FuNkShUi Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 Ok i finished sanding it down to what i thought it needed, and i put the first layer of primer on last night. Again, not knowing what the "correct" way to do something was, i put tie wraps in the screw holes for the pickguard, and taped up the other holes. As you can see here: Just thought it would be better to not have paint go in them Then came to my professional spray painting set up..... Yes, its two dust blankets hung off my squat rack, with the bass hanging off a coat hanger from a roof beam. It's like i said, this wasn't ever going to be conventional!. So i masked up, and ventilated the garage And we were away to go...... Shake the primer for a minute, hold 200mm away, and spray evenly. Ok, i'll go with that. Here's the outcome of the first coat That was left to dry overnight. I plan on sanding it back and respraying a further 3 layers, before putting the metal flake layer on. Hopefully will do another layer today,tomorrow and Sunday. Enjoy your weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I like the rig, Kert! It's infinitely better than mine...I don't have the garage bit I'm not sure what others do, but I don't worry too much about taping the holes. Any that get too clogged up, I just run through with the right sized drill and things like pickguard holes, I just let the screws re-cut their threads in the paint. Can't wait to see the glitter bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 I did think that would be a way of going about it. But if this works, i wont need to get my drill out. Yeh i cant wait to see what it'll look like too In all fairness, the test piece looks great, so i'll be very happy if its anything similar to that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 [quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1479462048' post='3176678'] ...... And we were away to go...... Shake the primer for a minute, hold 200mm away, and spray evenly. Ok, i'll go with that. Here's the outcome of the first coat That was left to dry overnight. I plan on sanding it back and respraying a further 3 layers, before putting the metal flake layer on. Hopefully will do another layer today,tomorrow and Sunday. Enjoy your weekend [/quote] Nice project. This will be interesting to watch. I've sprayed a few bodies now and it does take a few projects to get good at it. My spray shop is just like yours, but I've also worked in a pro-finishing shop, spraying furniture. I don't worry about plugging the screw holes; they'll be ok. The paint isn't that thick. You say "a few more coats"; if you're hoping coats will fill and smooth the surface, then I'm going to disappoint. Adding coats won't do it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I don't know how you are with these things, but, as you can see here, the primer is great for showing the humps and bumps. Maybe it won't matter to you, but it would bug me. If you're wanting a smooth finish, spend a good amount of time on it. Slow down your expectations of playing it very soon. Spend a few evenings with the glass-paper and smooth it all out. When you think you have it smooth, close your eyes and feel for the nicks and bumps. If you're fussy about it then another evening or 2 with the glass paper will save a fortune in primer. When you think it's ready, put it down and come back to it, then come back later and pick it up and caress it, feel it all over. (Sorry if this sounds a bit porno, but there's no other way to do it) Be fussy. You're making a bass that's to be with you for some time, so spend time on it now. If it's a disappointment after the final coat, then you've lost money on the paint if all you want to do is sell it or strip it off. When you finally think it's ready, spray one coat of primer and take it down and take a good long look. Get a damp cloth and wipe it over and that will help show up any creases and wrinkles.. Then it's up to you if you go on, or go back. Remember, any dump that shows when the finish is in matt finish, will look 10x worse when the finish it gloss. Metal flake may hide a lot; I've not done that, but if it's meant to be smooth then you do need to work on it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Sage advice Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1479490398' post='3176995'] Sage advice Grangur [/quote] Thanks. But this is a "Refin on a Budget". Glasspaper is a lot cheaper than paint, especially if you're simply going to sand that paint back off again. While I'm on the subject (again) of sanding, buy good glasspaper. Try to go for 3M or Scotch or some other specialist brand. "Own brand" stuff is generally useless. The good stuff will get a lot more work done than the cheap stuff. Also, rather than sanding, something that's also good for smoothing is a Stanley knife blade: Take the blade out of the knife and hold the blade, sharp edge flat to the work surface and use it as a scraper to scrape some of the surface off, It's amazing how smooth you can get the work. It's also great for scraping off old paint or varnish/lacquer. It's funny how we all talk about a "spray-shop". In actual fact, time-wise, there's more sanding and prep that goes on on a spray-shop than spraying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 To get something truly flat you can't beat a sanding table. Great for "bingo wings" too They are very easy to make. I used a chunk of thick MDF, glued a batten on the back so I could clamp it in my workmate, then used surface mount spray to stick six sheets of 80 grit sandpaper. You need a reasonable grit or you'll be there all day - I originally used 120 grit but replaced it with 80. You'd be amazed at how smooth it can get when you have a large surface area. Typed while taking a smoke break after an hour sanding a rear access panel. Nearly there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 (edited) Can't say I've used a sanding table. This is the type of unit we used to use: Edited November 19, 2016 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Luxury! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1479565533' post='3177518'] Can't say I've used a sanding table. This is the type of unit we used to use: [/quote] That was a little version of what i used to use when I made kitchens, wish I was still doing it, access to exotic woods and CNC machines, the possibilities would have been endless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 Thank you for all the advice. I totally take on board all what you've said grangur, but I'm not planning on a perfectly smooth finish before putting the metal flake on. I'm certainly hoping to get it better that currently is, and will take your advice on buying good sandpaper and taking my time with it. But the "method" I'm using is going to have a somewhat lumpy finish anyway, so I'm not striving for completely smooth. Like I say though, really appreciate the advice. Probably going to do 3 more coats of primer and sanding between each before the metal flake. Off to play a gig now, so will do another in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 I have put on two more coats of primer, and sanded both back this week. I'm thinking one more coat of Primer should do it. Then i'm going to find myself a "catch tray" and start to try and make this bass sparkly. I also have plans to make the pickguard a little more fancy. That may happen this weekend too. Enjoy your weekend people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 [quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1480076703' post='3181469'] I have put on two more coats of primer, and sanded both back this week. I'm thinking one more coat of Primer should do it. Then i'm going to find myself a "catch tray" and start to try and make this bass sparkly. I also have plans to make the pickguard a little more fancy. That may happen this weekend too. Enjoy your weekend people [/quote] Excellent. We're all waiting patiently:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 You shake it to the left, you shake it to the right. You do the sparkly shake-shake with all of your might... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 26, 2016 Share Posted November 26, 2016 Make it sparkley, make it sparkley NOW! I want to see pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 28, 2016 Author Share Posted November 28, 2016 Hopefully it should be somewhat sparkly by the end of the week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 [quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1480321292' post='3183253'] Hopefully it should be somewhat sparkly by the end of the week [/quote] Cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 (edited) Did the last coat of primer tonight But had a little bit more spare time so i wanted to try and get the pickguard sorted..... Sticking with my unconventional/untested theme, i opted to try and use a marble effect vinyl, and cut that to shape. My initial method was to peel back the paper off the vinyl, clamp it down to my work bench, and use a stanly knife to cut around the shape of the PG. The vinyl was a real PITA to use, as it had been stored "scrolled" for so long, to get it flat, i had to clamp it down. Even then it still had little humps on it. Not ideal. Anyway here's how i tried to do it.... There results were ..... ok. Now i wont lie, this picture somehow makes it look a better finish than it really was. The vinyl tore a little bit, in a few places, where the Stanley knife didn't make a sharp enough cut. Here, you can see one such issue So i opted for my second method, of drawing the template of the PG onto the back of the vinyl, cutting that out, then peeling the non sticky side off and fitting it on the PG. There were some moments i didn't think it would work at all. The template, once cut out, was very flimsy. So to accurately stick it onto the PG wasn't easy. I "allowed" for this, by purposely cutting the template about 2mm too big, so i could fit it, then cut the excess off afterwards. Happy to say the end results were better IMO Now to sparkle the body, and to decide whether to sparkle the headstock, or go away from convention (again) and use the same vinyl on the headstock........ Edited November 29, 2016 by FuNkShUi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 That looks good Scalpels are better than Stanley knives for this type of thing but it can be a right PITA all the same. The end result is very effective, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 [quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1480421164' post='3184190'] That looks good Scalpels are better than Stanley knives for this type of thing but it can be a right PITA all the same. The end result is very effective, though [/quote] Yes, a scalpel should give you a much neater cut. Mind yer fingers tho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 Yeh i did try to find a scalpel, but couldn't. The finished result is pretty good though. I'll keep it as it is for now, then see how it looks on the finished bass. Not sure what to do with the headstock...... I am thinking sparkly though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
only4 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 Not that bad is it? Haha Ive been away on a course all this week, so had no chance to progress this thread any further. I have done a first coat of glitter, so will upload those pictuires later if i get a chance. Plan to do another coat this weekend then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Welcome back,Kert. Can't wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted December 12, 2016 Author Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) Didnt get as much done this weekend as i would have liked. But I did a single coat of glitter on front and back. Have a look.... Didn't take any pictures of the back, but it's very much the same as the front! It's really hard to get a accurate representation of what this looks like. In looks different depending on how the light is hitting it. Once it's finished ill take a few different shots from different angles so you can see what i mean. In the end i used a single sided cheese grater to apply the flake. I thought id taken pictures of it, but i cant seem to find them, so when i do the next layer, i'll take another. Its worked really nicely. The holes are just about the right size for what i need. Just the initial coat on the sides to do. You can't see it on these pictures, but there are a few "less sparkly" areas, where the density of sparkle is lower than in other areas. My plan is to put on a clear layer next, and add the metal flake to the first couple of layers of this too. Then i'll do a couple of clear layers with no sparkle. Hoping this will then do the trick. We will see! Edited December 12, 2016 by FuNkShUi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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