Recipe for refinishing?

[kristinaelias]

Right, the sun is out, I have the Old English White / Aged Oly White nitro, fresh thinners, tack cloths, spray gun and compressor at the ready! But just before I transform my new, black, Squier 77 Jazz into white with pearl guard and white pickup covers to coordinate with the bound maple neck with pearl blocks, I just wanted to seek approval for my plan of action, namely:-

1. Sand back poly finish with 600(?) grit to give surface for nitro to key onto. (Really don't see the point in stripping it to bare wood when I have a perfect even surface to begin with.)
2. Prep with meths & tack cloth.
3. Dilute nitro with 50/50 thinners & apply 4-6 coats allowing half to three quarters of an hour between coats. (Spraying in garage, not in direct sunlight)
4. Leave overnight before checking if further coats are necessary, if not allow to harden off for 2-3 weeks before flatting back & buffing.

Queries I have, (as I've only painted bodies and necks from bare wood up before in white blonde & Pelham blue metallic), are:-
1. Is 600 grit right?
2. Will my white nitro cover the black poly okay, I don't need a primer do I?
3. I want the white to stay white for as long as possible, therefore I don't want to do a clear coat on top which yellows more quickly. (Thinking of old sonic blues turning into surf greens as they age here.) But can I still get a proper glossy shine finish without one?

Do you forsee any problems with my plan? All hints & tips appreciated, now over to the wisdom of the basschat masses!

[brensabre79]

You probably know more than me, but I would say 600 is quite coarse, it will leave scratch marks so I'd use it to strip back a lot and the smooth with 1200 at least.
If you're using Nitro, it's gonna yellow eventually whether you clear coat or not. But the clear coat's protect the finish, the colours not being so hard wearing. SO I would add clear coat. if you want to preserve colour without any yellowing you might be better with Poly all round. Especially as you're going over the poly black. Plus, if you want it glossy, you'll also need a gloss clear coat
Personally I like a bit of yellowing, and it takes YEARS for clear nitro to go yellow.
A word of warning, it's usually OK, but sometimes, mixing poly and nitro can cause some problems, especially if you don't leave enough time between coats. I Nitro'd a Squier VM neck once over the poly - it instantly aged the neck by about 30 years complete with checking and eveything!



Lastly, not stripping down, and going white over black, means you'll need a lot of coats, so you'll end up with a very thickly painted piece of wood. Which will be heavy and (some might say) perhaps not resonate so freely, but also there's a small risk of things not fitting so easily when you're done (pickups, neck etc.) because all the gaps will be a mm or two smaller.

[Roland Rock]

As far as I'm aware, nitro paint is basically nitro lacquer with pigment added, and it will polish up as well as neat lacquer.
In my experience, 600 grit is course for getting a glossy finish, but not so course that you see swirls under a sprayed finish,

Also, it's good to have a practice with the nitro paint. It dries really quickly, and you need to get the air:paint ratio spot on for a good finish. It can dry before it hits the surface!

Edited August 14, 2015 by Roland Rock

[Rumple]

I'm no expert but white Nitro over black Poly will mean when the sort Nitro chips and wears away over time you will have black showing through, not necessarily a bad look but it may not be desirable.