Getting set up

[hannaugh]

It just occurred to me that I now have easy access to a decent air compressor, and could potentially try my hand at finishing now.  What stuff would I need/what specific types of spray guns, air brushes, etc would you recommend to set up a finishing workshop.

Also:  any ideas for fairly inexpensive beginning projects?

 

[chrisg]

Get an old strat / tele copy off ebay and start from there

 

[dmraco]

yep...ebay special....find a shape you like and have at it.  Sometime getting the old finish off is harded than finishing it.

try this too....
http://www.guitarpartsusa.com/item--Saga-Guitar-Kit-Les-Paul-®Style--PROD341

 

[Mor Paul]

Start off doing a solid color, maybe try metallic later.

I'll let Tonar, jack, or CB fill you in on the gear.

 

[-CB-]

Down by me is a place called Glue Products - name is suggestive of glue, but they sell auto finishing, marine finishing and furniture finishing products.  Just about any sort of finishing item, especially those that stink like fumes from a French Body Shop.

What you need to do is find a place like that by you.  Tell them what you have, and what you want to do.  You'll probably get some sort of filter/separator for your air, a small "touch up" automotive type gun - but be sure to tell them that you'll be shooting say.. lacquer vs epoxy, which uses a different gun.  You'll need and I mean NEED to get a 3m organic mask.  Imagine taking out the nail polish remover and smelling no fumes, or oven cleaner, or gasoline, or you name it.  The mask works, it traps that stuff.  You NEED it when shooting lacquer, or lacquer will slowly creep up on your brain, and you wont notice until the damage is done.  Its effect is cumulative and irreversible.  USE THE DAMN MASK, your worth the $35 it costs.  After that.... you'll need to select paint and clear coats and such.  There are some really good "musical instrument" lacquers.  Tonar has has is favorite, I'm sure he'll add more here.

The shooting part is where folks get hung up... but really... the part that ruins any finish is the prep.  You gotta prep, then prep, and prep and prep... and not take any shortcuts.  The prep is the essential part.  Any trained houseplant can shoot lacquer, but the detail work... that prep work... takes a light hand and a skilled eye.  And patience.  A LOT of patience.  Dont ever rush.  And when in doubt... wait some more.  Dont be afriad to put it down and go back in a few days with a fresh mindset and totally dry finish.

I'm sure you can arrange some place to do the work that is neat, clean and not too overly humid.

 

[dmraco]

+1 one on the prep.  You cannot clean things enough.  Have lots of naptha and lint free (i use micro fiber) cloths handy.

 

[hannaugh]

Awesome, thanks for the advice guys.  I think the hardest part of setting everything up will be finding a clean place to put stuff while it's drying where no one will bother it. 

 

[-CB-]

get a closet cleaned out... put all yer stuff on the couch..  dust and vacuum the closet... and you got it.  Dont forget to dust the top of the door.

 

[hannaugh]

That's what I figured I would do.  The tricky part will be getting from my mom's house where I would be doing the work to my apartment without accidentally banging it against something... perhaps I can find a closet at her house I can use... we'll see.

 

[dmraco]

you can make a "paint booth" faitly easy with a few 2x4s and some plastic tarps/drop cloths.  Use a furnace filter for air inlet and an old box fan blowing out thru a hole to create negative pressure.

My wife loved seeing than one day when she returned from work! :icon_biggrin:

 

[Tonar8352]

Check the CFM on your compressor and make sure to match guns to that rating. You may have a compressor that has 100 PSI but only 2.5 CFM so it will not keep the air flow strong enough to continue atomizing the material correctly from the gun. Then the gun starts spitting which is real critical when you are doing shading.  The gun manufacture will tell you the CFM Requirement for optimum performance.  That said I have used an underrated compressor for spraying in the past but it was very slow.  I still made it work.

Remember not to blow yourself up!!!!!!  We like everyone here on the board and do not want anyone to get hurt.  Many materials are more than flammable; they are explosive.  Do not work around any open flames or something that can throw a spark.  I’m sure dmraco used an explosion proof motor on the fan in his booth or he was using non-explosive materials. I have been in the Val-Spar lab and factory in Montebello and they make you turn your cell phone off to avoid any kind of spark.  I don’t think that would happen but they don’t want to blow up half a city block so they don’t take the chance.  Please be very careful.

Get the Stew Mac Guitar Finishing Step-By-Step book.  I also recommend the Stew Mac Spray Finishing Basic’s video.  These two sources will give you all the information you need to get started.  

Good luck, you will love it. To be able to take a raw piece of wood and get the most it has to offer with a beautiful finish is a great experience.

 

[hannaugh]

Thanks for the info, Tonar.  I've been wondering which books/dvds to get, and I was looking at those.  I think I'll get them.

And I will definitely try not to blow myself up.