Getting my Fender Strat Re-Painted... How much should it cost???

Light said:
Also, most automotive guys these days are shooting urethanes, and they have a number of problems from the guitar perspective. The main one is that they do not sound as good as nitrocellulose lacquer, which is what most guitar guys use. If they are using a lacquer, it is an Acrylic Lacquer (invented, or at least perfected, by John Kosmosky{spelling}, who's House of Kolor store front is just blocks from my house, btw). Acrylics just don't sound as good.
Click to expand...


I wholeheatedly agree with your comments on 'sound' BUT only in relation to acoustic guitars. My acoustic is finished in shellac and sounds great (even if I can hardly take it out of the case without scratching the crap out of it) other acoustics from the same luthier with other finishes have a noticably damped response, he has had some success with acrylic finishes.

An electric guitar is an entirely different matter, the body has a large, dense mass and I don't believe that urthane vs nitro would have ANY noticable or measureable effect.

If you want to get into minutae the rust on the poles of his pickups is probably affecting the sound as much as the finish. The state of the strings at the end of a gig on the other hand would have a very appreciable affect on the sound.

Pisces7378 wants to turn a red guitar black - he can easily do this to a decent standard without great expenditure. Custom shop guitar stuff is a mugs game and once you get into it it never ends.

That reranch link looks great and would be a good place to start, but then again take lights advice and get a grown up to help you with the scissors or ... YOU MIGHT DIE!
 
Last edited:
Well I think I have learned a lot from this thread. I do think that I would NEVER get a pro to turn an '84 Jap-o-caster from red to black. I have no idea how much mid 80's Japanese Fender Strats are "worth", but I am almost certain that they aren't worth the cost of a face lift like this.

So, if I get this guy painted, then I will go to www.stewmac.com, and buy the great book they have on re-finishing guitars, and I will hang out at www.reranch.com for a few weeks reading all they have to say. Then I would buy all the chemicals to strip the existing red finish, sand her down, prep the hell out of the wood, and then spend a week or so in my friend's garage spraying and praying. I mean shit... if the color bothers me THAT much, I could just go down to the local Guitar Center, and buy one of those beginner Squire jobbies for like $179, and just steal it's black body. But before I go and do something that rediculas, I will give the whole home finishing thing a go. I am a very patient person with an incredible eye for detail. I don't think I will have a flat out DISASTER. I just want the fucker black. I am not trying to style my hair in it's mirror like shine. And I certainly will not be airbrushing a seascape scene on it.

Thanks for the help guys. You've been the best!

Mike
 
Squire bodies are "plywood" I believe (that does affect tone). Also, squire bodies and the pre-painted replacement bodies you mentioned to start with may not have the correct contours (I can usually tell a "non-Fender" body when I see one). Also, the neck from your strat may not fit the neck pocket of another body...causing you to have to do some woodwork. You are ALWAYS better off using the existing body if possible, instead of a "replacement" body.

You don't need a book on refinishing guitars, reranch tells you everything you need to know, to get a drop dead gorgeous black finish on your strat...right on their website.

Post a pic on this thread when you finish...I want to check it out.

good luck!
 
jimistone said:
I used a respirator I got at walmart (It worked pretty well and was cheap).
Click to expand...


I seriously doubt that any respirator sold at Wal-Mart is rated for Organic Vapors, in which case you may as well not use it. A respirator must have the purple cartridges, and they can not be bought for "cheap". Without them, the solvent fumes will pass right through. Most respirators are only rated for nuisance dust. Not at all what you need to spray lacquer.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
I seriously doubt that any respirator sold at Wal-Mart is rated for Organic Vapors, in which case you may as well not use it. A respirator must have the purple cartridges, and they can not be bought for "cheap". Without them, the solvent fumes will pass right through. Most respirators are only rated for nuisance dust. Not at all what you need to spray lacquer.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Click to expand...

you may be right, but I seriously doubt that I will get lung cancer from spraying 1 guitar.
 
jimistone said:
Squire bodies are "plywood" I believe (that does affect tone).
Click to expand...
Well, Squier affinity and bullets (the lower lines) are plywood (just pick one up and you'll see how amazingly light they are). Standard Squiers are made from alder I believe. I fixed up my 1996 Squire Standard with new Carvin pickups and new tuners, and that baby rocks; I'd take it over a Fender with stock pickups any day (I bought a AG2-R preassembled pickguard, btw). Anyway, point is, if you are considering getting a squier for it's body, get a standard series, because the others are crap. Regardless though, I'd still go with the original body most definately.
 
jimistone said:
you may be right, but I seriously doubt that I will get lung cancer from spraying 1 guitar.
Click to expand...

nitrocellulose laquer is extremely extremely bad for your health though. and you can get other lung problems from paints. some chemicals can cause temporary an/or permanent asthma like symptoms. i dont believe nitro is one of them, but it's always best to use an ov cartridge unless you've read the label on the paint and it specifies some other kind of mask or cartridge.

My dad basically got asthma (it's not asthma exactly, but it's treated the same way) from spraying polyurea and i had temporary breathing problems. we found out later that the label said that you have to use supplied air, not just an organic vapor cartirdge with it. i guess what i'm trying to say is be safe. even one exposure to some chemicals can cause permanent problems.

and ov cartridges aren't all purple. the brand light uses apparently are, but the company i work for buys black ones. they aren't cheap. not only do you have to buy the cartridges, but you have to buy the mask too.
 
If I went into the buisiness of spraying guitars with nitro laquar everyday, I would invest in the "correct" equipment. I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and I figure that is more detrimental to my lungs than spraying 1 guyitar with nitro, using adequate ventilation. One could spray it outdoors for that matter...you are going to level the finish with block sanding anyway. So, "dustballs" on the finish are no big deal...same with sags and runs (on a non-metallic color). It would just take more time and elbow grease in the sanding dept.

Anyways, I couldn't be more happy with the results.
 
jimistone said:
If I went into the buisiness of spraying guitars with nitro laquar everyday, I would invest in the "correct" equipment. I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and I figure that is more detrimental to my lungs than spraying 1 guyitar with nitro, using adequate ventilation. One could spray it outdoors for that matter...you are going to level the finish with block sanding anyway. So, "dustballs" on the finish are no big deal...same with sags and runs (on a non-metallic color). It would just take more time and elbow grease in the sanding dept.

Anyways, I couldn't be more happy with the results.
Click to expand...


Shit, I hate just letting the fumes from the shit get in my eyes. Before I do any more finish work (I just finished spraying three guitars), I am getting a full face mask. I may even be getting a Tyvex suit to protect my skin from the shit. It is really, really annoying, and of course incredibly unhealthy. Just letting the fumes get in my eyes gives me a headache for hours, and I know that can't be healthy.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Yeah, those fumes are some wicked bastards for sure. When you spray a metallic, you also have tiny aluminum particles floating around in the air to contend with. You could end up with "metal flake" lungs. After a chest X-ray the doctor might tell you "man, that is a beautiful metallic green finish on your lungs! Did you go with nitro laquar or is that urethane?"
:D
 
donkeystyle said:
and ov cartridges aren't all purple. the brand light uses apparently are, but the company i work for buys black ones. they aren't cheap. not only do you have to buy the cartridges, but you have to buy the mask too.
Click to expand...


The cartridges are not purple, but the labels are supposed to be. It is an OSHA thing.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
damn OSHA and their "things." the ones we get say on them that they're organic vapor cartridges, but i was going through a bunch of junk at work the other day and found some old cartridges for a different style mask that had purple labels. so either the ones we get aren't OSHA complient, or there's different regulations for Washington state. both are possible.
 
donkeystyle said:
damn OSHA and their "things." the ones we get say on them that they're organic vapor cartridges, but i was going through a bunch of junk at work the other day and found some old cartridges for a different style mask that had purple labels. so either the ones we get aren't OSHA complient, or there's different regulations for Washington state. both are possible.
Click to expand...


Hell, the Bushies probably made OSHA deregulate it or something like that.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top