Painting stencil advice - am I crazy?

I have this beautiful shiny black new (to me) G&L ASAT that I'd like to paint a stencil on (completely covering thefront & back - leaving the side edges black). I have a lot of questions about how best to do this. I'm also posting below a picture of a stencil pattern of the type I may want to use. It would be great to use a couple of pearlescent paints like cream and white to go with the look of the pickguard. The idea would be reminiscent of the paisly paint jobs, but not really the same, obviously.

Will the paint stick? How on earth would I use primer on a stencil pattern if I have to do so? Should I dab paint on with a stencil-type brush vs. aerosol? Am I completely crazy?

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/531/medium/Corey_Tele.jpeg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m749cqoXxf1rajfd9o1_250.gif

I would scuff up the entire body
lay the stencil down
spray on the colors you want
Clear coat the entire thing.

I would scuff up the entire body
lay the stencil down
spray on the colors you want
Clear coat the entire thing.

+1

The Colt knows of what he preach.

What Colt said.

Making the stencil:

I would consider using clear contact paper as material for making a stencil, if you want clean, sharp edges on the design (no underspray).

Run a test of compatibility - spray some of the paint you intend to use, and some of the clear coat on top of a small piece of contact paper. Leave it alone for a couple of hours, see if it has shrunk, or deformed otherwise.

Cut your stencil using an X-acto knife, IME #11 blades do the trick with precise and intricate designs. Cutting the stencil would be the most time consuming part of the process. I'd tike my time with it.

And no, you're not crazy. :)

The stencil is one I can buy from a stencil selling place, pre-cut. I'm not sure how to go about scuffing up the current paint before applying the stencil. Light steel wool? I guess I would even do it to the side edges where the stencil isn't going just because it will get the clear coat, right?

Frankly, I'm kinda really half afraid to leap into this, though I want to do it and I think it'll look cool even if it's not super perfect. I actually have a complete trash guitar body that I had scavenged for cigar box guitar parts (from an abused "first act" brand guitar a kid gave me). I can do some experimentation on it before I do the real guitar. This is going to be interesting. I just want to be prepared.

The stencil is one I can buy from a stencil selling place, pre-cut. I'm not sure how to go about scuffing up the current paint before applying the stencil. Light steel wool? I guess I would even do it to the side edges where the stencil isn't going just because it will get the clear coat, right?

Frankly, I'm kinda really half afraid to leap into this, though I want to do it and I think it'll look cool even if it's not super perfect. I actually have a complete trash guitar body that I had scavenged for cigar box guitar parts (from an abused "first act" brand guitar a kid gave me). I can do some experimentation on it before I do the real guitar. This is going to be interesting. I just want to be prepared.

Then you're good to go. Experiment on a scrap piece of wood, or the other guitar body, and see what you get.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh156/ThaLowEndTheory/My%20Projects/DSCF6292.jpg
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh156/ThaLowEndTheory/My%20Projects/DSCF6291.jpg

I think this is the type of thing you are talking about. I used lace as my stencil. First I sprayed the burst edge over the gold metallic base. Then I layed down the lace and sprayed the whole body with CAR. Carefully pull up the lace and the pattern remains. Follow that up with some clear to lock it in. Should basically be the same pattern for what you are trying to do. You would just need to prep the body by scuffing to give the paint something to bite to. Problem is that you don't want to go crazy scuffing it, since it will also serve as your base color. You don't want any scratches showing through.

Great idea to use lace! What is CAR? And how do folk go about scuffing up the paint normally? fine steel wool? I'm woried that the final clear coat I put on will be sub-par versus the great shine it has now from the factoy. I'm also considering using wall decals if I can find a good enough one.

What is CAR?

"Chipmunks Ate Robert"... "Convertibles Are Retarded"... "Constipated Apes Rapping"... "Cokes Are Recyclable"... Maybe "Candy Apple Red"?

Great idea to use lace! What is CAR? And how do folk go about scuffing up the paint normally? fine steel wool? I'm woried that the final clear coat I put on will be sub-par versus the great shine it has now from the factoy. I'm also considering using wall decals if I can find a good enough one.

Yes, CAR is Candy Apple Red.
You can use steel wool to scuff the paint. To get a smooth flat finish you will need to wetsand and polish the clear coats after they have cured. There are several threads on here and other forums to advise on the process. I definitely suggest reading up on it before you start.