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Painting Machine heads and the bridge?

H

harry182

Nov 28, 2009
103
0
England
www.youtube.com
#1
Well i recently picked up a warwick corvette rockbass for silly money with the intention of giving it a bit of a refurb myself....

Is it possible to paint the machine heads and bridge? and how do you go about it?

just normal prep, primer, paint and laquer?

will it effect sound? as currently the string is touching metal, but if i paint it, itll be touching paint?

anything else thats worth noting?

cheers for the help guys :)
 
#2
I've painted a tuner on my guitar, but it's a cheap beater and I didn't have very high standards, so I just used spraypaint. I would not recommend that if you want quality. It get's flakey, which is fine for my purposes, but if you want it to actually look good, you should go for a different option. I have no idea what though. GL.

Edit: I went to pick up my guitar after I posted this and found I actually painted five tuning keys, the bridge, the tailpiece and the strapbuttons this way. Still not recommending it, though.
 
#11
measure from the center of the outside strings and divide by 4 (you have a 5 string I think...) 16.5 mm = .6495 inches X 4 = 2.598, you should get about 2.6 inches from your B to your G. OR measure from the centers of two strings and ....well you know the rest...lol fyi 17mm = .669 inches, 18mm = .708 inches, and 19mm = .748. (I recently got new digital calipers, I couldn't resist...lol) i gotta get a life, way tooo much time on my hands....good luck.
tjm
 
#15
tjmdetroit said:
measure from the center of the outside strings and divide by 4 (you have a 5 string I think...) 16.5 mm = .6495 inches X 4 = 2.598, you should get about 2.6 inches from your B to your G. OR measure from the centers of two strings and ....well you know the rest...lol fyi 17mm = .669 inches, 18mm = .708 inches, and 19mm = .748. (I recently got new digital calipers, I couldn't resist...lol) i gotta get a life, way tooo much time on my hands....good luck.
tjm
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Hey no i apriciate the help :) people like you and a few others in this thread make forums worth staying on :)

currently on a car forum and for asking simple questions is a nightmare

tjmdetroit said:
Hipshot type A bridges can be adjusted width wise....ummm I mean you can adjust you string to line up over the poles of you pu. To a degree....Hipshot type B bridges are fixed so you have to know your string spacing.
http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=121
Ask them with their email system if the .669 will adjust to .6495 (16.5) spacing. (that's tight spacing for a 5er aint it?)
tjm
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And yeah i thought the strings where a bit close together for what i had previously played in a 5 string and was a little difficult to grasp at first (this being my 1st 5 string as well) but now, i dont really notice. its pretty cool :)

Ric5 said:
Paint doesn't stick to chrome very well. It will end up chipping off and looking bad.
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cheers for that :) defenetly not going down the paint route

tjmdetroit said:
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comes in black tooo.
any help?
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Thank you for that :)

was one of the 1st ones i looked at. would certainly look better.

the only thing that concerns me is that its in two peices and the current bridge i have is one....

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DSC00990.jpg


worried about them lining up and the intonation milarky. I think ill buy the tuning keys and then see how much it would be to get my current one made black with one of the methods already listed in this thread

Cheers for all the help guys :)
 
#17
I powder coated the chrome tuners from my Steve Harris P black, and it matched the black BAII bridge perfectly. Been at least 4 years, and many string changes now. I reccomend that route.

When you consider a set of black Hipshots are what, about $75 or so right?, a $100 p/c rig was a good move. Plus, now I have the toys to powder coat anything I want :D
 
#18
Stu L. said:
I powder coated the chrome tuners from my Steve Harris P black, and it matched the black BAII bridge perfectly. Been at least 4 years, and many string changes now. I reccomend that route.

When you consider a set of black Hipshots are what, about $75 or so right?, a $100 p/c rig was a good move. Plus, now I have the toys to powder coat anything I want :D
Click to expand...
I seen your post and googled powder coating stuff....I have a Hipshot type A six string CHROME bridge that I want to change to black. Some say you can't pc chrome...some say no problem. I think I would leave the saddles chrome cuz of all the little orfices....whatca think?
 
#20
My tuners were chrome when I started, and it took no problem. I would think a good cleaning prior to powder (which you have to do with any finishing product) is all I did. I used a flat black, and like I said, it matches a black Quan perfectly. I powder all my pedals now, and it holds up great to constantly being stomped on.
 

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