Finishing a guitar

alexthecheese · 26 Oct 2006 at 12:40

Got an old Hohner at home that is lying in pieces at the moment. It's been sanded down and is in need of a finish of sorts and putting back together and then setting up.

Just looking for ideas of what to make it into really so I thought I'd get some input from you guys. I don't want it to be a solid plain colour, run of the mill, I quite like it to be something wacky and a bit off the rails.

HIT ME! :eek:

ferretmaster · 26 Oct 2006 at 12:44

hmmmmmmmmmmm

A neighbours themed guitar! Paint harold bishop and Karl kennedy on it.
A mongoose playing guitar on the guitar with a top hat.

Northwind · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:42

What shape? Fire's always good

Especially if it's got any sort of figuring in the top.

alexthecheese · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:47

This is what it looked like, before I took it apart and stripped/sanded the body. Neck is actually rather nice, quite wide and flat and it allows for a very low action without buzzing which is a big plus for me.

How would I go about doing the fire thing? Get some templates and just go for it with some spray cans?

Also, what finish would you guys recommend?

FireMoon · 26 Oct 2006 at 20:36

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but that is quite a rare guitar you have virtually destroyed the intrinsic value of, by stripping it :eek:

collisster · 26 Oct 2006 at 21:37

o oh spaggettios

m3csl2004 · 26 Oct 2006 at 23:52

swirl?

Makavelli · 27 Oct 2006 at 10:22

I would have prefered it the way it was to be honest. IMHO if you are going to put a pattern on a guitar then it should be a solid body, by that i mean no pickguard hiding a monstrous pickup/electrics cavity. I suppose a work around would be to buy a plain pickguard and work the pattern onto that as well. Never really been a fan of pickguards myself.

Incidently is that a zero fret on the guitar? Have read about them but never actually seen a guitar with one.

alexthecheese · 28 Oct 2006 at 11:08

I couldn't leave it the way it was. It came from Oxfam for about £20 and the paint was ruined, huge gashes in it that meant the only thing I could do was strip it.

I'm thinking - dont laugh! - red and green check all over the thing, including the pick guard like you mention.

I think it'd look cool.

How many layers of paint do you reckon I would need? Any recommendations on finishing it? My grandad has a spray gun but I'm tempted to just get some spray cans from a hobby store and do it that way.

Makavelli · 28 Oct 2006 at 11:59

visit the forums at projectguitar.com you'll get loads of advice there also reranch.com. Best thing to do is if you know anyone that works in a car body shop and get them to spray it with two pack. I would imagine you would need at least half a dozen spray cans out of a shop as you are supposed to spray a layer, let it dry, sand down to polish finish, apply the next layer and repeat - lot of elbow grease require if you DIY.