Best thick clear finish for fabric/paisley finish?

[pilotfish]

I've finished the finish (heh) on my first fabric-covered guitar, and honestly it looks like crap. Eventually I just couldn't stand doing yet another re-do, and just wanted to get the thing playable. I'm hoping to do better with my next one, and maybe someday I'll strip and re-do this one when I can face it.

Anyway--one major problem was that the various finishes I tried didn't go on thick enough to hide the edge of the fabric. You could still see and feel the transition from the edge of the fabric to the paint underneath.

I tried using Mod Podge, but it seems to stay sticky, so I won't do that again. At one point I tried and gave up on shellac, but that's probably worth another try. The last attempt was with water-based polyurethane varnish, which seemed OK at first but ended up crackling. The varnish seemed like the easiest option to work with, so if there's a way to make that go on thicker, I'd like to try it.

Any suggestion on what to use or how to use it would be greatly appreciated, since I have a couple more bodies ready to be finished.

Thanks!

[Faraldi]

Maybe epoxy??

Also, do a slight black burst around the guitar to get rid of that fabric edge.

Here's what you need...

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/mat.htm

[pilotfish]

I hadn't thought about epoxy--thanks! Although I don't have a well-ventilated work spot, so that might be a problem.

I'd like to do a burst, but for various reasons I'm trying to avoid spray paint. I suppose an airbrush would work, but that's not in the budget right now. Could work for later, though.

But anyway--right now I'm more worried about getting a deep enough finish that you can't *feel* that edge.

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by pilotfish

I hadn't thought about epoxy--thanks! Although I don't have a well-ventilated work spot, so that might be a problem.

Epoxy resin has almost no smell compared to paints. You could do it in your lounge room. But if you do, buy a surfboard grade epoxy ... they have UV inhibiters that keep the resin clear and stop it from yellowing - although you will get a bit of yellowing eventually, which you'd probably want.

Polyester resin (like Fender use(d)) also works well. It's very clear but it stinks because it's full of styrene. It's also a bit more "brittle" than epoxy so will crack if dropped.

[pilotfish]

Interesting--you learn something new every day. I'll look into the surfboard epoxy -- thanks!

[ToadLC]

Originally Posted by pilotfish

But anyway--right now I'm more worried about getting a deep enough finish that you can't *feel* that edge.

I used super glue gel on the edge of the fabric and then sanded it until the transition was smooth. Worked great. Also, I used Mod Podge with no problems at all. It dried hard as nails.

[pilotfish]

Maybe the Mod-Podge just doesn't like my basement.

Next time, I'll try the glue-and-sand idea.

[udimet720]

Super glue is def one option a lot of people go with.

Another thing I used to build finish on the edge was Minwax Polycrylic. It's a waterbased poly/acrylic blend. But, it goes on a bit thick. Some have used it to grain fill.

A third option is to retain a sharper edge and do a binding. Even if you don't want the hassle of doing a real binding, you could do a faux binding. But, you'd have to have no radius for this.

A lesson I learned the hard way is make sure your fabric cut line matches the outline of the body. It should come right up to where the edge radius starts. If this is inconsistent, it's a lot harder to hide.

[pilotfish]

Originally Posted by udimet720

A lesson I learned the hard way is make sure your fabric cut line matches the outline of the body. It should come right up to where the edge radius starts. If this is inconsistent, it's a lot harder to hide.

Yeah, I learned that one the hard way, too. I tried cutting some cloth roughly to the shape of the body but leaving 1/2-inch or so gap around the edges for a border. I figured a few coats of paint would completely hide the rough edge, but the paint didn't hide it at all. But, having re-read the online instructions, I missed the part about layers of sanding sealer--I just had a base coat of paint, the cloth, a paint border over the cloth, and some varnish over the whole thing. Apparently none of that coats thickly enough to hide anything.

[udimet720]

What did you use to glue down the fabric?

That may have been part of the problem.

A lot of examples I've seen here and on the reranch forum use decoupage glue. This is similar to modge podge. Though, I'm not sure it is exactly the same. It is designed for this purpose, gluing down paper or fabric to decorate a box or somethig else. Easily available at craft stores.

Spread on some of the decoup
lay down your fabric
squeegee out and bubbles (you can do this with your fingers)
then you will add about 2-3 more light coats of decoup to bury the fabric.
light sanding
Then you go to sanding sealer or polycrilic to bury any trace of the fabric
you start with any paint/clear after this.

Fixing the edges should happen before you go to final color/clear.

The one problem I had with super glue was getting a close to round edge. Once it dries, it's very hard. So, if there are any bumps, they can be hard to get rid of.

The cool thing about using a fabric is thatther are just some cool things you can only do this way.

[pilotfish]

I used TiteBond to glue the fabric to the wood, and then Mod Podge for everything else. And my process was pretty much that one, except that the first time I stopped after the multiple coats of Mod Podge--no sanding sealer. The second time, I skipped the Mod Podge and went directly to water-based polyurethane varnish. So I guess both times I failed to get enough depth of finish on.

I'll be getting some sanding sealer in the next few days, so I'll try that for the next couple of projects. I'm probably going to peel the cloth off the top of the first one and start over once I'm not sick of it any more. In the meantime, I have another project body and some cloth on the way to go on it.

[ruffone]

Scott, here is a link that might help you. It shows and describes how to finish installing material onto the face of a guitar:

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/mat.htm

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm

Don

[pilotfish]

Thanks, Don...

[cupetdouy]

I accept with information: Epoxy resin has almost no smell compared to paints. You could do it in your lounge room. But if you do, buy a surfboard grade epoxy they have UV inhibiters that keep the resin clear and stop it from yellowing although you will get a bit of yellowing eventually, which you'd probably want.
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[ruffone]

You are welcome Sott :-)