Spraying solid colors

[Jeff Jewitt Jewitt Guitars/Homestead Finishing]

Your best bet is an automotive color. Most cities have PPG or similar automotive color paint stores that can help. I would use an isolante sealer first or get the pores/grain filled. For grain filler you can use just about any product, but I would lay a coat of isolante over that first before the color.

[Ray Cutler]

<div>Thanks Jeff. One of the guitars is completed sanded smooth of its old finish and feels like the pores are filled, the other still has the old finish on it but its in terrible shape. I;m going to have to get most of it off there. At that point I will go ahead and spray both with isolante and then the color. Would a quart cover both? Can i spray urethane over the auto paint? Thanks again

[Jeff Jewitt Jewitt Guitars/Homestead Finishing]

As an addendum to the previous post, when you go to the auto store, tell them you want to spray a color coat and then clear urethane. That way they will sell you a basecoat/clearcoat color. The terminology used in auto finishing is different as they have basecoat, primer-coat, single-stage, etc.

[Ray Cutler]

Thanks Jeff. I was afraid of an issue like that. Is there anything else I would need to know as far as compatibility with the urethane is concerned?

[Bill Knudson Tumeni Guitars]

I’ve had excellent results with DupliColor Perfect Match rattle can products. One caveat that I learned the hard way—unless you’re staying within their finishing products, there may be compatibility issues. Here’s an acoustic guitar finished with DupliColor products:

[Al Pachter Al’s Guitar Workshop]

Hi Ray, Great thread. I’m curious why the customer is so insistent on urethane? I find that my customers often will come in with a very headstrong idea of what they want, but when I ask them how they came to their decision they usually reference a thread on a guitar forum or some conversation they had with someone who was not a finish expert. The reason I bring it up here is that I have been getting very good results with Mohawk rattle can products, specifically Ultra Flo Ultra Bond clear and their rattle can toner line of products. I source those products from Kingspor Woodworking in Notrh Carolina. That company is extremely knowledgeable and unusually helpful with my specific questions about guitar work as their tech consultant there has a working knowledge of guitar finish work. I have not tried to do an entire re-fin with those products, but I have used them extensively on headstock repairs including carbon fiber repairs with wood grain simulation as part of my finish work.

If your customer is willing to talk about other alternatives to urethane, it might be worth having that discussion with them.

If you are wondering how durable the mohawk finish is, I’ve actually hammered the carbon fiber finish to test its toughness and remarkably even with significant pounding with my fretting hammer the finish has come out unscathed. I made a video of that on my TikTok page for kicks. I also used their satin sheen clear on my shop stool, including the base of the stool which is where my feet often rest, and no sign of wear from that either. I’m sure eventually that kind of abuse will result in wear, but for now its hanging in there.

[Ray Cutler]

Thanks Al. The urethane was actually at my suggestion since I had just finished a class with Jeff Jewitt and Robbie O’Brien where urethane was used. After looking into it he told me he wanted urethane so that was that. I have used Mohawk Instrument Lacquer in the past and it worked out good, just a long cure time. Some friends from the class don’t seem to be entirely sold on urethane but I like it