Do It Yourself Electric Guitar Finishing - diy

Guitar finishing is a very important step in the building process. All the hard work that you have put into making the perfect instrument will be useless, unless you can achieve a professional looking paint job. For some this may seem like a daunting task but it is not impossible to attain a professional looking guitar finish. With the proper instruction and a lot of patience you can accomplish a great visually pleasing guitar finish.

It's all in the Preparation

This is where a good deal of patience is needed. If all issues with the neck or body are not addressed during the preparation process they will be very difficult to fix later on down the road.

You want to start by finish sanding the guitar body and the neck. Sanding in the direction of the wood grain begin with 150 grit paper and work your way to 320 or greater. The idea is to get a super smooth surface. After you have sanded the body and neck down wipe all the dust off. Depending on the type of wood used you may have to use a grain filler. Typically maple will not need this step due to the grain of the wood being very dense (or close together). Woods such as alder, ash, mahogany or any other woods that have large pores in the grain will need to be filled in order to get a satisfactory finish.

If you have to use a grain fill make sure the body is free of all sanding dust. In my opinion oil based fillers work better than there water based counterparts. Partly due to the effect the water based product has on the wood. Take a soft cotton cloth and spread the filler onto the body going against the grain. Let it dry for 20 to 30 minutes and repeat two or three times. Any excess can be removed after drying with mineral spirits. Now sand the components again using your fine sand paper until you have reached a desired smoothness. It would also be a good idea to open up any screw holes that may have been covered. A tooth pick should do very well.

If you are in the finishing stages of an electric guitar kit you may not need to perform the grain fill process. Some guitar kit manufacturers seal the bodies and necks prior to shipping them to the customer. It is still important to sand the body and the neck with very fine sand paper to insure you have a unblemished surface prior to spraying.

After you have got all the surfaces prepared. Thoroughly inspect the body and the neck at every angle for any blemishes. This is very important as any small defects will be amplified when the final coat is applied. Now it is time to tape up any components we do not want to get finish on. If you have a guitar neck with a rosewood fingerboard go ahead and completely cover the fingerboard with blue painters tape. If the body has a binding cover that also.

Electric Guitar Tonewood Guide - An excellent reference for the wood used in solid body electric guitar building.

Solid Body Electric Guitar Kits - Great for the beginner guitar builder or those who do not have all the tools to build from scratch.

Before applying the first coat of primer you will want to make a handle to attach to the guitar body. This is fairly easy to do with a piece of scrap wood about 1 to 1 1/2 feet long. Cut the wood to fit inside the neck pocket of the guitar body. Secure the handle to the body with a couple of screws.

"Perform all painting operations in a well ventilated area"

Now its time to put our first coat of primer on the guitar body. Make sure you follow the instructions on the can by shaking it for the correct amount of time. Start priming the body by spraying the edges lightly and then coating the from and the back of the guitar body. Don not try and apply to much primer or you will end up with a runny mess that will need to be sanded again. A good rule of thumb is to never start spraying directly on the guitar. Sometimes spray cans have a tendency to shoot out a larger than normal amount of paint when first activated. After the primer has dried sand the body down again to remove any blemishes. Remove all the dust with the tack cloth. Repeat priming and sanding until you have three coats on the guitar body.

To apply the color coats follow the same principle as with the primer. The only difference here is if you have runs or dust trapped in the finish you will want to wet sand with 320 grit paper. apply as many coats as necessary to get the color or shade you are looking for.

Now apply the clear coat in the same manor as you did with the rest of the coats. In-between coats after it has dried sand the body down with 320 grit sand paper. Apply several coats, I have put as few as 4 and as many as 12. Some say the thicker the finish on the guitar muddies up the tone of the body. From my personnel experience I really have noticed a difference. An important note is before you apply the last clear coat make sure you sand the entire body well catching all the nooks and cranny's.

While you have the lacquer out go ahead and spray thin coats on the areas of the guitar neck that are not taped off. Spray thin coats on the neck so as to not make any runs or blemishes. In-between coats wet sand and wipe down. Repeat the process until the desired finish is reached.

Now you have to wait until the finished is cured. This could take up to three weeks. Be patient, all the hard work you have put into building your guitar depends on it. One way to tell if the finish is cured is that it will stop giving off the distinct smell. Once the finish has cured it is time to polish it to get that sought after mirror guitar finish.

To attain that glossy finish you commonly see on guitar takes, again more patience. After the finish has cured you will have to do some more sanding. Soak some 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper in water for a few hours. Start sanding the body and closely look for any spots that still look flat or untouched by the sandpaper. You have to insure that all areas of the guitar body are hit by the sandpaper. What you are trying to do is blend all these areas together so when you apply the polish and buff it out it looks like one well blended finish. Good guitar finishing requires a well lighted areas just for these reasons.

Now take your favorite carnauba wax, buffer and polishing rag and start working it onto the guitar. If you are using a mechanical buffer make sure you do not hold the buffing pad in one place to long or you will burn the guitar finish. While you are polishing wipe off any excess residue that is created. For the cutaways and other hard to reach places use the polishing rag and do these by hand.

Have fun, and be patient and as with most things electric guitar finishing gets a lot easier the more you do it.