Painting a guitar

[Kyle.Kimber]

I am painting a guitar for a friend. I am gonna sand it and paint it. What grit of sand paper should I use, and how do i get paint off of metal fixtures. I am trying to fix it up because my friend messed it up with interior home paint. Also, I need to buff some scratches off the neck, what should I use. And the guitar is electric. Thanks

[gimp]

Sanding a guitar is a long process. Your better off stripping it with a heat gun. I've got a guitar that I'm refinishing now. I used a heat gun and it worked great.. I found a good tutorial online, I'll dig it up in the morning and post it.

What kind of scratch in the neck is it? I'm assuming there is a big gouge in the neck itself. Not the fretboard. Is it a painted neck? A picture would be sweet.

[Kyle.Kimber]

Sanding a guitar is a long process. Your better off stripping it with a heat gun. I've got a guitar that I'm refinishing now. I used a heat gun and it worked great.. I found a good tutorial online, I'll dig it up in the morning and post it.

What kind of scratch in the neck is it? I'm assuming there is a big gouge in the neck itself. Not the fretboard. Is it a painted neck? A picture would be sweet.

The scratches are on the neck and they are from sanding paper. Don't ask me why, the kid who tried to paint it is functionally retarded ( just kidding) The entire neck is sanded, badly. The neck has a clearcoat finish and it seems to be almost entirely sanded off. I have completely dismantled the guitar and the main body is made out of something 'like' wood. The guitar is really cheap. I want to use a belt sander and sand other parts by hand.

Thanks

[gimp]

I've sanded the neck on a few guitars. I really don't like a finished neck, I like the raw wood feel. I started sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. Sanding with the grain of the wood along the length of the neck. I sanded it down till until most of the luster was gone. Then I wiped the neck down with a soft cloth, and sanded a little more with 320 grit, then 400, 600, and 1500, wiping down the neck in between each different grit. At the end, I rubbed it down with 000 synthetic steel wool. Ideally, I'd use 0000, but they didn't have that at the hardware store.

All that really matters about sanding the body is the grit you finish up on. Just go to as high a grit as you can. Your gonna want to be really carefull with a belt sander. It can take off a lot more than you expect. If it's a cheap guitar, it's probably a real crappy wood. I've found some helpful tutorials at ProjectGuitar.com (http://www.projectguitar.com)

Sanding a body (http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/sand.htm)
Burning the body (http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/burn.htm)

I'm not sure about removing paint from metal parts. I'd just go to the hardware store and start buying chemicals. And keep in mind that your going to have to re-sand it a few times in between coats of clearcoat. That's when its especially important to get a smooth finish.

[Kyle.Kimber]

Oh sorry, I meant I was going to use a palm sander. And about the neck, I sanded exactly how you just said but I put a clearcoat acrylic finish on it to make it sparkle.

Also, if I polish the guitar, will the acrylic lose its sticky feeling. The paint is Testor brand and I got it from the hobby shop. I didn't spray liberally, I kept it 2 feet away etc.

[Kyle.Kimber]

Ok, I have abother Problem. I was told by the guy at the hobby store that the acrylic clear coat would protect the paint, but I just found out that its just for a pearl effect. What is a good clearcoat finish that I can use?

Thanks

[gimp]

Check out http://www.stewmac.com They've got all sorts of finishing supplies. I don't know that much about it all, but there is some good info in these two links.

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/I-NITROCELLULOSE.html

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/I-WATERBASE.html