Refinishing Jaguar

[Blue9]

I figured I'd start a thread to document my refinishing job. I've always loved Jaguars and finally picked one up. Unfortunately there are only two stock finishes that I like - Sunburst and Oly White - and the one I got wasn't either. But that's okay - I'm looking forward to making a more wild looking Jaguar!

Unfortunately in my excitement I didn't snap a pic before starting the tear down. Whoo boy - it's pretty obvious before opening her up, but there's LOTS of wires to disconnect! Hopefully the diagrams I drew, and the notes I taped to the leads will make sense when I put her back together!

Got all the paint off! It actually came up much easier than I anticipated. A good heat gun and a scraper had it coming off in sheets! Trickiest areas were the spots on either side of the pocket, but even that wasn't too bad. Gave it a quick rundown with a palm sander and the surface feels great!

Taped up all the cavities! Ready for paint!

 

[Blue9]

I got these responses to a question about whether I should plug up the bridge mounting holes I originally posted in another thread and figured I'd put them here:

Don't worry about it. The bridge mounting holes would be fine.

One thing I would suggest you to do, if didn't know it already, don't sand the body to the bare wood. Just scuff sand it using 600 grit paper. It would save you massive amount of pain and time.

All the best.

Too late! I didn't want to end up with a super thick finish, so took it all the way down. Also, if this bass ever becomes "road worn" I'd rather have wood peeking through than the original black finish. Removing the finish was actually a much easier task than I imagined it would be. I'm glad I didn't try to sand it off - that would have been a much tougher and messier job. With the heat and scraper the paint came off in large chunks and sheets, only leaving patches of sealer which came off easily with a palm sander.

If you are using a Kandy you do not want to spray it directly onto the metal flake, you are inviting disaster by doing so. You need to spray at least 3 coats of clear over your flake and level sand it before spraying your Kandy. The flake will result in a rather bumpy finish, and sanding through the clear into the Kandy coat will result in a light area in the Kandy. So after you level sand it, then spray your Kandy, spray a few more coats of clear before cutting and buffing.

Thanks for the tip! I'll be spraying the silver flake suspended in a carrier (I've seen that some people spray, or throw, dry flake on a wet coat of clear) , and will use an intercoat clear before going with the kandy. This will be my first time using flake, but I was under the impression that you don't do any - or only very light sanding - of the intercoat that sits on top of the flake because you can easily sand into the flake and take color out of the flake. Of course that won't be an issue with this job since my flake is silver. But I thought the sanding process was typically limited to the finish clear, and that's where I was going to concentrate on building up a thick coat so I don't cut into the kandy. Since hitting the flake with sandpaper won't matter on this job perhaps I'll sand both the intercoat and finish coat. Thanks again for giving me something to think about!

 

[Harry Cahyadi]

If you are using a Kandy you do not want to spray it directly onto the metal flake, you are inviting disaster by doing so. You need to spray at least 3 coats of clear over your flake and level sand it before spraying your Kandy. The flake will result in a rather bumpy finish, and sanding through the clear into the Kandy coat will result in a light area in the Kandy. So after you level sand it, then spray your Kandy, spray a few more coats of clear before cutting and buffing.

Hi Hopkins,

A question, why is it not recommended to spray the Kandy over the flake?

I'm just curious, because on my last project (How I do Small Flake/Glitter finish using spray cans), that was exactly what I did (the test piece, as pictured below, not the actual bass)

What I did was:
- 1 coat of black as the base colour
- 1 coat of the silver glitter
- 1 coat of trans red
- 4 coats of clear

All of those are out of spray cans

I actually tried what you mentioned before, but spraying the trans red after the clear made the glitter looks dull. The glitter didn't end up as shinny.

The reason for asking is because I want to avoid problems in the future, when doing similar finish.

Thank you.

Harry

 

[Blue9]

Harry - what problems did you run into with your example? Looks great from the pic! As I said, this will be my first time working with flake, so just curious about any pitfalls and how to avoid them.

I'll be using a spray gun/compressor for the primer, flake, and clear coats, and an airbrush/compressor for the base and kandy coats.

 

[Hopkins]

Hi Hopkins,

A question, why is it not recommended to spray the Kandy over the flake?

I'm just curious, because on my last project (How I do Small Flake/Glitter finish using spray cans), that was exactly what I did (the test piece, as pictured below, not the actual bass)

What I did was:
- 1 coat of black as the base colour
- 1 coat of the silver glitter
- 1 coat of trans red
- 4 coats of clear

All of those are out of spray cans

I actually tried what you mentioned before, but spraying the trans red after the clear made the glitter looks dull. The glitter didn't end up as shinny.

The reason for asking is because I want to avoid problems in the future, when doing similar finish.

Thank you.

Harry

Well, I have never used glitter paint from a spray can, so I could be way off base. The flake I spray is a heavy metal flake which is very rough after being sprayed. I spray a few coats of clear and level sand it before spraying the Kandy because it lowers the risk of sanding through the Kandy coat when level sanding the clear. Trying to level sand the unevenness out of the finish on top of the Kandy coat is an invitation for disaster.

 

[Hopkins]

Harry - what problems did you run into with your example? Looks great from the pic! As I said, this will be my first time working with flake, so just curious about any pitfalls and how to avoid them.

I'll be using a spray gun/compressor for the primer, flake, and clear coats, and an airbrush/compressor for the base and kandy coats.

Buy the Kandy color you want in a Kandy Koncentrate (assuming you are using HOK) and mix it with your clear and spray it with your spray gun. It will yield a more even color

 

[Hopkins]

Thanks for the tip! I'll be spraying the silver flake suspended in a carrier (I've seen that some people spray, or throw, dry flake on a wet coat of clear) , and will use an intercoat clear before going with the kandy. This will be my first time using flake, but I was under the impression that you don't do any - or only very light sanding - of the intercoat that sits on top of the flake because you can easily sand into the flake and take color out of the flake. Of course that won't be an issue with this job since my flake is silver. But I thought the sanding process was typically limited to the finish clear, and that's where I was going to concentrate on building up a thick coat so I don't cut into the kandy. Since hitting the flake with sandpaper won't matter on this job perhaps I'll sand both the intercoat and finish coat. Thanks again for giving me something to think about!

Yes, that is exactly the same method I use as well. What you have to do is to spray 3 or 4 full coats of clear over the flake coat and level sand the clear being careful not to cut into the flake itself. You are absolutely right about sanding the color out of the flake. Which is the same reason I was recommending level sanding before spraying the Kandy coats.

I have a build thread where I sprayed Kandy over silver flake. Hopefully it will give you some information
Rockabilly/Hotrod finish Telecaster (ultra short scale, 6 string piccalo bass)

 

[Harry Cahyadi]

Well, I have never used glitter paint from a spray can, so I could be way off base. The flake I spray is a heavy metal flake which is very rough after being sprayed. I spray a few coats of clear and level sand it before spraying the Kandy because it lowers the risk of sanding through the Kandy coat when level sanding the clear. Trying to level sand the unevenness out of the finish on top of the Kandy coat is an invitation for disaster.

I see. I think in your case it definitely makes sense to do clear first, because the flake size is much bigger.

Thanks.

Harry - what problems did you run into with your example? Looks great from the pic! As I said, this will be my first time working with flake, so just curious about any pitfalls and how to avoid them.

I'll be using a spray gun/compressor for the primer, flake, and clear coats, and an airbrush/compressor for the base and kandy coats.

Sorry if I was a little bit confusing.

I didn't actually run into any problems. I was just want to know the reason why Hopkins did it his way.

It is all makes sense, as I stated above.

All the best.

 

[Blue9]

Yes, that is exactly the same method I use as well. What you have to do is to spray 3 or 4 full coats of clear over the flake coat and level sand the clear being careful not to cut into the flake itself. You are absolutely right about sanding the color out of the flake. Which is the same reason I was recommending level sanding before spraying the Kandy coats.

I have a build thread where I sprayed Kandy over silver flake. Hopefully it will give you some information
Rockabilly/Hotrod finish Telecaster (ultra short scale, 6 string piccalo bass)

Awesome - thanks! I'll check out your thread before I get started - hoping to lay down all the coats next week.
I am doing HOK paints, but using Roth Baby Flake, so even though I'm sure it'll need some level sanding it won't be as rough as a heavy flake.

 

[Hopkins]

Awesome - thanks! I'll check out your thread before I get started - hoping to lay down all the coats next week.
I am doing HOK paints, but using Roth Baby Flake, so even though I'm sure it'll need some level sanding it won't be as rough as a heavy flake.

It will be pretty rough man, as it will take at least 4 flake coats to get the flake populated as much as it will need too.

 

[StreetScenes]

Glade to see you breaking out the flake!

I'm doing a Jag as well for myself and wow you are right it has a ton of wiring under that guard. I based mine in black and added teal flake in my clear. Then I added a few more coats of clear to lock the flake in. I'll just sanded it down to level things for the candy burst over.

Subscribed

 

[Duder]

Sub'd. I can't wait to see what you do with this.

 

[Blue9]

Been spraying the past couple days. Here she is primed:

I forgot to snap a pic after I put the base coat down, but here she is with base coat and flake, lightly scuffed before kandy.

And here's a shot with kandy:

I'm shooting clear right now. Waiting for my second coat to flash dry before shooting another coat. Aside from a spot on the back where some fuzz/dust stuck to immediately as I started spraying my first coat of clear, this is turning out exactly as I had hoped. Perfect color with subtle sparkles from the Roth Baby Flake. Shooting the kandy purple over the silver flake makes some of the flakes appear red - I love it! I almost used red flake, but figured I'd stick with silver for my first flake purchase.

Tomorrow I'll try to lightly sand away the fuzz/dust that stuck to the back and then give the back several coats of clear. Then I'll probably give it until next weekend to start cutting the clear and re-shoot a final coat before polishing.

 

[Blue9]

Glade to see you breaking out the flake!

I'm doing a Jag as well for myself and wow you are right it has a ton of wiring under that guard. I based mine in black and added teal flake in my clear. Then I added a few more coats of clear to lock the flake in. I'll just sanded it down to level things for the candy burst over.

Subscribed

Sounds pretty - I'd love to see pics!

 

[Hopkins]

That purple Kandy is slick, I would have used a bigger flake, or at least sprayed a few more flake coats, but that's just me. The fun part is color sanding and polishing.

 

[Blue9]

That purple Kandy is slick, I would have used a bigger flake, or at least sprayed a few more flake coats, but that's just me. The fun part is color sanding and polishing.

I'm looking forward to incorporating larger flake on some sculptures I'm working on, but wanted subtle sparkle on my bass. I figured small flake would also be an easier introduction to using flake...plus, I'll probably need a gun with a larger tip for shooting large flake! But the baby flake was much easier than I expected - basically no different than shooting intercoat clear. Hopefully, with the right gun, large flake will be just as easy.

I'm also really loving the kandy purple! If I wasn't impatient I was going to shoot a practice panel with red, blue, purple, and grey primer as my base colors to see how the kandy worked on top of each color. Obviously in the end I decided to just shoot over purple - I can't say I'm disappointed! I just need a few other projects to see how different bases and different flake colors affect the kandy.

BTW - I really like what you did with your projects you linked me to! That's the sort of flake I want to do on some of my sculptures. Heavy flake!

 

[Hopkins]

I'm looking forward to incorporating larger flake on some sculptures I'm working on, but wanted subtle sparkle on my bass. I figured small flake would also be an easier introduction to using flake...plus, I'll probably need a gun with a larger tip for shooting large flake! But the baby flake was much easier than I expected - basically no different than shooting intercoat clear. Hopefully, with the right gun, large flake will be just as easy.

I'm also really loving the kandy purple! If I wasn't impatient I was going to shoot a practice panel with red, blue, purple, and grey primer as my base colors to see how the kandy worked on top of each color. Obviously in the end I decided to just shoot over purple - I can't say I'm disappointed! I just need a few other projects to see how different bases and different flake colors affect the kandy.

BTW - I really like what you did with your projects you linked me to! That's the sort of flake I want to do on some of my sculptures. Heavy flake!

I use this spray gun for flake. Its cheap, has a massive tip, and works well. I would recommend dedicating a spray gun for flake, using it for clear or solid colors after spraying flake will always end up with a random flake in clear where flake is not supposed to be.

 

[Blue9]

Wow - that's a great price for that gun! And with that tip I'm assuming it'll shoot the largest of flakes.
I've got a dedicated clear coating gun. A dedicated flake gun would probably be a very wise investment.

 

[StreetScenes]

Thanks I'll have to try that gun out as well. You should be able to spray anything in that one.

 

[Blue9]

Been slacking on the photo shots, but her she is with the clear knocked down with 1000. First one is before I hit the sides, second is the whole body knocked down. Soaking my 1500 right now, and found that I don't have any 2000 in the house. Probably not worth braving the ice rink that are Portland streets - will have to wait until the weekend to finish up (hopefully!).