Can I spray paint my fixed bridge?

FighttheSilence · #1 09-04-2010, 04:09 PM

First off, its not one of my basses, its a guitar. The guitar is a Schecter Damien 6 (black). I want to spray paint the casing that borders the pickups (its just plastic) and the 2 knobs (one for volume, one for tone) white. I took them off and I know is won't damage anything. However, I was wondering about the bridge. It says Sung-il BM 003 on the bottom of the bridge and here is a picture of the top of it (except mine is black).

http://web.tradekorea.com/upload_fil...CA00191244.jpg

Would it be safe to spray paint it? I wasn't sure about the category to put this in, but the bridge is hardware.

Slowgypsy · #2 09-04-2010, 04:41 PM

The thing about spray painting something like that is...

(1) There's a reasonable chance the threads that move the saddles for intonation will get a bit gummed up by paint. Not a deal breaker, but something to be aware of.

(2) The whole bridge has been plated, which means there also a reasonable chance that paint will eventually scratch off revealing the original plated color. Plating creates a very durable surface that resists things adhering to it, like paint.

But with the above things in mind, if you still think this is a necessary thing to do, who am I to say no.

St Drogo · #3 09-04-2010, 05:02 PM

I did that to my guitar, which has the exact same bridge as yours (plus stoptail of course). went from chrome to flat black. I never experienced trouble with string gulleys getting filled with paint, but that may have just been luck, I'd say to watch out for it like slowgypsy says.

Also, I did not do any prepationwork, because it's a beater guitar and I went for the distressed look

. Keeping this in mind, the paint is coming off at the edges a bit, which is exactly what I wanted, so no biggie there. Just keep that in mind if that is not your desired result.

I have no clue about schecter pricing, but if that damien isn't too expensive, i'd say: Go for it. Just do it. If it doesn't turn out exactly the way you want, at least you've made that guitar a bit more into your guitar.

SMILEYSIXX · #4 09-04-2010, 05:03 PM

The paint will most likely not stick. At least, not long. If you really want, sand the entire surface first, spraypaint with a THIN coat then use some kind of paint finish. That's probably your best bet.

walterw · #5 09-04-2010, 05:53 PM

it's gonna look crappy, flake off, and eliminate any resale value no matter what, so as long as you're OK with that...

C.Linton · #6 09-04-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

The paint will most likely not stick. At least, not long. If you really want, sand the entire surface first, spraypaint with a THIN coat then use some kind of paint finish. That's probably your best bet.

That really won't help much at all. No matter what the OP does, it's start to look like crap before very long at all. If he doesn't care about that, that's fine. If he does care if it looks like crap, he'd be better off spending the money to get properly anodized black hardware.
Edit. I realized I just assumed the OP wanted to paint it black. As I said, if that's true, he'd be better off just getting black hardware, if it's some other color he wants , then the only way you could get that is indeed by painting. However all the warnings about it looking like crap and maybe gumming up the works after a short while, still hold true. If the OP doesn't care, well...

SMILEYSIXX · #7 09-04-2010, 06:04 PM

I know it wouldn't look great, but I'm assuming he's sold on the idea of spraypainting. My actual recommendation is to go to warmoth.

C.Linton · #8 09-04-2010, 06:17 PM

I would like to ask the OP, if he wouldn't mind telling us what color he intends to paint it, and if he cares whether or not how badly it wears.

JLS · #9 09-04-2010, 08:29 PM

Sure, but as Walter said: "it's gonna look crappy, flake off, and eliminate any resale value no matter what, so as long as you're OK with that..."

Great big fat waste of time.

Psycho · #10 09-05-2010, 03:24 PM

The paint will have a high chance of flaking and peeling, but there are some paints that stick well to plated surfaces. Enamel paints stick to damn near anything.

darkstorm · #11 09-05-2010, 05:03 PM

Car paint would prob have higher chance of staying on the thing. But why not just get replacement bridge in black and new white replacement knobs. Theyre not that expensive unless you get super deluxe kind for either.