I sort of went down this same road from friends and family asking what can you do or help me do requests wanting to put together a custom guitar that looks good but not "like furniture" or "homemade". I think its a catch-22. Most of the the classic finishes were colorful solid or translucent high gloss made with industrial equipment. There's no kitchen table shortcut to that. If there were people couldn't charge hundreds of dollars for it.
Here is what I came up with for unofficial students in Mr. Burst's unofficial newbie finishing course with some flexibility :
Get an alder, basswood, or poplar body. You're not pore filling mahogany or ash on your first build
1. aerosol white or gray primer
2. solid color of choice - metallics are discouraged because they're unforgiving of common newbie issues like runs from spraying to heavy
3. satin - you're not buffing on your first finish either
Between coats scuff sand and only worry about removing horrible runs with 400g. Satin isn't meant to be buffed and cosmetically its more tolerant of rough spots since its less reflective. My reason being if someone has no experience, sanding through is the major gotcha. Aerosol coats are notoriously thin low solids. Sand through your sea foam green and you will be cursing its a pain to repair.
This doesn't even get into other factors which can make or break the quality. Do they actually have somewhere to spray that is properly lit, shielded from elements, are they able to make some kind of holder/hanger, small sanding block, and so on.
Stew-Mac is the only active aerosol maker I've used but color choice is limited and they are always top of market pricing. Newer players like Gracey's, Oxford, Ohio Valley, and Great Lakes look promising but I haven't tried. Not everyone offers every color so it's best to find the color you want and order a bundle from one supplier. Nowadays they all provide pretty solid step by step procedures to guide you.
Here is what I came up with for unofficial students in Mr. Burst's unofficial newbie finishing course with some flexibility :
Get an alder, basswood, or poplar body. You're not pore filling mahogany or ash on your first build
1. aerosol white or gray primer
2. solid color of choice - metallics are discouraged because they're unforgiving of common newbie issues like runs from spraying to heavy
3. satin - you're not buffing on your first finish either
Between coats scuff sand and only worry about removing horrible runs with 400g. Satin isn't meant to be buffed and cosmetically its more tolerant of rough spots since its less reflective. My reason being if someone has no experience, sanding through is the major gotcha. Aerosol coats are notoriously thin low solids. Sand through your sea foam green and you will be cursing its a pain to repair.
This doesn't even get into other factors which can make or break the quality. Do they actually have somewhere to spray that is properly lit, shielded from elements, are they able to make some kind of holder/hanger, small sanding block, and so on.
Stew-Mac is the only active aerosol maker I've used but color choice is limited and they are always top of market pricing. Newer players like Gracey's, Oxford, Ohio Valley, and Great Lakes look promising but I haven't tried. Not everyone offers every color so it's best to find the color you want and order a bundle from one supplier. Nowadays they all provide pretty solid step by step procedures to guide you.
