Oh my head! I'm venturing into my first build and my biggest worry is painting. Let me preface that by saying while I love where I live, Andalusia, Spain, it can be like living in a third world. Maybe I'm spoiled by the riches of the U.S. but you just can't find what you're looking for over here. It would make the process a whole lot easier if I could just get my hands on nitro in a spray can but that ain't happening. I even considered shipping it over but unless I just send it unmarked it cost prohibitive. So that reduces me to ordering the paint and then finding some means of spraying it. I do not own a compressor so I suppose that will be another expense. Now I'm bored out of my skull trying to sort through all the HVLP guns on the market. Preval system? Forget it. Just another aerosol system. Is it possible I'm over thinking this process? Is there some simple application method I'm completely missing?

Are there any instrument makers in Andalusia? Find out how they do it. Of course, there's always the brush, can of lacquer, and LOTS of rubbing method. Honestly, with you living in Spain, and knowing the situation 'way better than I do, don't know what else to tell you. Are you dead-set on doing it yourself?

Off the wall thought- There must be a car repair facility in Andalusia.. Perhaps you can befriend the owner and borrow his booth for a day when things are slow...?

You can do excellent finishing work with spray cans. Check out ReRanch.com, Paintyourownguitar.com and StewMac.com. While you can't buy paint from them you can learn a lot of how to do it. I've done four guitars so far with very good results. Nobody in Spain makes or sells spray paint? Paint Your Own Guitar does it with regular spray paint, not just nitro and it turns out fine.

After writing the previous note, I recalled a local fellow who refin'd his Strat (sorry) in natural walnut stain, several layers of it rubbed in to the wood with a cheesecloth over a period of time. Then he took the body to a local car shop and had the shop shoot regular automotive acrylic clearcoat over the stain- If I recall, they did three or maybe four clearcoats, with a trip to the oven and a light scuffing in between.

The result was gorgeous- and unique. It was also very scratch resistant, too.

fwiw

Here's a link to an easy natural finishing technique, following on Kevin F's idea -

Guitar Finishing Using Wiping Varnish

Find a local luthier & see what they are doing. Painting is a pretty tough undertaking. There's a lot to learn, especially w/o some hands on guidance. Ask me how I know... If its your first build, find a finish you can apply by hand. If you build another, consider stepping it up. Should give you some time to save for nicer equipment

This is what I use 90% of the time.

http://www.anestiwata.com/p...

Spray cans work but to get a pro result you really need to work at it and they are a compromise.

Here's a view from a real amateur: I've done a couple now with spray cans, I agree with Curt, it's a compromise. If you're like me and learning and willing to forego a perfect result, and you want to try spray cans, my advice would be to do a full practice finish on a decent piece of wood before you do a guitar - to get the hang of the sanding finish and the undercoat and the distance and the motion. If you've done a lot of painting then you're fine, but the difference between overspray and runs can be close. I didn't get the sanding and the sealer on quite right on the first one and ended up with some lacquer separation as it shrunk when it dried (hereafter referred to as "relicing" until I respray it). My second one is much better and drying right now...but still not a pro result. If I do more, I'm buying a real sprayer. And a buffer.

Oops sorry went off on a tangent not in line with your question, Razzer. Another method I've been wanting to try: wipe on violin varnish. Same basic idea as Kevin F and DrMilkTruck above. No spraying, beautiful finish - just not a lot of variation in the color. It's worth considering; that's what I would do if not spraying. As the ultimate amateur.

That walnut color idea sounds awesome.

Spray cans don't exist around here. maybe up north, Valencia or Barcelona, but not in this part of the world. I've read the ReRanch site until I'm blue in the face. The only way I can use their products is if I box them up without any HazMat warning. Otherwise it's too expensive. I have already spoke to my local luthier and at some point he is going to take me to a shop that paint can be ordered. it will have to be applied by means of a sprayer.

I'm really wanting a glassy opaque finish, not a hand rubbed finish. Up until this thread I had some confidence I could do it.This is a mahogany body so it's either a woody finish (which I don't want) or opaque.

I do agree some practice is in order.

The pro paint and sprayer is likely the quickest path to the best results anyway, I think. The control of the spray and the mixing will be a lot better, and you'll be able to work a nice gloss finish in any color you want. You'll just need to do a few of them for your investment to pay off.

I'm already looking that direction, marz. Besides, I have some outside steel furniture my wife's been bugging me to re-paint

This fella sells quite a lot of nitro cellulose, even does Gretsch orange tint.

http://www.manchesterguitar...

Interesting, cowmoo. I probably would have inquired into that but I just made the dive on a spray gun. I'm sure HVLP spraying is the way to go. With a lot of practice, of course.

It's way easier than a spray bomb.

I'll have a couple of months to get acquainted with it. I bought what is considered a fairly decent gun though not on par with the one you suggested, Curt. I did pass on those $25 numbers.

Marz, very nice, but you could do a finish like that even with a brush. (referring to the pic in your post)

That's true mind flayer!. Well, someone good with a brush could. I wouldn't be able to get the clear/color/clear on this thin with a brush, but someone with experience certainly could . This could easily be stain under a clear - except it's the wrong kind of wood to take stain evenly ("poplar") - or it could have been an oil finish. Or stain and poly would probably look better, especially in a phone photo. Using the spray cans allowed me to practice and get an "acceptable" finish with the ability to fix the bits I screwed up (using a blade and an art brush) and I will hand polish it to a thin nitro "rustic" finish without a major investment in tools. It will be pretty but not awesome. The pick guard is awesome, thanks to MK Holloway.

It is definitely NOT the finish that Razzer is going for, and I would not have the ability to do that kind of a finish without a serious upgrade in my skills: I would also like to spray indoors in a temperature and humidity controlled environment, preferably with a decent spray gun. And then I would need practice. I'm a total amateur so I try to share for people at my beginner level. This was probably the wrong thread for me to post in, I think Razzer's going for a higher grade.

I've just been painting a piece of wooden furniture using a mini roller designed for gloss paint. It leaves a slight orange peel effect but no brush marks. I get into any angles with a small brush as I go and run the roller over it. I don't see any reason this wouldn't work for a guitar.

The goal is to get something that will give you a uniform finish. This one was delivered yesterday and was a train wreck.

The color is hand applied stain then cleared with nitrocellulose lacquer sprayed with my Iwata gun.

My point is you might be able to get close with a cheap gun or spray bomb but it's much more work.

Oh my head! I'm venturing into my first build and my biggest worry is painting. Let me preface that by saying while I love where I live, Andalusia, Spain, it can be like living in a third world. Maybe I'm spoiled by the riches of the U.S. but you just can't find what you're looking for over here. It would make the process a whole lot easier if I could just get my hands on nitro in a spray can but that ain't happening. I even considered shipping it over but unless I just send it unmarked it cost prohibitive. So that reduces me to ordering the paint and then finding some means of spraying it. I do not own a compressor so I suppose that will be another expense. Now I'm bored out of my skull trying to sort through all the HVLP guns on the market. Preval system? Forget it. Just another aerosol system. Is it possible I'm over thinking this process? Is there some simple application method I'm completely missing?

The first guitars I built I used a product called PreVal - basically a cylinder with aerosol and a glass bottle. The cylinders are replaceable. The spray cans - in my opinion - are poorer quality and less controllable. I used instrument lacquer and stewmac coloring agents. Understanding that you live in Spain it is hard to imagine that you can't get this or a similar product. Its a common thing among some artists and sculptors and may be gettable through arts supply stores. It is inexpensive - in the US the cylinders cost only about $4 or b$5 and last a while. I like it as an alternative to the spray gun simply because of its size and cheapness (though now I do have a proper spray gun set up). Another positive is that you can mix exactly the colors you like. I have been disappointed when ordering pre-mix spray cans from Reranch as the colors were not what I expected or saw in their color sheets. You will be able to get dyes in Spain I don't know about the opaque colors like the ones I got from StewMac. How much is the international shipping? I think StewMac already overcharges for US postage!

It is worth calling around or googling Spanish sites to see what you can find - either PreVal or a similar product. I think lacquer is an amazing finish as it can be replenished, changed, modified etc at any time. I also love the way it ages in in contrast to acrylic and urethane finishes. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the info, flashman, but i think i already referenced the Preval system. I don't want to take anything under pressure on board and shipping will be cost prohibitive. I just bought a DeVillbiss spray gun, not the best but not the worst either. I have plenty of time before I'll be ready to paint so in the interim i will be doing some practice runs. Now if I can just sort through this sanding sealer business. I can find clear varnishes of every variety but not anything specifically labeled as sanding/ sealer. If anyone cares to elaborate, what's the difference between lacquer and lacquer sand/sealer other than the later has talc added for ease of sanding. Can I just seal it and sand with a regular clear polyurethane or lacquer?