So obviously the first step in refinishing an electric guitar is to remove all the hardware and strip the paint. The hardware comes off with a screwdriver or two in about 15 minutes. The paint is a bit more stubborn. Since I started this project in the winter and don’t have a garage, I wanted something that wouldn’t toxify the whole house. So I went with one of those citrus-based strippers. It worked, just extremely slowly. Each application seemed to remove just a thin layer. One tip I had heard to help in this process was to apply a thick layer of stripper, then cover it with a plastic bag. This kept it from drying too quickly and allowed it to eat away at the paint for a much longer period.
Once most of the paint was off it was clear that I had not used any kind of sealer or primer. The bright teal paint was embedded deep into the grain. The only method for removing this was hours of sanding. If your considering refinishing, or finishing an unfinished guitar, be prepared to spend a lot of time sanding. I think it makes up about 80% of the whole process.
So eventually the paint was stripped and it was time to begin applying the multi-layered new finish. Usually the first step in this process is grain filling. However, my Marauder was made with Alder, one of the woods with a tight-enough grain that this step is unnecessary. Maple also falls into this category. Mahogany and ash, on the other hand, will need this step. So I moved on to the sanding sealer. Sprayed 2 coats of ReRanch sealer, then sanded smooth. Applied 2 more coats and then here is where I made my first mistake. For some bizarre reason I thought it would be a good idea to wet sand the sanding sealer. The problem is that the wood isn’t really sealed at this point since you only have 2 thin coats which you break through immediately when you begin sanding it. At the time, it seemed to work fine. But later when I was clearcoating I noticed the surface was very rippled, and the ripples were in the shape of the grain.
But not seeing that problem, I moved on to painting. The first day I applied a couple of coats of primer then let dry over night. The next day, following the rule of threes, which is to apply 3 coats of lacquer, 3 hours apart, I applied 3 coats of ReRanch” Olympic White”. The reason for this rule is to give the lacquer enough time to “gas off”, or release the bulk of it’s solvents so that they don’t get trapped under subsequent layers. This could lead to a soft finish that will take very long to completely harden. There’s no real rule about how many color coats you need. If it’s an opaque finish, you just spray till the grain is all hidden and looks even. With a translucent finish, stop whenever it looks the way you want.
The following day I began the clear. Generally it’s recommended you apply 12-15 coats of clear, 3 per day. My plan was to get a sort of vintage white by applying a light coat of ReRanch tinted clear over the olympic white. This went very badly. I was having a hard time getting an even coat without it looking blotchy. One thing I have since discovered is that some of the ReRanch paints come with a fine mist nozzle. It’s the red one apprently, I used the white one. I also discovered that the ReRanch tinted is rather lemony in color, not what I was going for. Oh, I forgot to mention my wonderful “spray booth”. Basically, I just hung the guitar from one of the bulkhead doors leading into my basement. I figured the stairwell would also add some protection from wind and blowing bits of debris. Ha, that’s a laugh(more later).
Here’s a picture of the blotchy, lemony marauder.
Tune in to the next episode to see the “ingenious” way I fixed both the blotchiness and color problem.
