Rattle Can Refinish Club

[SurferJoe46]

I remember using doilies to get this effect, but I've never heard of a fabric that (it sounds like) you glued to the bare wood and just clear coat over it.

Can you go a little further in describing the thickness of this fabric and/or if it's precolored to this interesting pattern --- or what?!?!

What does the 'fabric' look like - a sheet of paper? a vinyl sticker? decoupage?

 

[JIO]

It's like wallpaper - thin printed paper glued/pasted to the front & back with a burst sprayed on the edges to blend it seamless. (as in the pic above) Some of the original late 60's Fenders with the paisley and flower patterns developed delimitation issues later. I used vintage wallpaper on my J hs. Once pasted I sprayed matt lacquer over it as a seal-coat. Wallpaper can be thin and since it's meant to be pasted to a surface (usually a wall) it is ideal for applying to a guitar/bass as it won't fall apart as you are applying it. (compared to decoupaging comic-strip art or whatever)

 

[SurferJoe46]

Can you suggest a brand name for me?

Is it available at places like Jo-Ann's Shops, etc? Or art supply stores? In Montana? - where the Pony Express might bring me some? If I use a larger caliber weapon than he has.

I'd like to find a 1950's style soda fountain/cafeteria type pattern that used to be on the table tops and counters in places like Woolworth's and J.C.Penny's. It was a kinda 'pearl-white' with flecks of greyish silver in it.

Sorry to be such a whiner - but this intrigues me and will solve a problem I've had for about four-five years now.

 

[JIO]

Can you suggest a brand name for me?

Is it available at places like Jo-Ann's Shops, etc? Or art supply stores? In Montana? - where the Pony Express might bring me some? If I use a larger caliber weapon than he has.

I'd like to find a 1950's style soda fountain/cafeteria type pattern that used to be on the table tops and counters in places like Woolworth's and J.C.Penny's. It was a kinda 'pearl-white' with flecks of greyish silver in it.

Sorry to be such a whiner - but this intrigues me and will solve a problem I've had for about four-five years now.

Here's the skinny - yard sales, thrift stores, paint stores, craigslist - you never know where you'll stumble on some bitchin' wallpaper from the 50's or 60's or 70's - maybe even on eBay - who knows? Sometimes if you can find an image of your desired 'classic' pattern etc you can replicate it - print it out and paste it down! Most people throw away old ("vintage") partial rolls of wallpaper when they clean out their garage - it's an untapped market dude! You can start a retro-wallpaper revolution!

 

[SurferJoe46]

On it ---- like flies on, er, ..... never mind.

 

[cardinal]

I remember using doilies to get this effect, but I've never heard of a fabric that (it sounds like) you glued to the bare wood and just clear coat over it.

Can you go a little further in describing the thickness of this fabric and/or if it's precolored to this interesting pattern --- or what?!?!

What does the 'fabric' look like - a sheet of paper? a vinyl sticker? decoupage?

Yup, the fabric looks just like the center that you can see. The bright pink around the edges is paint to hide the seam.

I used a cotton linen fabric. Once it was wet with the glue, it's a bit stretchy and it conformed perfectly to the belly cut on the back. That's a big advantage over wallpaper, which I don't think could have done that.

I bought the fabric from Zazzle. You can custom order fabric with anything you want printed on it.

 

[ashbory]

The Project Guitar tutorial probably is the best one. But here's roughly what I did:

1) get the body down to bare wood
2) Cut the fabric roughly to shape
3) use matte Modge Podge on the body and back of the fabric to glue the fabric down. Use a LOT of glue. I don't think you can use too much here because you don't want to miss any spots
4) use a squeegee to flatted the fabric and squeeze out extra glue (this is why you can't use too much in the step above)
5) let it dry for a few minutes and apply for Modge Podge over the top. Repeat til you get tired of it
6) Let dry over night, then use a sharp razor to trim the edges back to the body
7) sand the surface and edges. If the edges are frying instead of sanding, brush with super glue and let that harden. That will sand well.
8) some I think use a clear filler. I just buried it under a lot of clear coat.

I am also curious what brand clear coat you used, and how you got such a nice pro looking finish.

 

[cardinal]

I am also curious what brand clear coat you used, and how you got such a nice pro looking finish.

I used House of Kolor metallic pink. You can find them in aerosols. The clear coat is NASTY stuff: the 2k clear coat. They make them in aerosols now complete with the activator. That stuff is dangerous if you don't have the right protective equipment. But it's easy to use, hard as a rock, as looks professional.

 

[ashbory]

I used House of Kolor metallic pink. You can find them in aerosols. The clear coat is NASTY stuff: the 2k clear coat. They make them in aerosols now complete with the activator. That stuff is dangerous if you don't have the right protective equipment. But it's easy to use, hard as a rock, as looks professional.

Did you use more than one coat of the 2K, and did you use any compound or special rag for buffing it?

 

[cardinal]

Did you use more than one coat of the 2K, and did you use any compound or special rag for buffing it?

I used the whole can, I forget how many coats. 10? It took a LOT to fill the fabric. I probably should have used a clear grain filler first. I'll try that next time.

I then wet sanded with I think 800 to 1200 to 2000. Then polished with two different grits of polishing/buffing compound on cotton cloths.

 

[ashbory]

I used the whole can, I forget how many coats. 10? It took a LOT to fill the fabric. I probably should have used a clear grain filler first. I'll try that next time.

I then wet sanded with I think 800 to 1200 to 2000. Then polished with two different grits of polishing/buffing compound on cotton cloths.

cool. I've been watching lots of you tube videos, some of these go into great detail, but then don't get great results...

 

[markoc]

I could use a little help. I'm finally ready to pull the trigger and repaint my squier J. I want to go with an oly. white nitro finish and am looking for specific information on what paint to use. Home Depot is the easiest access for me. Paint and clear coat? Thanks in advance.

 

[mojomike001]

I could use a little help. I'm finally ready to pull the trigger and repaint my squier J. I want to go with an oly. white nitro finish and am looking for specific information on what paint to use. Home Depot is the easiest access for me. Paint and clear coat? Thanks in advance.

I had some nice results using Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2X spray paint which I bought from Home Depot for under $4 a can. They carry a lot of colors. I used a grey primer, a color coat, and a clear, but did not find the clear to be much of a help. I could have gotten the same result skipping the clear coat altogether. Ultimately, the final finish came from wet-sanding and polishing. This color is called "Ocean Mist." I'm not certain of the paint formula because they don't tell you anywhere on the can, but I read somewhere that it is some sort of lacquer. It did polish like a lacquer.

 

[markoc]

I had some nice results using Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2X spray paint which I bought from Home Depot for under $4 a can. They carry a lot of colors. I used a grey primer, a color coat, and a clear, but did not find the clear to be much of a help. I could have gotten the same result skipping the clear coat altogether. Ultimately, the final finish came from wet-sanding and polishing. This color is called "Ocean Mist." I'm not certain of the paint formula because they don't tell you anywhere on the can, but I read somewhere that it is some sort of lacquer. It did polish like a lacquer.

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Nice looking bass, thanks.

 

[Bassnomer]

Hello everyone! After receiving a Squier SS Jag with a matching black painted headstock, I've decided to paint the headstock on my black Squier affinity P to match the body. I'm really kind of clueless when it comes to painting, so I'm looking for some advice. I'm not sure what the finish on the headstock is exactly, it appears to be thin and not high-gloss. Will I need to sand this a bit to rough it up before painting? Paint-wise, is it best to go matte or gloss for the black? I saw a video of someone who used a high gloss paint and polished it up with car wax. Is that not recommended?

 

[friskinator]

Hello everyone! After receiving a Squier SS Jag with a matching black painted headstock, I've decided to paint the headstock on my black Squier affinity P to match the body. I'm really kind of clueless when it comes to painting, so I'm looking for some advice. I'm not sure what the finish on the headstock is exactly, it appears to be thin and not high-gloss. Will I need to sand this a bit to rough it up before painting? Paint-wise, is it best to go matte or gloss for the black? I saw a video of someone who used a high gloss paint and polished it up with car wax. Is that not recommended?

Yes, you will need to sand it a bit before painting. A once over with 220 then 320 should be fine. Tape off the sides of the headstock with thin strips of painter's tape, then spray with gray primer until the wood is completely covered. After drying overnight, scuff sand it lightly, then spray a few coats with gloss black until the primer is completely covered. After it dries (overnight should be fine), you'll need to spray clear coat then wet sand/polish for best results. For a headstock, one can of color/clear should be fine. I like Duplicolor auto paint, but I usually use Minwax lacquer for clear.

If you want it to look good and match the body, it'll take a little time. But spraying a headstock is a good way to learn the art of painting. And if you mess up, you can always re-sand and start over without much effort.

 

[DerekW]

I did it with krylon fusion on a mim Jazz headstock.
Very light sanding, no primer, 3 coats black gloss, 3 coats krylon low odor clear gloss. Seems very durable so far. And that's right over the original waterslide, can't see it all.

I actually ordered a silver replacement waterslide, complete with the original serial number... Looked great, screwed up putting it on, so I need to order another on (or two) lol

 

[Bassnomer]

What are your opinions on using a brush-on poly for the clear coat? I've used it when coating a poker table and had good results.

 

[DerekW]

I should add I wet sanded with 600 grit in between coats.

 

[buick]

Mojo Mike the type of lacquer you paint was if I had to guess was an acrylic lacquer I've used this type of paint on some of my cars it's very forgiving but a bit labor intensive But the results are worth it there's a trick to doing a great finish other than the prep work trick is to be patient while at the lacquer cures and shrinks so after you spray it let it shrink for a couple of months the longer the better. I remember seeing restored classic cars with washboard doors and how that happened is that the person did the wet sanding and polishing too soon and it looked great for a short time but as the paint shrinks the waves in the paint start to happen