help is needed on paint job

My son decided to use a black laquer paint (Rustoleum) on a refinish project. He knows little about painting guitars and I know less but am interested. After reading some comments we may be in trouble with the laquer. What should be our next step to salvage the project. How long does it take this stuff to fully dry even though it feels dry? If we wet sanded the guitar would the deft clear coat bring back the glossy finish? Any suggestions as to how we should proceed would be appreciated.

Rustoleum also makes a clear lacquer and that would probably be your best bet. All the info should be on the label. Deft takes forever to cure so it's not a good choice. You can also use Watco or Minwax lacquer. Dont sand the color coat unless you have runs, etc. Go light with the first few coats of clear if you use a different brand. If you plan on wet sanding the clear use about two cans. Wait about a month before final sanding and buffing. More info here http://reranch.com/101a.htm

Shepherd gives good advice. I've used Rust-leum's aerosol lacquers for specific projects (relics and repairs on black gloss) and it's good stuff. I agree absolutely with Shepherd that you should avoid Deft. Rust-Oleum's gloss or Duplicolor clear coat (from Pep Bys or another auto parts store) will work over the Rust-Oleum - ANY lacquer will.

Lacquer melts into the previous coat(s), so sanding is not necessary unless you have a problem - either large spatters (from a clogged tip or inadequate agitation) or runs - and then sanding should only be spot-sanding to take off the high points (if you have a badly spattered finish or a dozen runs you'd be better off sanding it off and starting over).

At any rate, I'd suggest not doing anything at all until reading the ReRanch article suggested previously and doing a search on the forum for threads on basic lacquer finishing AND safety (lacquer can be VERY dangerous stuff, and drips/runs are not your only concern). Make sure you really understand what you are doing before you continue, and the search function can be your best friend. Black finishes are the most difficult non-metallic solid color to do well (black gloss shows *every* defect, ripple, inconsistency etc) and a couple hours' research will go a LONG way.

You don't really explain what problems you've encountered...that tells me you really need to familiarize yourself with the basics.

Good luck!

thanks for the advice. I don't really have runs or drips, actually the laquer went on nicely and was coated a couple of times. The finish is not as smooth as I want the guitar but it sounds like I should leave it untile the clear goes on? How long do you think I should wait until I spray the clear coat on? I am unsure how long it takes the black laquer to dry? I have heard many differing opinions on this. Thanks again for your help, I am definately an apprentice in this area.

Lacquer drys fast but takes a long time to actually cure, some people say it takes years. You can spray the clear after 3-4 hours and the same for each additional coat. Then wait at least a month before you wet sand and polish. If you sand it too soon all the sanding scratches will reappear after a few months as it cures.

This sounds like good advice-thanks. Is there a specific type of polish you would recommend we use?

I use 3M products but they only come in larger sizes. If you wet sand it from 600-800-1000 etc. up to 2000+ you can probably get away with just using a tube of Scratch-X followed by a coat of auto wax.

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The sanding is actually more critical than the type of polish. After you get the clear coats applied - and it's hard to recommend how many without seeing the black finish or knowing how thick/thin it was applied and the clears will be applied - and it dries for 4 weeks or so (many of us will sand right away, but it's not recommended without experience) start wet sanding with 600 or 800 wetordry paper and a small sanding block (fingers are notorious for uneven sanding) - get it smooth, then go to 1000; then 1200; 1500 and finally 2000 (although if you have a Rockler woodworking store nearby you can get microabrasive pads even finer - they are not cheap but make the work much easier, last a long time and make the polishing operation almost effortless).

After the last sanding operation there should be no visible scratches from a few feet away, but it won't look super glossy. Auto polishes (NOT rubbing compound!!) work; Luthier's Mercantile sells fairly inexpensive polishes that can be used for many other purposes as well - I like their pink basic polish as a first step, then the #10 and #17 plastic polishes to finish things off.

A power buffer really halps, but you can polish by hand...it's just far more tedious. But before doing ANY of the preceding do more searches and reading to get all the information you can - then practice on some scrap *before* trying each operation on the guitar.

Good luck!

I sanded a couple of small areas but before I spray the clear laquer how sure can I be that the color will come back in the small areas I sanded? Should I respray these spots or will the laquer bring back the original gloss black color?

The clear will bring the gloss back.

I've had some issues with the Rustoleum clear lacquer...after three months it was still a little soft...never has fully cured. I also sprayed some Rustoleum black lacquer on top of non-waxed shellac. The lacquer peeled right off when I tried to level it out.

I'm staying away from that brand!

Rustoleum also makes a clear lacquer and that would probably be your best bet. All the info should be on the label. Deft takes forever to cure so it's not a good choice. You can also use Watco or Minwax lacquer. Dont sand the color coat unless you have runs, etc. Go light with the first few coats of clear if you use a different brand. If you plan on wet sanding the clear use about two cans. Wait about a month before final sanding and buffing. More info here http://reranch.com/101a.htm