Help! My guitar look like a raw beef steak.

[stratisfied]

Yes you actually did now come to think of it. Looks like I can't get Mohawk Toner, not for a resonable prize anyway. Those cans are a bit pricey as is but I would also have to pay international shipping, import duties and tax plus handling fees on top of the cans. This is unfortunate as the mohawk tobacco burst route could have been a great look. I'll try some more but there doesn't seem to be any alternatives for the Mohawk Toners either. Leaning towards satin black.

I suggested Mohawk as it is not only my go-to for lacquer aerosols but also available from Amazon. I know Amazon offers free international shipping on most items, but it would follow that flammable aerosols are an excluded item.

Another method of solving the "love the way it plays and sounds but hate the way it looks" dilemma is to re-body, as others have mentioned. It's relatively cheap (with the right body) and protects the guitar's resale value as you can swap back should you ever decide to sell.

I have a '57 AVRI 50th Anniversary Mary Kay Strat that yellowed like nicotine-stained teeth over time. It was very patchy and blotchy but in otherwise mint condition ... you know, "the look" everyone digs but me.

I first wet sanded just the clear and then did a factory-looking clear overspray and buff but overall, the white also yellowed. I still hated it.

I decided to leave well-enough alone as I already had enough time in it and swapped everything over to a very nice $100 2-tone burst body I had bought for a partscaster project. Damned if it didn't sound and play just as good without even having to touch a saddle height or intonation screw. The neck fit was even better than the original. It also looks dead nut like a '57 Strat sunburst. If I sell it as some point, I can pop the original (stealthily clear-coated) body back on it and someone will have a nice color-aged body on an otherwise mint guitar.

Just the other day, I got the urge to have the Mary Kay color like the original. I bought a new take-off Squire Classic Vibe '50's White Blonde (Mary Kay color) body from Stratosphere. I will have to plug the import bridge holes and redrill for vintage bridge spacing but that's easy to do and hidden under the bridge plate. The sunburst body will hang around for another project.

'57 AVRI when new:

Incoming Squier body

 

[Sea Devil]

Tinted shellac will certainly go over lacquer, but I don't know that padding it on is the way to go with such an irregular surface, at least at first. It might be a good way to finish up. Either way, it will take a lot longer than spraying lacquer and may slowly wear through to reveal the more hardy lacquerfinish underneath -- why may actually look realy cool. Deliberately wiping it from the high areas and allowing it to remain in the recessed grain (like a tinted grain filler) could also look cool.

 

[Thestripper]

Tinted shellac will certainly go over lacquer, but I don't know that padding it on is the way to go with such an irregular surface, at least at first. It might be a good way to finish up. Either way, it will take a lot longer than spraying lacquer and may slowly wear through to reveal the more hardy lacquerfinish underneath -- why may actually look realy cool. Deliberately wiping it from the high areas and allowing it to remain in the recessed grain (like a tinted grain filler) could also look cool.

I thought I might have to use shellac as a barrier layer if I was going to spray a solvent based acryllic over the existing nitro. That's why I was asking about it before. I have since learned that it's not needed it if the plan is to simply de-grease the body, scuff it, clean and de-grease and then spray an opaque acryllic over it. I think I will go this route for now. Had this body not had the stain on it I think I would go with a burst of some kind. Maybe on the next re-finish.

 

[Sea Devil]

Should be good... sounds as though you know already that nitro lacquer and acrylic are usually compatible as long as they're not catalyzed. Clears may yellow at different rates and thick coats may crackle, but thin coats or ones that are wet enough to really become part of the (thin!) coats below will usually be cool, as long as total thickness is within reason

 

[Thestripper]

Should be good... sounds as though you know already that nitro lacquer and acrylic are usually compatible as long as they're not catalyzed. Clears may yellow at different rates and thick coats may crackle, but thin coats or ones that are wet enough to really become part of the (thin!) coats below will usually be cool, as long as total thickness is within reason

Yes I've read up a bit on nitro and compatibility with other substances. But is it true that water based acrylic will not play nice on top of nitro? Not that I'm going to use water based, asking just for learning purposes.

 

[Sea Devil]

Can't say for certain, but I bet it wouldn't work.

 

[Atomic Dave]

I have no idea why so many are saying don't do it? Finishing a guitar body is a bit tricky but they also only take a few minutes to sand back to bare wood and start over.
I don't know which idea you are going with but if it doesn't come out to your liking just scuff it up and try another!
If you are spraying, keep the body flat and try not to go too heavy around the neck joint. If you use a wiping finish of some sort you don't even have to worry about that. Make a good handle to bolt into the neck pocket so you can turn the body around without touching it and then hang it or clamp it until the body is dry. (Unlike a canoe, you need to finish all sides at the same time.)
Post photos when it's done!

 

[Thestripper]

I have no idea why so many are saying don't do it? Finishing a guitar body is a bit tricky but they also only take a few minutes to sand back to bare wood and start over.
I don't know which idea you are going with but if it doesn't come out to your liking just scuff it up and try another!
If you are spraying, keep the body flat and try not to go too heavy around the neck joint. If you use a wiping finish of some sort you don't even have to worry about that. Make a good handle to bolt into the neck pocket so you can turn the body around without touching it and then hang it or clamp it until the body is dry. (Unlike a canoe, you need to finish all sides at the same time.)
Post photos when it's done!

Hi Atomic Dave! You a skier?


Yeah I don't know why so many are saying don't do it. Most are probably jaded and lazy or maybe they have tried and failed and never got back up, or are scared to try because if you try you might fail and then... Just as you say, it takes mere minutes to sand everything off and start over. So of course I'm going to do it. The way I see it, it can only get better.


Yes I will make a good bolt in handle so I can manoeuvre the body while spraying it and then let it hang while drying.
I will of course mask off the neck pocket and cavities.
You were saying "keep the body flat". I thought I would hang the guitar from the bolt i handle, so that I can spray on a vertical surface most of the time. Would you advise to spray on a horizontal surface? Maybe I got it wrong, but please elaborate.
I see how the area around the neck will be the most difficult. Again, any good technique tips are welcome.
I'm still thinking I will go with a semi gloss black (probably from Motip). At least I have made things easy for me with a semi gloss.
This image is an Ai sketch that is probably pretty close to what it will look like.

 

[Jupiter]

 

[Atomic Dave]

Hi Atomic Dave! You a skier?


Yeah I don't know why so many are saying don't do it. Most are probably jaded and lazy or maybe they have tried and failed and never got back up, or are scared to try because if you try you might fail and then... Just as you say, it takes mere minutes to sand everything off and start over. So of course I'm going to do it. The way I see it, it can only get better.


Yes I will make a good bolt in handle so I can manoeuvre the body while spraying it and then let it hang while drying.
I will of course mask off the neck pocket and cavities.
You were saying "keep the body flat". I thought I would hang the guitar from the bolt i handle, so that I can spray on a vertical surface most of the time. Would you advise to spray on a horizontal surface? Maybe I got it wrong, but please elaborate.
I see how the area around the neck will be the most difficult. Again, any good technique tips are welcome.
I'm still thinking I will go with a semi gloss black (probably from Motip). At least I have made things easy for me with a semi gloss.
This image is an Ai sketch that is probably pretty close to what it will look like.

A sprayed finish really does flow out better and smoother if the body is horizontal. I am not an expert, I have done less than a dozen over the years, some new builds, some refinishing, mostly spraying lacquer. My tactic is to spray the edges and whichever surface is facing up, then after it has set I carefully turn it over and repeat. I use a bench vise to hold the body from the handle. It is too easy to get runs and sags when the body is hanging vertically. If you have a lot of discipline to not spray too much at once then vertical works fine. I have a tendency do spray heavier, apparently.

It can be frustrating when things go wrong, but it is so quick and easy to start over. I have sanded down and started over just because I didn't like a color.

I also think many people put too much finish on their guitars. My most recent was lacquer in spray cans and I used less than two cans (one color, one clear). I have been playing that guitar for months and it still looks good. I have enough color and clear to spray another body.
My most recent refinish i sanded a body down to bare wood, dyed the wood black with water-based dye, then sprayed a few coats of automotive enamel. I'd never tried the enamel before and it has some orange peel. If it bothered me more I would just sand it down again and try something else but that particular guitar is homely so i did not bother. I might try the wipe-on poly on that one eventually; it has sentimental value to me.

I did build a guitar with my brother-in-law, a woodworker who has built kayaks and a sail boat. He was used to much heavier, much thicker finishes. He mosty built furniture and used some sort of oil finish for those that looks and feels almost like bare wood. Guitar finish is somewhere between those two extremes, with no rules about which direction you lean (barely there or thick and heavy).

I have no doubt you will succeed.

 

[stratisfied]

I also prefer to spray with the body laid flat. It allows you to apply a full, wet coat without fear of runs in the paint. With rattle cans, it makes a night and day difference in the amount of wet sanding and buffing you have to do afterwards. If you have a spray rig, you can get away with hanging the body because the finish is atomized better and applied over a broader area. This creates more surface tension and the finish is less likely to sag than with rattle cans.

I don’t use a stand, I just use plastic spray can caps to rest the body on and do the back first, allow it to dry, flip it and spray the front. I spray the sides each time, spraying at a downward angle so the “blend” falls right on the round-over and is easily buffed out.

 

[Thestripper]

I can't do it.

And I'm probably lucky to realize that before it was too late. The guitar didn’t impress me visually when I got it. I honestly thought it looked like a raw steak, which is why I was planning to hit it with a spray can and go for something black or whatever.

After playing it for a few weeks, tweaking it and dialing it in, I’ve realized it has something special that none of my previous guitars have had. It just feels really, really good to play and in every other way. The satin nitro finish is super smooth, the weight 7.03 lbs (yeah! and that's with trem arm!), and somehow it just fits perfectly. The neck is great. It’s simply the best guitar I’ve ever played. Over time, I realized I can’t risk ruining that magic by trying to force a look on it.(Why didn’t anyone tell me? Yeah, I know… more than a few did. I just didn’t want to hear it. I just didn’t want to hear it. So posting this now is a bit of a turnaround—but maybe it’ll save someone else from making a potentially horrific mistake.

In the right light, I’m even starting to like how it looks. Either way, I’ve never liked a guitar this much before, so I guess it can look however it wants to. And honestly, it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Jupiter]

I feel cheated

 

[----RIP----]

I can't do it.

And I'm probably lucky to realize that before it was too late. The guitar didn’t impress me visually when I got it. I honestly thought it looked like a raw steak, which is why I was planning to hit it with a spray can and go for something black—or at least something other than the steak look.

After playing it for a few weeks, tweaking it and dialing it in, I’ve realized it has something special that none of my previous guitars have had. It just feels really, really good to play and in every other way. The satin nitro finish is super smooth, the weight 7.03 lbs, and somehow it just fits perfectly. The neck is great. It’s simply the best guitar I’ve ever played. Over time, I realized I can’t risk ruining that magic by trying to force a look on it.(Why didn’t anyone tell me? Yeah, I know… a lot of you did. I just didn’t want to hear it. So posting this is a little embarrassing—but maybe it’ll save someone else from making a potentially horrific mistake.)

In the right light, I’m even starting to like how it looks. Either way, I’ve never liked a guitar this much before, so I guess it can look however it wants to. And honestly, it could have been a lot worse.
View attachment 1398943

Looks great! And you didn't even have to lift a finger

 

[Atomic Dave]

Sometimes it takes a while to appreciate what we have.
Enjoy!

 

[Painter644]

Stain literally, though still in a limited way, seeps deeper into the wood fibers than paint and to remove it requires more surface to be sanded off. Waste of effort and time with disappointing results… Painting directly over stain isn’t the answer either. There are other Strats out there.