Here's a few pics of a red metalflake guitar I've just finished painting. I'll add a little bit of info into how it was done, as I've previously been asked by a few people what's involved.
The guitar itself comes as a kit which you can build up to pretty much any sort of spec you like. Here's a pic of the ash body as it comes
The body was flatted down with 180 grit paper (dry) & given 2 coats of MDF primer. Once cured a guide coat was sprayed over it & flatted down with 320 grit paper dry. The guide coat is a very thin coat of a dark coloured paint. I tend to use a satin black aerosol for small items like guitars & helmets.The principle is that when you're flatting down the paintwork, wherever there is guide coat left on the surface, it indicated that it needs to be rubbed out more to achieve a blemish free finish. When flatting like this, always use a rubber sanding block. If you use your palm of your hand or fingers, you'll end up with an uneven surface finish
This was then overcoated with 3 coats of 2K primer.
Again this was guide coated & flatted with 320, followed by 600 grit paper.
A silver base was then applied
I used 2 sizes of 'flake, one being very fine & the other much more coarse. By putting the fine flake on first, it covers pretty much all of the silver base coat very easily. The flake comes dry & is mixed with lacquer. By using fine flake first you don't end up putting too much flake/lacquer on to get full coverage.
Fine flake applied
I then applied the coarse 'flake, which again was mixed with lacquer & sprayed out until it had a good even coverage. It normally takes 3 good coats to achieve the finish required. When mixing coarse flake, add a few ball bearings into the pot of the gun & whilst spraying "agitate" the paint by shaking the pot to keep the flake suspended in the lacquer. If you don't do this, the flake tends to settle in the bottom of the pot due to its weight.
I then left the finish to cure for a few hours before spraying a further 3 coats of clear lacquer over the whole thing.
This was then left for a week to cure prior to wet flatting with 1500 grit paper until all of the orange peel in the surface had gone.
I then sprayed some thinned out black around the perimeter of the guitar to give a "sunburst" effect.
Then, I sprayed on red candy apple over the top of the whole thing. Here's a pic with just one coat on it
Candy apple is a transluscent paint, which allows the flake to be seen through the candy colour. The more candy you apply, the darker the colour becomes. I gave the guitar 4 full coats of candy.
This was then covered by 2 coats of clear 2K lacquer & left for a week to cure.
Once cured it was flatted down with 1500 wet & dry (wet) followed by 2000 grit (wet).
I then used Farecla G3 cutting paste followed by 3m's hand glaze.
Once happy with the finish I gave it a couple of coats of Meguires Carnauba wax. It's really hard to photograph the guitar to show how intense the candy colour & flake are. Hopefully these pics will give some indication of how it looks
This shows how reflective the paint is once finished
The reflection of trees in my garden
A close up of the 'flake
The finished guitar
It just needs building up now & the owner can have it back. Hope they like it
cheers...Nige
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