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Repainting a guitar - Practical or Not?

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(@steve-0)
Noble Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 1162
Topic starter  

I was just wondering, I currently own a blue electric that I love but I would really like to someday change the colour to a 2-tone sunburst, my only question (since it's a cheap guitar), would it be practical to repaint it or would I be spending way too much to do it.

I'm just kind of confused as to how guitars are painted: for example, is it something I could do by myself for around $200 or less?

Steve-0


   
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(@kingpatzer)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 2171
 

You can do it for yourself. How much you spend is going to depend on how good a job you want to do, what tools you own, etc.

Refinishing any piece of wood, and a guitar is no exception, is more about elbow grease than anything else. It's a lot of work. And getting a quality finish is hard to do if you don't have things like a drying rack with vacuums to keep dust at bay or air compressors and the like.

If you want the experience of doing it for fun, go for it. But if you're talking about a $200 guitar, it's not going to be "worth it."

The simple reality is that you can make more money working at McDonalds in the time it would take to refinish the guitar than it would cost you to buy the guitar you want.

That's not to say "don't do it." It's just to say that if economics is your deciding factor then don't do it. But if you like working with wood and you want to have the bragging rights, then knock yourself out!

I highly recommend you pick up Dan Erlewine's book on guitar repair to help you figure out what you'll need to know to take on the project.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST


   
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(@snoogans775)
Reputable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 297
 

customizing a guitar is always very sentimental, a lot of people buy chep uitar and just customize them until they're as good as expensive ones. If you plan on continuing with this guitar, like replacing hardware and maybe the neck, then repainting would sound great, but I agree that it wouldn't be very economic.

I don't follow my dreams, I just ask em' where they're going and catch up with them later.
-Mitch Hedburg
Did you see that!


   
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(@greybeard)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

Before you start, you should be aware that a guitar body is often selected for painting, because it's not suitable for visible grain finishes (e.g. sunburst, etc.). You could well find that, when you strip it down, you're not going to want to show the body wood.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@gnease)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5038
 

Before you start, you should be aware that a guitar body is often selected for painting, because it's not suitable for visible grain finishes (e.g. sunburst, etc.). You could well find that, when you strip it down, you're not going to want to show the body wood.

However, it is possible to put down an opaque faux wood grain as the first layer and then a burst over that -- lot of work, though ...

-=tension & release=-


   
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 xg5a
(@xg5a)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 482
 

I've refinished 2 insturments now, and in my opinion, the insturment seems to be more attached to you after you've spent so much time working on it. I'll never sell those 2 guitars. However, it took me 3 months each, so be prepared to not play it for a while.


   
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(@manitou)
Estimable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 121
 

Ya know, you can refinish it for pennies on the dollar but it takes time. At the shop I work at we did a guitar with a quarter inch brush, dripping the finish onto the wood in blobs, then scraping it flat and sanding. it took us 3 weeks but it was BEAUTIFUL. However... I wouldnt recomend that as your first project hehe. Look on ebay for a cheap spray gun and a orbital sander and just mess around with some junk wood and stuff to get it down and youll be on your way...

SHUT UP ABOUT IRON MAIDEN SOLOS AND GO PRACTICE!
-Manitou


   
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