MaxRossell's Nitro Tele Refinish. Pics!

Tex Mexico

impmann;717474" said:

[quote="Tex Mexico;717401"]*sigh*



How about we assume I'm aware that the resale value won't be the same and I don't care, I'm not interested in spending hundreds more on a whole other body to end up with a completely different guitar just to have an LPB body sitting around doing f**k all, and that I'm not some complete bell-end who will inevitably balls-up anything I attempt with a rattle can, and instead approach this from a perspective of I know how to refinish guitars, I don't like LPB but I like shoreline gold, and I'm looking for reasons why I would encounter technical problems with this combination of paints?



You know, one of the reasons I don't go on guitar forums as much as I used to is that you ask a simple question that should have a ten-word answer and instead you get a dozen guys telling you you're incompetent and your taste sucks and your idea is stupid and the only way to get right is to spend ten times more money doing something completely different.



1. I'm going to refinish this guitar, in a colour of my choice.

2. I don't give a shit how it affects the resale value.

3. I won't screw it up because I know what I'm doing, but if I did it would be my problem.

4. I'm asking if a specific type of paint requires more preparation than I currently plan to do.



Now does anyone have anything helpful to add to that, or do y'all want to keep telling me that the most important thing is what happens if I decide to sell it?

Ok fella.

Only trying help.

Not being funny but if you "know what you are doing" then why ask in the first place? Especially in view of the question you asked at the end of your initial posting... How are we to know you are an expert?

Good luck with it. [/quote]

Every day people ask about specific aspects of a project they're going to work on without people assuming they have no skills at all and telling them they'll probably fuck it up. I'm not an expert but I've painted a bunch of guitars, just never worked with nitro. There's no reason to assume just because of the question I asked that I'm bound to ruin my guitar.

jd0272

Humidity is your enemy with nitro. My humidity App is my enemy also. Living in Northumberland is a pain too, although asking the family to move darrrn sarf just so's I could get some paint on would be a bit of a stretch I think.

timhulio

You don't think that starting with a fresh body would be preferable? Then you wouldn't have to worry about paints reacting or just stripping certain layers (which sounds problematic to say the least). You could either sell this factory finished AVRI body for way more than the cost of the new body and paint, or hang onto it in case you wanted to revert to stock or sell at some point.

I don't think anyone was suggesting anything weird or unusual, and colour preferences aside (I quite like shoreline gold) I just think it'd be a shame to strip that blue body.

SimonRF

Tex Mexico said:

I just got another AVRI tele and I've decided to refinish it.

It's this one:


Anyway, I want this process to be as painless as possible, so I don't want to take it down to the bare wood. I'm thinking of sanding it back enough to take most of the colour coat off (it's Fender's "flashcoat", whatever that means, over white primer), then just respray it shoreline gold and give it a topcoat. I'd use Rothko & Frost cellulose rattlecans.

Any reason I shouldn't do it?

@Tex Mexico it's a sound plan! Nitromors and Enviromose are a bit hit and miss these days with removing finishes, but as has been mentioned acetone should do it. Better to get it off with chemical stripping like this than sanding if you can, tricky not to ruin the edge radius on Teles when sanding old finishes off.

Once the original paint is off and you're back to the sealer coat we'd recommend keying it with 600 grit to minimise the chances of any problems with adhesion. If the acetone doesn't affect the existing base coat then the paint won't cause any problems - acetone is a stronger solvent than those found in cellulose thinners.

Metallics are a base coat so it'll need a clear coat over the top.

guitargeek62

Shoot me a price for the LPB AVRI body if you like; I'm about to order a very similar one anyway so maybe we can make this work another way if you're not totally against the idea of starting with a fresh body!

Tex Mexico

I just did a little test patch under the scratchplate with some nail polish remover my wife was knocking around and the finish came off easily enough, down to the clear sealer. I think I'll go with the acetone stripper then key to 600, shoreline gold then clearcoat. Do you have a recommend for the best method for using the acetone? Are we talking apply then scrape?

jd0272

Kitchen paper, acetone on kitchen paper, wipe, repeat.

Tex Mexico

guitargeek62;717597" said:

Shoot me a price for the LPB AVRI body if you like; I'm about to order a very similar one anyway so maybe we can make this work another way if you're not totally against the idea of starting with a fresh body!

Thanks, but I think I'll do it with this one. It's a really nice weight and I quite like the process, plus it'll still be an avri body in an aftermarket finish instead of an aftermarket body, so if depreciation was a concern it'll still have value.

SteveRobinson

Tex Mexico said:

Do you have a recommend for the best method for using the acetone? Are we talking apply then scrape?

Soak some mutton cloth in acetone and wipe.

The nitro will soften then dissolve and come right off.

Finish with a clean acetone cloth, then when dry scuff sand lightly.

jd0272

SteveRobinson said:

Tex Mexico said:

Do you have a recommend for the best method for using the acetone? Are we talking apply then scrape?

Soak some mutton cloth in acetone and wipe.

The nitro will soften then dissolve and come right off.

Finish with a clean acetone cloth, then when dry scuff sand lightly.

Don't sell mutton cloth in Sainsbury's  

Tex Mexico

Thanks for the advice guys, you've been super helpful. As I said I'll be in touch about the paints real soon.

I know shoreline isn't everyone's favourite, and indeed I've been told by a few people that they really think olympic white would work better, but I've always wanted a shoreline 60s tele since I could remember and I've never seen one outside of the custom shop, so this is the closest I'll get without selling a kidney.

octatonic

Do what you like but gold is tricky to get right from rattle cans.

I would buy a Warmoth body in that colour.

Much less hassle.

Otherwise, make friends with an auto-body sprayer and get them to do it properly.

Tex Mexico

Oh right, last question:

I know that with metallics the last pass of colour needs to be dusted to get the particles to sit up and reflect, so should I flat sand before the clearcoat, or will that ruin the effect?

Tex Mexico

octatonic;717625" said:

Do what you like but gold is tricky to get right from rattle cans.

I would buy a Warmoth body in that colour.Much less hassle.

Otherwise, make friends with an auto-body sprayer and get them to do it properly.

That is good advice, but I'd like to do it myself. I like finishing guitars, and even if someone else could do a better job I'd rather have something I can be proud that I made.

SteveRobinson

jd0272 said:

Don't sell mutton cloth in Sainsbury's  

Try Halfords!

SteveRobinson

Tex Mexico said:

Oh right, last question:

I know that with metallics the last pass of colour needs to be dusted to get the particles to sit up and reflect, so should I flat sand before the clearcoat, or will that ruin the effect?

Totally ruin it!

Here's how I do it:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/2011/09/01/finishing-an-alder-telecaster-body-in-metallic-lacquer/

octatonic

Tex Mexico said:

octatonic;717625" said:

Do what you like but gold is tricky to get right from rattle cans.

I would buy a Warmoth body in that colour.Much less hassle.

Otherwise, make friends with an auto-body sprayer and get them to do it properly.

That is good advice, but I'd like to do it myself. I like finishing guitars, and even if someone else could do a better job I'd rather have something I can be proud that I made.

Buy a guitar that is worthless and practice on that first then.

If not then make sure you update this thread as a warning to others in the future.

Tex Mexico

Great guide, Steve. Thanks again.

Tex Mexico

octatonic;717639" said:

Tex Mexico said:

octatonic;717625" said:Do what you like but gold is tricky to get right from rattle cans.



I would buy a Warmoth body in that colour.Much less hassle.



Otherwise, make friends with an auto-body sprayer and get them to do it properly.

That is good advice, but I'd like to do it myself. I like finishing guitars, and even if someone else could do a better job I'd rather have something I can be proud that I made.





Buy a guitar that is worthless and practice on that first then.

If not then make sure you update this thread as a warning to others in the future.

As I've said, I'm not a complete novice, I've sprayed a bunch of guitars and a load of other things too. This isn't beyond my skill level, I'm just properly informing myself before I start.

octatonic

No worries- I didn't read the thread completely.

Would you consider getting a compressor and a gun?

You get a much better finish much more easily.

If you do this fairly often then might be worthwhile.