Paintjob for my strat copy...

[DVH225]

I have basically under 100 bucks to spend, and I am looking to either paint my strat copy myself or get a friend to do it....I want to know which works better....taping for the stripes or paint...if paint, how the hell do i get the lines that straight...also, any ideas on some original color schemes for the stripes that would look cool?

DVH

[ELVIS]

..after taping off the stripes, carefully sanding the imperfections after pulling the tape off is necessary...

This process takes practice, but it's not terribly difficult...

The entire project needs sanding prior to applying the clear topcoat...

Wet sanding works the best, but be very careful not to get the actual wood wet...

This process is an art, and takes time...

I've painted many guitars...

Good luck...

[frets5150]

Here you go

http://www.eddievanhalen.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=forum&board=mygear&op=display&num=667412

[Big Troubles]

thats a great site. I frequent often. I wanted to paint my strat copy as well, but figured it would be easier to buy one instead. Id hate to fuck it up.

[Nitro Express]

I got to see some of Ed's guitars up close in 1984. Horrible looking paint jobs but look cool from a distance. Seriouse, don't fuss too much over the painting if you want a true EVH copy. LOL!

[sambo]

I wish I had that link a while ago, almost finished painting mine.

Just used tape, and a lot of patience..

I just used every decent pic I could find on the 'net and did a lot of research re painting / sanding / refinishing guitars as I never have attempted this before...

So far so good, will post completed guitar when done....

[GAR]

Originally posted by ELVIS
The entire project needs sanding prior to applying the clear topcoat...

Wet sanding works the best, but be very careful not to get the actual wood wet...

Start the bare wood by finish sanding with 180 or 220 grit sandpaper smoothing all edges on the radiuses by hand. Using masking tape, tape off the neck pocket carefully trimming off flush, excess pieces that may stick out past the pocket area: I use a safety razor blade and at Charvel we used X-Acto knife blades.

We also used X-Acto blades to cut the paint edge in a stabbing downward motion alongside the tape lines to break the tape free: normally a double-wet coat of the top color will not fill the sides of the tape completely, but some areas like in the cutaways by the neck it may build up and you have to cut the paint film. This makes for a straight line with none of that ripple.

Also cut the tape in 3 hrs but not more than 24 if using acrylic lacquer paint: hard to come by in a can form, I know but some people use it.

Do not use: America's Finest brand enamel, Painter's Helper brand or the newer Krylons which may be water-based. They work for shit and are not durable regardless of what the label directions claim. They suck. They peel off leaving you with a fuckedup body you have to sand back down and start all over with again.

If you must use a can, find ACRYLIC lacquer or Rustoleum brand for metal. Very durable, lines peel straight with or without cutting with a blade and dry quickly.

Waterbased sprays dry for shit and stay soft forever, and nobody wants this..

[GAR]

Between-coats use 400 wetpaper with a touch of bar soap mixed in the water dish youdip your rubber block into. This helps cut that tape-edge down from a ledge of buildup.

I save the unused torn-off pieces from "body-blocking" the flat areas I wetsand so that I can sand and degloss the body radiuses and cutaway portions. Be carefull not to "burn" thru to the previous coating, just enough to where the scratches of 400 are uniform, and you have no ripple or "orange peel" from airspray impact made by spraying.

Once all colors are on and you like it to be finished, as in the case of the black n yellow job, you top-sand with 600 wetpaper very lightly before the clear coats are added.

People fuck up paintjobs most by NOT WAITING and by letting their buddies finger the thing before a week's dry time. Tell them to fuck off and dont even look at this for a week if you can, because once you wetsand with 1200 grit and then machine polish it out and notice all your buddies' fingerprints you'll fucking hate yourself for "being cool" by letting everybody look and touch the thing.

I seen a guy use nitrocellulose lacquer once, he waited 2 weeks before putting it on a carpeted bench to wetsand and buff out. It was a cold and rainy day, which inhibited the drying time and when he buffed it out he saw all the squiggles impressed by holding the thing onto the bench:

* I suggest a slight fingernail impression test before handling. Roll your fingernail around to make a dent in the paint somewhere in the pocket or pickup routed area - if it leaves a significuntly deep impression and feels deep, waiting time is increased.

Also, waxing up the body to finish is a no-no within the first month: once you put wax on a finish, it seals the micropores in the paint that allow the remainder of the evaporants to leach out, and this retards the drying time to sometimes up to a year. I remember at BC Rich we'd get guitars sent back 6 mos after shipping due to "box-rubb" affecting the soft Turtle-Waxed finish, so wait a month before waxing the finish after buffing.

Ive used polyesters, polystyrenes and other 3part enamels which have terrific gem-quality appeal and hold a grate shine, but even still I wait: in these cases I will wet sand in 3 to 5 days, put the fucker back on the hook, wait another 3-5 days before buffing, assemble, wait 2 more weeks and THEN wax the beasts.

Think of waxing as a way of smothering the breathing pores of the paint: evaporants (thinners and other chemicals) must leave the paint film to dry and harden it. If its retained from leaving by a film of wax it will still leach out but only very slowly. In the case of multi-stage enamels polys and clears its not that vital, but it certainly is in LACQUER so with all that in mind, beware of wax too early in the final stages.

[Big Troubles]

cant I just use a mouse sander and pastel permanent paints? Just kidding.

[byte]

One thing to consider when painting this thing is which of Ed's guitar's you're trying to emulate - the Frankenstrat or the 5150. I'm not *positively* sure about this, but I think the Frankenstrat was originally black. Then he taped it up and painted it white, the result being what you see on the cover of VH1. Sometime after that (I'm thinking after VH2 was recorded but before they went on tour for it) Eddie taped it up again, and painted it red. That's the red-white-and-black paint job we all think of. The 5150, on the other hand (and don't count this as being 100% true because I'm not Eddie and can't verify it for you) was painted with a base coat of white, with the red being added, and then the black. I'm guessing you'll be copying the Frankenstrat because you have a strat copy and the cable jack placement would be wrong for the 5150, but, from what I can see, there were two different paint methods used, in case you like the 5150 better and want to use that instead. Good luck!

[Big Troubles]

http://www.erruption.com/evh_guitars.shtml

all the info a person needs.

[Cathedral]

Re: Paintjob for my strat copy...

Originally posted by DVH225
I have basically under 100 bucks to spend, and I am looking to either paint my strat copy myself or get a friend to do it....I want to know which works better....taping for the stripes or paint...if paint, how the hell do i get the lines that straight...also, any ideas on some original color schemes for the stripes that would look cool?

DVH

That guitar calls for Roth scheme, Ed's already had enough props for his design.

Try the DLRarmy.com logo (dogtags)...
It would be more of a "Classic" tribute to the REAL VH.

[GAR]

Originally posted by Big Troubles
cant I just use a mouse sander and pastel permanent paints? Just kidding.

You could actually if a clear topcoat sealed the surface from the pastels rubbing off.

I've seen PENCIL sketches working out succesfully under a heavy coat of clear.. Robbin Crosby from RATT had an awesome Jackson Firebird copy of a Gibson like this.

Fender Paiselys are the same story: except the print is from a vintage WALPAPER! Again, heavy clear coating over the paper. ESP does this too.

Samick does what they call "fotoflame" which is basically a fullcolor copy print of a piece of flame maple which they paste on top of some shit Asian wood, then airbrush a sunburst over that: same deal where they load a heavy clear coat on top and VOILA! fancy paintjob AND a bitchin wooda grain!

(woodgrain - haha..) fucking Gooks, ripping off kids thinking they can get a rarewood top for a $429 dollar listprice! AND YOU TELL people this, and they STILL don't care, how stupid is that!!!

[Matt White]

I'm in the home stretch on my "Van Halenized" project. Big Shout Out to GAR, ELVIS, Frets5150 and everybody else who shared their wisdom and insight on this thread.

Yellow coat complete.

[Matt White]

Taped & ready for black coat: