Clearcoat over pinstriping

Hi,

I'm fairly new to the forum and I'm hoping that someone here can give me some advice on a finishing question.

I'm working on a tele project for my cousin who is graduting from HS this summer and I did the inital finishing myself using the nitro ReRanch primer and color (daphane blue) and then I used Behlen's vinyl sealer over the top of that in preparation for using the Behlen's nitro clear coat.

Once I had everything looking good from a color point of view and sealed with the vinyl sealer I decided to take the body to a guy that I know that does pinstriping. Needless to say he did an amazing job but I'm now a bit concerned about what I can safely use for clearcoating over the nitro color/vinyl sealer.

He used catalyzed 1 Shot products for his pinstriping.

Can I just use the nitro clear as planned or should I use an acrylic lacquer or enamel or what?

Any help would be apreciated.

Thanks,

conorb

Bump!

You should be fine because the pinstriping is catalyzed...

Wouldn't hurt to test on some scrap.

Also the Behlens sealer should be used UNDER your color coats in the future. If you're happy with the way it looks... forget about it.

Hi conorb, I would say that nitro goes on top of pretty much everything (as opposed to the other way around) Having some experiance of ruining projects at the last momen, I would suggest you do a mockup of your current situation on a piece of wood or something, and testspray some coats of nitro. I's also like to advice you to shoot at least 15 to 20 clearcoats over it all to get a good cover for sanding everything flat without ruining the stripes.

Ask the guy who did the striping. he'd probably be the better one to ask about top coat compatibility. Or,if you have any of the reranch stuff left over, make a test piece from scrap finished with the exact same materials. Use that to test for reactions with previous layers.

You should be fine because the pinstriping is catalyzed...

Wouldn't hurt to test on some scrap.

Also the Behlens sealer should be used UNDER your color coats in the future. If you're happy with the way it looks... forget about it.

Thanks for the help. I'm definitely going to mock up some scrap and get some 1-shot and see what happens. I'm interested as well about your comment regarding the color going over the sealer then clearing. I read the instructions as that the clearcoat was forumulated to go over the sealer but perhaps I was too literal and was thinking that it needed to be done directly over the sealer. I'll keep investigating.

Hi conorb, I would say that nitro goes on top of pretty much everything (as opposed to the other way around) Having some experiance of ruining projects at the last momen, I would suggest you do a mockup of your current situation on a piece of wood or something, and testspray some coats of nitro. I's also like to advice you to shoot at least 15 to 20 clearcoats over it all to get a good cover for sanding everything flat without ruining the stripes.

That's good to know; I've been talking with a painter friend of mine and he's thinking we should just spray HOK clear UC-35 over everything. Again it's a good idea to do a mock up. :smile:

Ask the guy who did the striping. he'd probably be the better one to ask about top coat compatibility. Or,if you have any of the reranch stuff left over, make a test piece from scrap finished with the exact same materials. Use that to test for reactions with previous layers.

Hey Big Daddy, I did talk to my Pinstriper - who's been doing this a long time and he didn't have any recommendations about spraying nitro over the pinstriping. He's 73 and had been pinstriping since his mid-teens and if anyone was going to know I thought he would. He did suggest using a mid-coat adhesion layer if I was concerned about long terms bonding. He also seemed think that I could shoot acrylic urathene with a catalyst over the top and be fine as well.

Too many options and the right thing to do is mock up a sample and see what works I guess.

Honestly I wouldn't be too concerned but the pinstriper did this amazing job - the most amazing pinstriped guitar I've ever seen. He turned my little tele-project for my cousin into a work of art and I don't want to ruin it.

conorb

It's possible that the nitro could react to the one shot, however urethane won't.

Just to give a quick follow-up: my painter friend shot a total of 3 coats of HoK UC-35 clear onto the guitar on Saturday. About 95% of the pinstriping showed no reaction, but there are a few sections on the back that lifted a bit. I don't think that any of it will be visible once it's sanded and re-cleared a couple of times.

Based on previous experience it's common and normal for the ratio of paint to hardener to vary significantly in the striping, and I suspect that the bits that lifted just didn't have as much hardener in them. I don't see an issue that subsequent sanding and re-clearing will "fix" the slightly lifting pinstriing leading to an overall great finish.

Bottom line: it should look great so I'm very excited at this point.

conorb

Hi,

I just thought I would provide another update showing the finished body post clearcoat.

The base finish was all done using Reranch and Beheln Nitro products with the pinstriping done using 1 Shot. The clearcoat was shot using House of Kolor UC-35 clear as I was too scared to try it using rattle can nitro and asked a friend to do it that had more professional equipment that I had.

Overall, I'm very happy with the results and I can't wait to get the guitar entirely put together. The neck should be arriving late next week and then I'll be giving it to my cousin for his 18th bday/high-school graduation the first week of August.

I hope he likes it.

(I apologize for the crummy hand-held iPhone pics, I'll take some more once I get it all together).

http://www.vendettacycles.com/pics/partscaster/photo 1a.JPG

http://www.vendettacycles.com/pics/partscaster/photo 1.JPG

conorb

That's a beauty! If your cousin doesn't like it, just send it on to me.:mrgreen:

Very nice pin stripping.

Really nice job. Those pinstripes and colors are perfect for a Tele.

That is an exceptionally nice looking guitar.

That's a beauty! If your cousin doesn't like it, just send it on to me.:mrgreen:

Exactly!

When in doubt call the manufactures of thee products used,,,,?

Hi,

Pics of the final build are here:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/341854-finished-my-tele-build.html

Thanks for all the positive support.

conorb