squier jazzmaster modding

Jtaylor

So I'm thinking of refinishing a squier vintage modified jazzmaster to get rid of the thick poly finish for a thin nitro and to change from the sunburst to black, Im not looking to get a perfect glossy black finish but a thin satiny black

Ive never refinished a body before so have no idea where to get paint and what steps i need to do

Do I need to primer the body or seal it before i spray it if i want a thin skin finish?

If i want it to naturally relic really quickly can i just not lacquar it? 

where can i buy nitro paint from? 

Thanks in advance for your help

thermionic

Your first question should be: How do I get that thick poly finish off?

Jtaylor

@thermionic looking online it seems i can use a heat gun as long as i constantly move it and keep the temperature low? and then it just scrapes off? 

thermionic

Yes, I think that's the best way. Not sure if I'd want to try it myself though!

Have you thought about buying an unfinished body from guitarbuild.co.uk? 2-piece alder for £99. You can offset the cost (see what I did there) by selling the Squier body for a few quid.

Jtaylor

i hadn't thought out of doing that, might be a good option, either way, if i don't mind seeing the wood grain through the black is it necessary to use a primer or sealer? could i just sand the body smooth and spray straight on with the black?

dchwhite

Guitarbuild have an offer on atm too - £20 off if you spend over £100. I think just being on their email list gets you the voucher code.

paulnb57

Ive Satin Blacked a couple of bare wood bodies, I wanted to achieve a finish similar to what was on my 06 Gibson Melody Maker LPJ that was very thin and showed the wood grain. So I primed the bare wood and then sprayed with Satin Black, no lacquer, used Halfords rattle cans. The finish came out very well just as I hoped......as the paint is thin it will chip and wear more quickly, but is more durable than I expected, warm the paint in a bucket of hand hot water (dry the can with a towel before spraying) spray a few thin coats of paint, dont try and do it all with one thick coat.....

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii21/paulnb57/imagejpg3_zps6eb1d061.jpg

Jtaylor

ooh, thanks @dchwhite, will probably buy one from them, that looks lush @paulnb57, if i used gloss and did thin coats will it look like that with the grain but glossy? 

paulnb57

Mmmm, probably! Never tried!

paulnb57

Actually I suppose I could have gloss lacquered over the satin, so gut feeling is yes!

Jtaylor

found this on google images 

so if I sand a body smooth, then one or two thin coats of primer, then a few thin coats of gloss with light sanding in-between, will it look like that do you reckon?

Jtaylor

another angle, looks lush!

paulnb57

Cant say for sure how it will come out as I have never done it, but gut feeling suggests it would work.

I'm pretty good with rattle cans, so dont sand between coats, Ive used them on several things over the years and there is an art to it. 

The two guitars that I have done were both satin black and I wanted a thin finish for the grain texture to show through. I spray by feel and the look of the finish, its hard to explain. They probably have 2 coats of primer and four of top coat. The LPJ above was sanded prior to spraying and the finished result is straight from the can.....

Best advice is to attach a "handle" of some description into the neck pocket, so you can move the body around while spraying, put a cup hook in the end so you can hang it up to dry and when your arm aches (!).

Sand the body to be as smooth as you can, ANY scratches WILL show through, warm the can in hand hot water, dry the can before spraying, I spray in the garden, don't be tempted to put too much paint on in one coat, several light coats works best. I go round the edges first, then east to west, then north to south.

Have somewhere ready to hang it to dry, depending on weather or temperatue in the house, will determine how long it takes to start to dry. Dont rush it! 

We have french windows and the curtain rail works well to hang from to dry...

Preparation, light coats and somewhere warm for it to dry is paramount!

Good luck!

ThePrettyDamned

For that look, you may want to consider wudtone.

Black magic woman - I did my jazzmaster in it. I'll post a pic in a bit, I satin top coated which is a bit glossy. The glossy version is glossier, though not like a buffed poly. More like lightly buffed nitro.

It's good stuff, is wudtone.

paulnb57

ThePrettyDamned said:

For that look, you may want to consider wudtone.

Black magic woman - I did my jazzmaster in it. I'll post a pic in a bit, I satin top coated which is a bit glossy. The glossy version is glossier, though not like a buffed poly. More like lightly buffed nitro.

It's good stuff, is wudtone.

Probably good advice if you havent sprayed before, less chance of a disaster!

impmann

Wudtone.

It's great stuff, looks great and ages nicely. Plus it's dead easy to apply indoors without pissing off everyone around you (unlike spray paint).

mart

Jtaylor said:

another angle, looks lush!

That looks lovely, but I don't think you'll achieve it on your Squier. 

I'm pretty sure that's ash, with the grain like that, and your Squier is likely to be a much plainer looking piece of wood. Plus I suspect they may have done something to emphasise the grain on that Strat.

Paging @SteveRobinson for a bit of expert input. (http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk)

WezV

yes, you need the right wood first, then as long as you don't grainfill that is what you end up with

you want to avoid having to sand back or buff as much as possible as that will leave a white residue in the grain, so if sprayign you need to get is sanded really well and give the grain a blow our with compressed air before spraying a few light coats of colour and a light coat of clear gloss.  polish with wax and a microfibre cloth (or fine wire wool if it needs a bit of evening out) for a semi-gloss finish that won't leave white residue in the pores

paulnb57

My comments were based on selling the Squier body and replacing with a new one....

WezV

here are a couple of nitro thin skins I have done with the method described above

over mahogany

and ash

although this is Eze-oil over a wood stain (again on ash)

 

the normal issue with oil's and stains is that the oil lifts the stain and you end up with a washed out colour - the Eze-oil seems better for that and I was still able to get a vibrant colour with a thin oil finish

Jtaylor

Thanks for all the help guys, yeh Im going to get a new body, either ash or alder, I've sprayed loads of stuff before so am fine with the actual spraying part, and i have access to a proper spray booth, and a compressed air gun 

So I sand smooth right at the start and then clean off all the dust with an air gun then primer twice and spray four thin coats without any sanding in-between? 

Any advice for where to buy primer and nitro black gloss? 

Had a look at the wudtone stuff, looks great, but is probably more expensive then just a can of primer and black? 

For the new body ash or alder? 

Also, my squier body at the moment has a mustang bridge on it, when i order the new body should i ask for it to be routed for a tune o matic so that its easier to adjust as the mustang is a bit fiddly, or is their a downside to having a tune o matic?

Sorry for asking so many questions!