"Painting" on top of a nitro finish ...?

[mime-tele-frog]

Hello good folks. My 12 year old is a good artist and we thought it would be cool for them to draw something on one of my guitars, a tele with a nitro finish. I was hoping not to sand/refinish but does anyone have an idea of what would work well? Paint? Indelible marker?

Many thanks for any advice.

 

[Peegoo]

@mime-tele-frog Markers have solvents that will partially dissolve the nitro and the resulting lines and colors will not look good. It's better to use artists' brushes and acrylics.

Prep the guitar first by cleaning it well with isopropyl alcohol, and have very clean hands when handling it before applying paint. Rubbing alcohol contains oils and is not good for surface prep.

 

[Powdog]

Could shoot a thin clear coat of shellac over the lacquer. It comes in a rattle can. Shellac and lacquer love each other, and you can put anything on top of shellac.

 

[PARCO]

I would do a test on scrap material before I tried it on my guitar.

 

[Beebe]

@mime-tele-frog Markers have solvents that will partially dissolve the nitro and the resulting lines and colors will not look good. It's better to use artists' brushes and acrylics.

Prep the guitar first by cleaning it well with isopropyl alcohol, and have very clean hands when handling it before applying paint. Rubbing alcohol contains oils and is not good for surface prep.

As I understand it, alcohol can soften nitro, so if you clean with it, don't let it pool on the surface or do any scrubbing. And it might be advisable to dilute it in water a bit. Especially if it's the high concentration variety.

I'd coat the whole body with several coats of a solvent free drying oil like Linseed or Tung oil. Linseed gives a matte finish that should take the artist's medium well.

For a blank canvas, go over that with flat/matte white shellac based primer and sand flat with 800 grit.

And then use a medium that won't dissolve the shellac.

This should provide a somewhat paper like surface.

Artist often varnish their work with a natural resin like Sandarac dissolved in alcohol. Probably not a good idea over the shellac, as this could dissolve the shellac and art work on top of it.

I'd protect the final work with pure Tung oil that contains no solvents. Linseed oil will also work, it may just add a bit more amber.

Edit: After sanding the shellac primer level with 800 grit, you can spray another really light coat over that to dissolve the scratches.

 

[schmee]

Try Goof Off and remove the marking. Dont soak it, put it on a rag and wipe quickly.
For repainting Nitro should be fine under paint. Do standard light sanding and try a test area depending on the type of paint you use.

 

[PARCO]

I think Sharpie makes paint pens in a variety of colors. I'm not sure what kind of paint is in those pens but they might work for your project.