7 GUITAR Paint Job MISTAKES You Should NEVER Do!

[@zoltanszekeres3034]

You cannot make something perfect if you don't know what can go south. This guy has the balls to make mistakes. And he has the balls to show these mistakes. Huge thanks!!

[@heidiroekke3836]

Exactly! People busting his balls either didn't read the description or are just assholes.

[@flatsixx]

I must have balls like church bells cause I’ve been fucken stuff up since the mid 70s.

[@leoneddy1492]

I was just going to add similar comments, but you did it for me, the pro's were not pro's first time round, some learning in the trade using all pro equipment and the experience of a pro training them in a pro spray booth at the optimum temp.THE KID DONE WELL. Positive comments to help us please ,not Negative to discourage

[@leoneddy1492]

@@flatsixx Me too

[@firedog9113]

Not many mistakes but most of his mistakes can be hidden, but he wants perfection. Sand guitar kits good first, then get all dust off, and slowly spray the finish after you've tested the color on practice piece

[@leoneddy1492]

Despite all the critics on here, we didn't always have the internet and KZbin to get a wealth of Information from, you've done it old school learnt by your mistakes, and corrected them and finished up with a good job, Well done It's not easy trying to get a pro finish ,and you never see what's gone wrong in a factory ,only the end product on the wall of a guitar shop after inspection .

[@jta1973]

The two greens would have been a pretty cool burst color scheme.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

That's what I thought! I figured that would be really hard to do without proper skills though

[@kahlrhoam6769]

Mistake #8; Try a 2-color burst. 👍

[@blee3621]

Mistake #9: thinking an Antigua finish will look good.

[@ryeweskey]

The fun thing about paint is if you put it on too thick, the outer layer dries and the underside stays soft. That's why you can indent it weeks later.

[@Drt0Kkdo]

tip from my dad whos obsessed with glossy finish was first have a thick clear coat layer, sand it lightly with 3000 grit until the orange peel gets levelled, then rubbing compound using cotton until you hear squeak, then finally scratch remover using cotton again until it squeaks. I gave it a shot on my motorcycle and oh boy it looks like it always just came out of a wash.

[@BradAngove]

Great work. Thanks for showing how to fix mistakes; that’s important.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks Brad

[@brandondaigle2496]

@@MaxSoloMusic if you haven't perused Brad's channels yet, do yourself a favor and check him out. He's been doing this for quite some time. Great video!

[@MaxSoloMusic]

@@brandondaigle2496 I know, I used Brad's videos as guidance

[@jeffallen3382]

@@brandondaigle2496 and still can't seem to get rid of orange peel... 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Trust me... Brad is a hack painter. I would bet money most of his subscribers are paid bots.

[@jeffallen3382]

@@MaxSoloMusic that was your first mistake.

[@JuliaViereggeBerlin]

I have no intentions of ever painting a guitar, but I still enjoyed watching the full video! Great job, Max!

[@Stewart_John]

Thats it???? Hehehehe Hey Max !!!??? 😉😉😉

[@jeffallen3382]

@@Stewart_John I thought the same thing! Her 1 and only comment too! LOL

[@nicktravelstead515]

Next time if you’re painting and it’s chilly out side stick your cans in a pan for warm water for a few minutes. It helps it spray better. Cold won’t necessarily keep your paint from drying it just makes it take longer to dry. Also use sand-able primer for a base coat. It’ll fill in a lot of the uneven spots.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Yep, that’s exactly what I was using - warm water

[@SandauxBeats]

I was planning to do a DIY a Telecaster, as well. I took the time to compute for the shopping list I made and it was relatively cheap to do a DIY than buy one. But after watching your time-consuming yet amazing take on this, I have to re-think for a couple of more times now. It takes a lot of patience and determination to do this and kudos to you, good sir. Well done!

[@0000song0000]

yep. after failing as much (ok, MORE than him) I realized I am better either buying a painted body OR asking my local car-painting business. who would paint my guitar more efficiently than my myself

[@EdBender]

the neck is VERY slighlty misaligned (or the bridge). The low E has a lot of clearance from the edge of the board, while the high E is almost falling off. I could not play that guitar. My vibrattos would slip the E string out all the time. You may fix it by losening the neck a little, putting pressure to the side, and tightening the screws again. My 2c. Good video!

[@ryanbryancyan]

Alternate title: How to repaint your guitar... except, don't do what I just did

[@aaronjanusch6090]

Don't worry about the wood grain. Original Fenders had it showing as well. Leo Fender liked it, saying it gave them character

[@visualthings]

And actually, my first paint job with spray cans was on an Ibanez and instead of sanding down to raw wood I just slightly sanded the top coat. The result was very smooth, I didn't even apply a varnish on it and this paint job lasted for a couple of years before I made a new paint job on it. It would likely have lasted several more years.

[@samstuff8554]

Bro I’m doing my first paint job on my Ibanez right now

[@alecv8249]

Broo I feel you so much!! At the moment I am going through a 5 strings Yamaha bass restoration, and I have made literally EVERY mistake possible, even those you didn't make. Anyway, after more than 6 months of work and existential crisis, I am slowly seeing the light in the tunnel, and hopefully this week I will end this pain completing the bass. I know the struggle really really well, and if you are willing to paint an instrument by yourself, simply know that if it is the first time, it will be a suffering. But if you are stubborn enough, in the end you will feel very statisfied, even if the result will not be the same as a custom shop guitar. So keep on working and be quite and don't panic!!!

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Well said!

[@DavidGriffin-zz5bs]

It looks pretty good to me. I have done the same things as you and I also found out that if I had gone just a little a little further I would have gotten out the defect and then you just pick it up from there and etc. It's fun and I'm finding out you can always put a little more on do you use a wet sand I find that helps take away removed material and there is no gumming up on the paper etc. Keep at it.

[@JGBludworth]

By being willing to make mistakes (and share them here), I bet the next guitar you refinish will look even better and take way less time. Someone once told me that "fail" is an acronym for first attempt in leaning. Thank you for posting this.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

I absolutely agree! Not that I'm planning on finishing another guitar though :)

[@perro0076]

To really get a factory finish you need the resin that is used in the composite industry. The kind you have to mix.

[@montydaniels1054]

You give me hope.... I have 2 1970s Strats that I saved from an owner who was set out to ruin them by stripping off the finishes. However after watching a Gibson Factory Tour, then watching a gal put just one coat of poly on a Les Paul, I put both Start Bodies away for a while.... Great video & like I said in the beginning, You Give Me Hope....MD....

[@williamf.9615]

Thanks for this. What everyone seems to forget with these kits is the neck and the headstock. The bodies are often carefully sprayed and even lightly aged/reliced and they look great, but the neck and headstock still have that pale wood look. I've put a few of these guitars together and the last touches are to sand and stain the neck and headstock, put a nice waterslide decal on if you want to and then finish with TruOil or a matt or glossy lacquer. It's makes a world of difference. People look at two places first on a guitar: the body and the headstock. It's like a man looking at a woman. If the headstock looks cheap, the whole guitar looks cheap, no matter how much effort you've put into the body.

[@christopherschrock4738]

Another thing thats really helpful is getting a spray grip attachment for the spray can. They're a few bucks and save your fingers and you get a lot more control over the spray.

[@jasonbuck5256]

That jig you used in the neck pocket is really clever! Thanks for being willing to share all of your mistakes, so we can try to avoid them. The guitar looks great!

[@necurrence1776]

I'm so happy you made this video because what you knew at the start of the process is exactly what I knew. And I would have surely made the same mistakes as you. Also a very important thing you mentioned , even if you know the exact steps and how to do it, you can still buy the wrong supplies for your job and not get the best result.

[@ChrisCookPrime]

Pro Tip: make sure the bugs fly into the areas that will be later covered by the hardware!

[@seannuckolls519]

I know this was done over a year ago, but nice info on the DIY efforts. I have done about 8 or 9 DIY guitar builds (2 kits and the rest being home made builds and restores). I have run into many of these mistakes on my own and they do quite often cost you more time in the long run. Patience is the key with these types of projects. In the end I have been happy with all of my projects. Great video!

[@dreamerjazz352]

I actually loved how it looked with the 2 colors you were trying on it, instead of just one. It looked kind of cool mixed together!

[@jackfly-r8w]

I'm gonna repaint my acoustic guitar. Thank you for the confidence you gave me by this video.

[@robdefrancesco8928]

I re-painted my Sons Affinity Strat a couple years ago and although it came out very nice, the clear coat never really cured. I left it hanging for over a month before wet sanding, but as it sat on the guitar stand, the body ended up with some of the foam from the stand on it. This was 2 years later. So beware of the clear coat you use. Great video by the way!

[@MrDblStop]

Nitro will do that with some foam and rubber substances even if it is cured. Cheap guitar stands are notorious for this. Wrap an old sock around the foam or rubber of the stand or hanger. Some rubber is OK but not worth the risk.

[@ericmoody3944]

I have been painting cars, trucks and boats for many years, I just painted a guitar for the first time and I have never had so many issues in my life....

[@qua7771]

Errors never seem to happen in areas that will be covered by pick guards and hardware.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Haha, so true! What are the odds:)

[@RobCmusic]

I use micromesh sheets to rub out the finish. It goes up to 12000 grit and you can do it dry. It will bring the finish up to full gloss.

[@guitarsbymetaljay]

Nice tutorial video. Being an amateur myself I have messed up many finishes but when you do something like this you kinda learn as you go. It's a learning process.

[@donald-parker]

You have the patience of a saint. I think I would have just rubbed the body in danish oil and be done with it. In fact I have one guitar I made with a Warmoth body over 20 years ago that I never finished at all. It seems not to have suffered any ill effects for never having been finished.

[@PhoenixGuitars]

Great job recalling your journey and passing on the knowledge of lessons learned.

[@nieko3038]

Only here to see what color you used after ordering paint. Its the same color. Looks great. Not bad for a first. Some comments here make me laugh. If you don’t do things you never learn anything. Had some great results using spraycans. People telling you to buy pro spray gear for a Benton kit lost the idea of the whole thing. I will be spraying a HB JA60 kit.

[@richardflatt4824]

Hey, as you are continuing to upgrade your tele, I make tele pickguards. I would love to send you one raw, laser engraved with your choice of graphic for free. I make premium wood pickguards and ship worldwide.

[@tonepoet]

Kind of need a website here. Are you on Etsy, or do you have a shop?

[@alwaysrockn2009]

That was a great video! Good job on the guitar. I like that you just did it with the materials you had and kept rolling through the process despite the mistakes. This is a great learning experience for us and was great to see. Thanks dude!

[@chosenideahandle]

I know it may have been difficult to find, but a two part clear (2K) is the only way to get a really hard finish. You can get them in a special can where an inner cylinder must be broken into the can from the bottom and mixed before spraying. It relies on a chemical reaction rather than a evaporating solvent for the hardening/drying. I mix my 2k clear in a jar and use an actual spray gun, but of course that requires going to a professional supplier. Fun video.

[@OliverHetto]

Thank you for the comment. I found 2K paint. Does it required clear lack to get glossy surface at the end?

[@killslay]

Top tip, use a proper painters respirator mask when painting with aerosols (not expensive). Even outdoors. Believe me, last time I didn't do that it fucked me up for a day. Ended up shitting myself with really painful insides for a good 24 hours

[@DisturbedVette]

sounds fun :/

[@pvillez]

very good advice!, thanks

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Yep, that stuff inside the can is real poison. Wearing a mask is wise!

[@donaldscheer5206]

I have been going through the same "Hell!" But I now have some wisdom and soon I hope, I will complete my Guitar repaint effort! One thing for sure! Patience! Patience! Patience!

[@O7VH7IA3]

use vary-thane diamond kote for a impregnable clear coat,kinda pricey for a can,but your paint will resist dents,heat,bumps and chips

[@sailorjerry7282]

Hey nice vid! It's great to watch a video where mistakes are highlighted instead of just the brilliant finish at the end. The chemical reaction between your coats of paint and the auto polish may have been due to different chemical compositions of the materials used. Auto paints, which are the only ones auto polish should be applied to, are mostly acrylic rather than enamel based. So if you used enamel spray cans instead of auto acrylic cans there would be a problem at the stage where you applied auto polish. If you can get auto acrylic paint cans in Germany ( I assume you can quite easily) use them instead. The fact that you could still mark the back of the body with your fingernail after a week's curing indicates to me your paints were enamels. In my experience with simple home projects (never guitars!) some enamels were not yet dried/cured even after 3 weeks! I have sprayed several guitars with auto acrylic (Duplicolor) cans and the results have been great. They are tough paints so they don't mark or chip easily, they dry (and cure) super quickly and best of all you can cut them back and polish them with auto care products for that beautiful gloss finish at the end! Acrylics also allow you to sand the top clear coat starting with 800 then 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit wet n dry paper. No need to go higher than 2000 as the auto polish will take care of the very minute scratches of the last sanding stage and bring out the shine anyway. I've got a lawsuit Ibanez LP custom which I refinished as a gold top 20+ years ago and it still look ace! Best of luck going forward and thanks for posting this :)

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks for valuable feedback!

[@lasvisi]

Ого, вот это результат! Обычно при фразе "покраска гитары из баллончика" представляется что-то ужасное, а здесь же, вот серьезно, я бы не отличил от заводской покраски) очень полезное видео, о некоторых нюансах, вроде хим. реакции полироли с лаком, я даже не подозревал, многие приемы возьму себе на вооружение. Спасибо за такое подробное видео!)

[@JojoJack]

I made a "surf green" Tele very, very close to this one of yours. I cannot put a link here because the comment will probably be blocked. Anyway... good (and long!:) work. I think your bad mistake was to not prepare the surface properly, before the primer... Some wood filler could save you many days or even weeks!

[@jvburnes]

You can avoid a lot of hassle by applying a wood sealer before painting or staining. It gives you a *much* more even finish and saves a lot of spray paint. You can make your own sealer by using a dilute 8:1 mixture of distilled water to white wood glue (like elmers, gorilla or PVA). Don't soak it because too much water will raise the grain unnecessarily. Lightly sand the first coat with 400 grit sandpaper. Apply one more thin coat after the first dries. After this the wood will no longer suck up the spray paint and it will come out much more even and professional. Try this technique on scrap stock until you get it right. Good luck.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks! That's a great advice!

[@Sadowsky46]

👍🎸

[@ChrisBarnard-vd2fj]

Great video, the guitar looked really good after all that work. I'm about to refinish a guitar so I have learnt a lot. Thank you.

[@UncleGrunt]

I have a Harley Benton kit I haven’t started on yet, but it feels smooth and the manual said it’s already sealed and ready for a finish. Unless sanding it brings the grain back out, I don’t think it will need grain filler

[@MaxSoloMusic]

I heard they may be getting those kits from multiple different suppliers. Chances are, yours is ready for a finish. Mine wasn't :)

[@UncleGrunt]

Max Solo Music I can confirm after applying my primer that the manual is a lie, and mine looks exactly as yours did. I might strip it and fill it. Annoying as I had filler ready to go as well

[@sp5ddj]

Hi Max, just acquired DIY raw body guitar and discovered your tutorial movie. Thank you so much for the hints and kinks. This will make my painting job easier and more satisfactory. All the best for the New Year 2020 !

[@woodydroneson]

Great Video and the great result after trying to get it all wrong and then fix it :) Many years ago I worked in a Garage and when using Automotive Paint it was sand the body first using a course then fine sandpaper, apply filler to main damage areas, then primer and then a special filler that is very thin and runny, followed by using wet and dry sandpaper of very fine sandpaper. Then the primer is applied again sanded with fine to very fine sandpaper and finally painted with many coats and sanded then a lacquer coat and polishing :) I am about to paint my own guitar kit, but I have not decided how or what method of painting I will use or even the colour/design! only my future self knows ;)

[@solarismoon3046]

God bless you, Sir! I'm sorry that you had to go through this the hard way - teaching yourself to do it. I did this same thing when I was learning at 16 years old. I have been doing this for almost 30 years now and I can do factory finishes now but it took a lot of painful mistakes to do so. All I can say is keep trying to get it right and keep practicing on garbage guitars like I did later and not on thousand dollar plus guitars!! Most of what I did was low budget but are now nostalgic like Teisco Del Rey and Harmony brands. These are not high dollar but are now considered collector guitars and would be worth a lot of bucks today! Thank you and keep going as long as you can stand it. : )

[@rjb7569]

I've read you should wipe down the body with naptha (lighter fluid) after all sanding is done, before spraying.

[@shadtrisdale5444]

I wet sand after primer makes it super smooth. And the water will help show imperfections

[@monkeyxx]

I'm glad you showed some mistakes since a lot of people (like me) will make some of those, it's somewhat more instructive than an idealized guide. I was surprised how little orange peel you had at first, that must have been a pretty good spray technique.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks! I witnessed my technique develop quickly. I had the paint running the first couple of times. Tries and errors :)

[@paintbox48]

Brilliant video, with very good results - considering the trials along the way. Given you need to use the right materials, and go through the correct processes, along with having a reasonable level of skill, the two things most people really don't take enough account of are - the cost of all the materials, and the time it takes to do a straightforward proper job - especially curing time. Thanks again for such an informative video.

[@ev2n-u7o]

Nice, I only made 7 of those mistakes when I tried

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Well done :)

[@marvinstorm9153]

Thanks for this. I learned early on using RustOleum products (very good but not cheap) that getting a very smooth finish on 2 layers of primer really pays dividends. Once I screwed up not getting an almost glass smooth surface on primer, I had to do everything you did. Applying clear coat too early .... I ended up not using power tools, just elbow grease with polish, its tedious but you don't burn through the coats. A labour of love I guess.

[@j.d.schultzsr.9215]

Rust Oleum paints are extremely durable and require minimal surface prep, but are only compatible with each other. Once RustOleum is applied, any other paint will peel away.

[@NeliMusicc]

I 1st read '7 mistakes to avoid when PLAYING a guitar with spray cans' and was so baffled - is he using them as slides what is this magic? 😂😂😂 I've been waiting to do some body work on my Squire Tele as a fun project for a while, so this is inspiring me to do that again 🙌❤🎸

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Haha, that might be a great video :) I mean about playing guitar with spray cans

[@inkandpaper951]

I came here to learn and I'm not disappointed. Great vid mate! I have to say, this tele looks gorgeous in the end ✌️😉

[@RebelScum312]

great diy advice, the twangy surf wildout at 17 min is 🔥! 💙🌊🎸

[@saulgoodman5213]

So after you put the primer on the body and your ready to spray paint it, could you just draw picture with some makers or something and then add finish over it so its protected?

[@azzuro195]

Epic effort man. Thank you for sharing. I did all those mistakes finishing my guitars, multiple times, just being lazy at the moment and thinking how I will fix than in next, later step.. Or rushing things.Of course I was wrong: you have to follow steps like you mentioned and to be very patient.. I also use those 5 EUR paint cans you are showing to us... No real cure, they put some kind of "softener" to ease the spraying process...So do NOT use them next time: I finished my color search with guys who are making colors for car painting: They can mix you any color and they put a hardener compound inside. 10 EUR per can. And I bet you can find them in your weird country :) So you wait day or two to cure, not months... Both paint and clear coat is available, probably nitro based so you have to be careful. First time I've got a headache wearing nothing, painting inside.. So outdoor is the best bro :) Just protect your work-big box from refrigerator package around the beloved project. Ah one more thing: WET SAND FOR CLEAR COAT IS MANDATORY. Not dry. It eases so much. Keep up the good work, I wish you less sanding next time. AT the end it came out really nice. Greetings from Bosnia-Hercerovina

[@geet77777]

If someones a beginner and just doing a hardware store paintjob, rustoleums " filler-primer" in a can will fill the grain. lots of anding required though.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

Nice video! My son is in the cub scouts, USA, and I've learned a similar lesson painting a pinewood derby car. There are a lot of cool color changing clear coats that I'd like to try to apply to a cheaper guitar. Take your time with this. You'll apply a lot of coats and sand and polish a lot. If you only have one guitar, buy or borrow another one so you're not tempted to rush while your instrument is out of commission

[@theWARMJET]

It turns out great , the colour is great and the white pickguard looks good on it

[@motorcyclemark2889]

A friend paid me to refinish his ESP he had me stain it with blue kool- aid it turned out awesome but ended up more of a green because of the natural yellow color of the wood after several clear coats and sanding it was beautiful though

[@lukegoffkat]

That's what I'm going to do, but with eggplant purple, thinned down to a light shade, then clear coat. I certainly don't want to get into the mud with painting after seeing this video!

[@2NatoStandard]

Nice job in the end mate. Just wanted to say how very good your English is, you should be very proud. I speak German after living there for 9 years but nowhere near as well as your English. Thanks for the video :)

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks :) I guess my secret is that I speak English here all the time instead of German :) Therefore my German sucks

[@butteredbiskit3497]

You should hose on the cheap primer (1.5 cans) and let it cure out for a week. Primer will always shrink and show scratches and grain. Sand the body flat then put a medium wet coat of the rest of the primer. Then apply the color coats and clear. Wet on wet is a good idea to allow the different paints to meld together. Always spray the edges first because they tend to have less paint on them.

[@nothazeemshah]

This is actually perfect for me im trying to relic my guitar thanks !

[@Mattwest1985]

Love that color too! I’m gonna go similar on my rattle can job. Lol I’ve been fixing up my squire tele.

[@parkerlauritzen4985]

I’m doing the same thing!

[@parkerlauritzen4985]

Any tips? Just started mine

[@TheVirakahScale]

The trick to a decent pain job on a guitar isn't to get a full coat in 2 layers. It's best to do many very thing layers, and doing a sand in between every 3-4. Also doing a layer of grain filler before you paint is a great option if you want a perfectly flat surface. 1. Sand, 2. Grain filler + Sand, 3. Primer coats + Sand, then you do your pain in gentle layers (which will look horrid at first, until over time, you get full coverage. I made plently of these mistakes already. Your end result looks pretty good though. Just a lot of steps, haha.

[@ianmcbride412]

Refinishing a 2010 melody maker, can't get the grain filler of choice, so using danish oil with burnt umber then rub in with sawdust, then wet sanding in the danish oil . Sanding sealer before spraying using Manchester guitar tech nitro cans.👏🔨🎸

[@graxjpg]

Painting my Harley Benton SG as I type haha, thanks for this!

[@oldrrocr]

For less money, I decided to buy a good knock off and upgrade just the tuners and pickups. Maybe next time I'll try all the woodworking stuff.

[@jongordon6461]

What an entertaining video and pleasant amicable chap you seem to be. Well done.

[@OscarAndres_214]

I've been working in my guitar for almost 4 weeks. It's been time consuming and stressing, but all I can say is that I've been able to learn with each mistake I made. I managed to make a finish like the one you showed at the end. But when I was putting all back together, a dot of soldering metal fell on to the body. It melted the coat a bit and I should have left that little hole there!!! I thought I was able to fix it quickly with sanding paper, but it became a pain! I almost messed half of the front part. All I can say is, you better leave those tiny scratches. You can damage the whole thing if you are too perfeccionist. Second advice: never use machines while polishing. Sometimes the movements are too strong and you can't control them. All by hand. It can be funny but I used shoe polishing. Cheapest solution and I was better than I expected XD And finally, leave the coats dry properly. Sanding them while they are still wet can be the end of all the work you've done. Be patient. Always. In every step. You can achieve great things if you make things without a rush. I hope I can finish it soon :D Thanks for sharing!

[@beaubrummelmotorizedbicycles]

I've got to hand to you Max, don't give up, fix your mistakes and learn. People usually make the mistake of not knowing the various coatings and their compatability and use products that won't work together. Also a lot of factory guitars are finished with a polyester resin and thats hard to duplicate at home. Number 1 mistake is to many thick coats to soon, multiple thin coats applied at the proper time between coats is always the best, patience. Number 2 mistake don't mix coatings such as lacquer, enamel, ureathanes, acrylics etc.make sure they will work together. Number 3 mistake if you get bugs or debris on your wet coat wait until its fully dried or cured then sand out and recoat. I've found lacquer to be easy to work with and can be easily repaired, also quick drying times mean faster results. If you use paint, use acrylic or ureathanes and learn from your mistakes. Very well done video and after all the mistakes a decent looking guitar, thanks for sharing.

[@DerbiSR]

Another mistake is to apply 'a relatively thick color coat' and half an hour later applying clear coat. The still soft base coat will be enclosed by the clear coat and therefore will not cure properly. The clear coat will crack after a while when the base coat eventually cures. Believe me.. I know.

[@trukr817]

I use Meguiar's ScratchX to polish mine when I paint them. I use lacquer though and I don't know what that stuff you used is. I also don't use power tools to polish, I use a slightly damp soft lint free cloth with the ScratchX, gives a mirror like finish.

[@camillebriski3527]

Hi, i was wondering what paints you use to refinish with? I have seen kits at Stew Mac/ reranch that cost a lot but I want to Refinish a Jaguar into Graffiti Yellow and am having a hard time finding a proper Nitro lacquer in that color. I see that you have opted to use a more affordable polish and was wondering if there were other Budget alternatives as far as Aerosol Paints, sealers, Clears and polishes. Thanks.

[@victorramsey5575]

I bought a Mexican Fender Tele that was on sale at the store because of all the scratches and dings it had from everyone playing it. Im going to sand off the poly clear coat and lightly sand the white paint in the usual areas a guitar gets play wear and be done with it. I dont have the patience for a total refinish job. And it'll have that natural road worn look. Cheers from USA!

[@DerekTJ]

Spray the wiring innards white first, no need to mask. Mask the wiring cavities off, then begin where you started. Start every spray on the hard to reach places, as over-spray lands on the bigger parts, rather than other way around. Nice colour.

[@Patbwoy]

I'm using automotive polish and polishing pads with my power drill all the time with great results. Everything I use I bought in Germany with no problem at all. Where did you look for the stuff? Then there is always Amazon, where you can get everything and more! BTW burnthrough at the edged mostly happens, because it's a fairly sharp corner, where all the pressure concentrates on a smaller area, not so much because the finish is thinner. You could always put more finish on the edges, but as soon as you machine polish them, it becomes risky for the above mentioned reason.

[@joshuapatrick5167]

Thanks for the video! I really appreciate the tips. And for the record, it looked really good.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Thanks!

[@tonepoet]

If the 2 colors bled into each other, that would have been the best. Anyhow, it looks really killer, nice job!

[@mauropiccoto]

Yeah, that green blue fading would look nice

[@connorclose3084]

Damn I wish I saw this before starting my project. "Don't try to fix wet paint" is so important!

[@gruvedoktor]

so is meticulous surface prep.

[@fluidalchemist68]

Great video mate. As it happens I just finished a similar project. For clear coat I used kitchen bench top polyurethane and a spray gun. Very thick and hard to burn through.

[@Animagiko]

Thanks for this video. I’m new to painting guitars with my own custom artwork and I actually learned a lot from your mistakes! 🙏🏼

[@jesikebiking]

I like the pole you use when painting your guitar

[@wea69420]

Using a grain filler is paramount if you want a totally smooth finish. Paint goes on deceptively thin, it's not meant to fill out any sort of cavity.

[@Molotov_Milkshake]

The big mistake here is applying several coats of paint within 15-30 mins. You should allow at least 16 hours in between coats. That's why it's failing the fingernail test.

[@jamiefookes1579]

Depends on the paint you're using. Some are quick cure

[@Molotov_Milkshake]

@@jamiefookes1579 Good nitro ones generally are not and should still be left to for a decent period of time. Even if it's 'quick cure'.

[@MustangSalley1969]

Don't laugh too loud at this question but maybe you can give me a tip or 2. Here-goes:. I want to drip paint a guitar that already has clear coat on it and I can't remove the clear coat as the rest of the guitar has cool wear on it that I don't want to get rid of. Will the paint stick to a finished guitar ? Is there anything I can do to ensure that it sticks on top of let's say an already "finished" guitar ? Any and all tips or (don't do this dummy) would help.

[@Croccolucho]

Yes you can, i first lightly wet sanded the clear coat with 400 grit( i really dont know if it is the ideal ) and sprayed various color and clear coats on it, i basically used the old paint as a primer.

[@Feverdream7777]

Just a tip about loose screw management, you can buy a magnetized very shallow metal cup for about 5 dollars. It will change your life

[@jamiefookes1579]

Try not to do this with anything that has to do with electronics

[@LeMalBeasty]

Of course you can get all this stuff in Germany. Online. Madinter, Feine Werkzeuge and Dictum have all you need. Also, a good old Mom-and-Pop Hardwarestore (not a big chain) will get you most of the stuff locally.

[@jakecraddock2575]

good video, this sort of learning is valuable in developing your craft.

[@grilledspaghetti]

11:00 is my ideal finish for a kit guitar. I like it to look like it's been a bedroom guitar for a few years.

[@luismipalma43]

Hail to mistakes!! Thanks to them, we learn... Good job and thank you for this video, buddy

[@murricat8040]

That painting fixture is genius!

[@mabul513]

Leave cans in warm water before using. Heat helps even spray. Nothing near boiling but bath water hot.

[@MaxSoloMusic]

Yep, that's what i did

[@derred723]

on my guitar i had good polishing results using "Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0" which was available on the german Amazon.de page granted it was about double what i paid for it. I believe i used acrylic paint but i also remember researching all my paints, sealers, primers, an clear coats and asking the guy at the hardware store about potential problems with interactions before hand.

[@bdubberz]

FYI if you use 600 grit or more to start off with you won’t tear into the wood and have grain issues after primer. You definitely started way too low and that’s why you had so many surface holes.

[@rodrigomartins9692]

Hi. Do the 600 grit sanding tip applies in a situation where i need to paint like Red color coat over just an existing clearcoar over the wood? Thanks

[@amitsapir2]

Thanks! I just started painting my guitar. I have learned alot.

[@emielhasselt2518]

You can wet the sandpaper to counter all the dust flying off

[@FacuGuitarra]

I think that is a must