surface is clean. Double check! seriously.)

 

5) great moment. revealing the part which I taped off earlier, and seeing the blue and white

together

6) detail time. (Actually I'm still in this phase) I used a ruler and a pencil to draw the lines.

used tape to get sharp lines.

 

That's basically it.

But: I used a really crappy guitar. If you have an expensive one: please consult someone with a bit more expertise. Don't fool around like I did, and complain when your guitar sounds like shit afterwords (I still have to test if it sounds good or not :wink:)

[princesanji]

I used a really crappy guitar. If you have an expensive one: please consult someone with a bit more expertise. Don't fool around like I did, and complain when your guitar sounds like shit afterwords (I still have to test if it sounds good or not :wink:)

 

you'll hear no difference between real shit and real painted shit xD

sorry... but true ._.

 

it looks pretty good though!

 

and well, someone with a more expensive guitar will not paint it, and if he does, he'll have the money to buy a new one :D if it's not too many layers, it won't affect the tone too much

[86Timewarp]

Ok so I decided to pick up on guitar, but I need to find one first! This guy offered me this guitar for my piano but I'm not digging the color scheme XD

 

 

Someone please tell me if getting this guitar is worth it, the things I need to do to repaint it, and make it left handed?

[princesanji]

what's the reason for buying it? playing it in the end? then no, it's not worth at all.

go to a local dealer and buy a lefthanded guitar. you'll ruin it upon making it lefthanded if you're not expierienced.

[86Timewarp]

:confused: ok then lmao thanks :P its just, I have a $300 piano and I need to get a good guitar with the piano.

[princesanji]

ya, a goooood guitar and not a piece of painted wood that's not even worth to be burnt in the oven in winter ._. sorry :laugh3:

 

you don't have to be too picky on electrics, but acoustic guitars are a lot different, never go with cheapos

[splintercell37]

Ok so I decided to pick up on guitar, but I need to find one first! This guy offered me this guitar for my piano but I'm not digging the color scheme XD

 

OH LOL.

 

:shocked2: