Question for Artists - Oil Paint

[whitebison66]

I have had a few guitar bodies painted by a good friend who is an artist, working in oil-based paints, using a mixture of Daler Rowney and Maimeri 'Classico' oil paint.

I don't want the work to be ruined, so I wanted to ask ahead of time about any kind of issues I might encounter with my intended finishing method.

Since the guitars will be matte, I want to use Mr. Hobby brand Mr. Super Clear spray finish. It's a Japanese brand that is a "Lacquer based Clear coat" and "a solvent-type coating agent."

It's the only matte clear I can find in Hong Kong.



Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hannaugh]

The only way to know for sure if it's going to work is to try a test piece and see what happens.  Just put some of the oils in question on a piece of wood and spray the clear over it and wait.  You never know when you're working with different products exactly what is going to happen, so just do a test run. 

 

[Finch]

if it contains any kind of thinner it might make the paint run or smear, at least until it sets. test the waters first, and visit an art supply shop or go online dickblick.com is a good online art supply vendor

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

I would also mention that oil paints, when applied at all heavily, which a lot of painters who use oils as a medium do, as it gives a very textured look, can take literally YEARS to be fully dried.  Not sure you would want a finish over the oil if it were not done drying, as the oils may release gasses that could destroy your finish.

 

[hannaugh]

Actually I was kind of surprised you were going to use oil and not acrylic.  I think acrylic would be a lot stronger. 

 

[willievega]

I would love to see some pictures of this art you speak of. Bring on the pics! :kewlpics:

 

[DangerousR6]

The two key words here are "solvemts" and "oils". Most solvents are designed to break down oils, so really you need to do some research on the particular types of oil she used as to what will break them down and compair it with the warnings of the clear coat you have, as to what not to use it with..

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

I've painted with oils quite a lot, and there are clear coats that are made to go over them, whether they are suitable for guitar finishing, well, I don't know, but they do dry hard and clear, and protect the underlying oil paint, but I have experienced what I spoke of before.  Artist quality oil paint releases gasses as it dries, and these gasses can be deadly to any overlying finish.  And oil paints take forever to dry.  Like years. 

 

[Cagey]

It's a Japanese brand that is a "Lacquer based Clear coat" and "a solvent-type coating agent."

Lacquer is thinned with acetone, which will eat through and dissolve that oil-based paint so fast you'll be able to watch it run. What you want is a clear varnish, probably urethane-based. Also, as has already been mentioned, you want a very long dry time on that oil paint.

You might try the artist supply shops rather than traditional paint suppliers. Artists who do oil on canvas sometimes want to put a clear coat on their paintings. Even if it ends up being a glossy finish, it'll be sealed so you can paint over that with a clear matte easier than you can paint over oil.

 

[whitebison66]

Sorry for the late reply (maybe I shouldn't use 'late; see below).

I sprayed them, and no disasters. There seems to be no adverse reaction (yet), and since the white base coat and matte clear are both pretty thin, age/wear is expected, so if I end up with paint problems, it's not as if I'll cry. Not to mention that I brought it on myself!

 

[Cagey]

What did you end up using?

 

[whitebison66]

Mr. Hobby brand "Mr. Super Clear" matte. Came out pretty well, all things considered.

 

[whitebison66]

More pictures here, including the newly finished (by Mimi, not me; I'm giving it extra dry-time before Mr. Hobby) Iceman:

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=7833.30

 

[hannaugh]

Cool!  I'm glad it worked out.