Time to ACCESSORIZE

[deleted]

So, I'm chatting with my kids ("students") on the endlessly entertaining topic (for them) about my guitars (well it's not so much entertaining for them as much as they like to ask me the same question over and over again, mostly in an attempt to annoy me or gain some all important cred from their peeps).

So I indulge them yet again and explain to them my other guitar is not broken, I bought a new one so I wouldn't have to carry my old one to work everyday, and now I can have a guitar at home and one at work (and then it eventually dawns on some of them that I don't actually live at the school).

Then one of them in a fit of creativity shouts "and you have a pink guitar"(a girl of course). And then it struck me, I have two brown guitars, how boring is that. And we proceeded to think of all the nice things I could paint on my guitar and all the different colours we like.

So a question to al the modifiers of guitars: how sound is it to paint your (acoustic)guitar (the one that you're obviously not too attatched to and don't mind personalising). I wonder what paint is thin enough not to alter the thickness of the sound board too much, but is durable. I guess some kind of polyester-resin paint will be too much? Manny had a place he could slide pictures in on his guitar, but that's probably not practical on an acoustic. I suppose I could go have transfers made of designs I like?

Where do you guys stand on this?

aja

Draw on it with whiteboard markers then wipe off and draw again...

AlanRatcliffe

A big job, but no problem refinishing - done properly, the finish is pretty thin and polys are pretty durable.

aja wrote: Draw on it with whiteboard markers then wipe off and draw again...

Strangely enough as I clicked to reply I was thinking it would be cool to get a cheapish guitar each year and let all the kids sign it. When I clicked reply I saw you had posted in the meantime. Then the kids would feel more involved and after a long career Viccy would have lots of guitars and lots of memories. Win-win. ?

[deleted]

Draw on it with whiteboard markers then wipe off and draw again...

I'm kinda banking on an aesthetically pleasing result, and I just foresee lots of ink on my clothes with that option. ?

A big job, but no problem refinishing - done properly, the finish is pretty thin and polys are pretty durable.

So would I have to thin down the varnish already there, in order to lessen the weight of the poly layer? I would love to use them, the pigments you get for them are bright and vibrant, not like most pigments you get.

I have that cheapy steel string at school that would be great for the kids to "sign". When I was talking about painting my guitar they all perked up considerably. It'll be a real treat for them (and very nostalgic for me) to let them have a go decorating my guitar before they leave the school. I think I'll stick with the one guitar thouth, I'm not a big fan of clutter.

I need to point out that the oldest kids are FOUR YEARS OLD, so no signing is going to be happening, It wil probably turn out more Jackson Pollock than anthing else.

I'll have to think of something that is more child- friendly when it comes to them decorating my guitar. The steel string is black, so I could just give them a tip-ex pen or two. I hope they come in different colours. Otherwise plain acrylic could do, but it wouldn't be very durable.

AlanRatcliffe

If you're doing it by hand, it's gonna take a tonal knock whether you strip/thin down the original finish or not as it will be applied much thicker than professionally done with a spray gun, so probably not something to do to a prized instrument...

You also get gold and silver paint pens that younger kids love.

[deleted]

You also get gold and silver paint pens that younger kids love

Ooh, that's perfect!

[deleted]

I was having a look at my two guitars. The one I was intending on "defacing" was the Ibanez I found. It's a tough call, because my old guitar is in dire need of repair. The sound board is knocked, scraped and generally mistreated. It might turn out to be quite practical to have it repaired and sprayed a different colour at the same time. Anyway, I'll mull that one over.

So does sticking on very thin transfers alter the sound much too? It might be nice to have a couple of Koi fish swimming around on my guitar.

I'll ask around and see if I could possibly rent someone's spray gun for a day. Can you still get a smooth finish if you use stencils, or does it have to be all one colour?

(I'm super keen to do this, in case you can't tell).

AlanRatcliffe

Anything affects the top, but if you keep it down to a few smaller stickers (especially waterslide decals, which are very thin), I don't see a problem. You can get a smooth finish with stencils - by putting a few clear coats over the top to level the surface.

Refinishing is one of the more difficult jobs to do on a guitar though, so I'd recommend getting a beater guitar to try it out on first.

DonovanB

Viccy wrote: It wil probably turn out more Jackson Pollock than anthing else.

Can't be worse than this...

[deleted]

especially waterslide decals, which are very thin

Thanks, those were the ones I was thiking of.

I'm in luck because beater guitars are all I own.

Thank you for all the advice!

[deleted]

Wow, Donavan, the shock of all those colours brought back a flood of memories from the late 80's.

Keira-WitherKay

viccy , if this is your "knock around guitar" just paint it whatever with whatever your kids enjoy........ if it was a ramirez of course i would not say this.. but i too have what i call my "teaching guitar" ........ it's the one that if it gets heat damage in car or get dropped or god forbid stolen ( i do live in big bad jozi) i won't fret ( pun very much intended) ...so if this is you school guitar .........lets be honest if it was so great you'd want it at home with you ....... ? and i have done art on guitars before....... and yes the tone might change slightly .. but i'd doubt you'd even notice unless you have a direct A/B with the original sound......... and as alan said try not make it too thick but franky see the guitar as a piece of art......... and also fun and memorable if your beloved class of 2010 paints it ......... the sentimental value even if it's just slapped on paint will be far greater than the tone from an ibanez ........

anyway art before science is my outlook......... don't get hung up on the paint altering the tone...... the guitar will still sound great ........or close to what it did originally ........

i say roll out the paint ,,,,,,,,,,,,, but you must post pics..........

maybe every year you should buy a pawn shop guitar and at end of year have your class paint it ......... as a keep sake........ ?

ps another idea......... i took one of yamaha's i'd dragged around the world and over a period of time used a metal pointy thingy to scratch in all the songs i'd composed on it ( my whole 1st cd and then some) and some words and images that inspired me...... the entire guitar was tattoo' d around the sides and on the headstock . i left the back free for my obligitory trademark "Ole" i print on the backs of all my guitars.......... and the top was left free...... but it was great .and actually a student saw it and actually bought if from me...even after i wanted to get him another guitar ....he insisted on wanting it for it's uniqueness..... so now he owns one of my guitars and owns some of my art ........ and yeah i felt quite honored he wanted that and not the pristine other guitars i could source for him at the time .........

so i digress a bit but maybe even scratch into the finish it it's dark stained it looks fab, and i could not tell any tonal different ...........even if there was

[deleted]

Cool Keira, I like your spirit!

I most definitely will be letting the kids sign my school guitar. My "at home" guitars are the old one I inherited from my Dad and the mystery one I found at my Mom's house.

Besides being super duper sentimental about my Juanita (I didn't even want to clean the fretboard fingerjam off... but I did eventually, massive step forward for me), it's the guitar I prefer playing. It doesn't have much, if any, monetary value, but I've grown on it (literaly in the case of the fingerjam).

The Ibanez is a peice of s___t, but it's like a hopeless case I want to save (I still have to get around to flossing it's nut, but it needs a lot more work).

I want to paint both now. It's time for the Juanita to get a new look (I've been WAY too precious about it) and maybe I'll use the Ibanez to practice that look on. I'm quite a perfectionist when it comes to art, but the kids can run amuck on the steel string. As you said, the quality of sound will probably not be compromised that much, and if it gives the guitar that extra artistic quality it's worth it (especially if they aren't that expensive).

Keira-WitherKay

viccy . i'd be a little hesitant to mess with your main classical guitar ...... do it if you like tho ? let me not stand in the way of an artists expression

but that guitar has lovely tone...... as we hear in the recordings.....

sometimes the old ...."dug outa the garage" no name guitars can be gems........

the ibanez steel is common and easily replaced and as you say yourself sounds sh..t .......so a definite on that ...

personally i would hold back on the classical till you find another who's sound eclipses this one you have......... cos even tho i'm all for art and using the guitar as part of your expression........ i still have my "main " guitar which i fuss over a lot more.....

and unlike electrics.. i'm a believer (gee sounds like a song title ?...ok i digress) that with nylon string classical guitars it's all about the guitars natural untreated ( as in eq'd) tone and the ever so subtle nuances in that tone since ......for classical music you wil not be putting effects on it or want to eq it much ...... so if it sounds great as it is without needed to tweak or eq it .it's a good guitar so i'd think more than twice before i paint it ..........

[deleted]

I need to clarify that I have three guitars. The Ibanez is a nylon that mysteriously turned up at my Mom's house and hasn't been claimed for who knows how many years (like I said it's a mystery), the steel string is one that I bought this year and will be letting kids have a draw on and the Juanita is the one that I use for recording and such.

The Juanita is great and I agree I wouldn't want to break what isn't broken, BUT it is broken. The sound board recieved quite a bash years ago, when I didn't close my case properly and it went crashing into the back of a chair. As much as I would terribly miss it's old tattered look I'm finding my sentimentality getting in the way. For instance I need to replace the tuning pegs, at a certain frequency and certain angle one of them buzzes, but I'm too attatched to the old cracked and yellowed pegs to change them for shiny new, and if I'm honest, cheaper looking ones. I also wanted to add a strap button on the bottom of the neck, but couldn't find anything that went with the rest of the guitar and couldn't bring myself to do the alteration.

So if I can use the Ibanez as a practice "modifying" guitar maybe I'll feel better about bringing my favourite guitar up to par. And hopefully find better ways to do it along the way.

Atmarama

This is very cool! I don't know about ibanez nylon strings, but I have 2 1970's ibanez steel strings(one 6 string one 12) and they are awesome sounding guitars with real vintage mojo - I wouldn't paint them... But I did strip and stain an old Squier II - its fun... ? Enjoy

[deleted]

Thanks for the encouragement. I've been doing a little bit of reading on this. Firstly, I don't think I will use wood stipper on my guitar. I wouldn't want to put any chemicals near the wood. Anyway my Juanita's varnish is so thin that the grain seems to pull it apart in some places. So I'd definitely only like to sand it down.

Before I do anything I'll talk to a violin/ cello maker I know and find the right kind of lacquer or varnish. I heard a lot of names being thrown around, nitro celulose being one of them (they use it on aeroplanes.. . ??? ). Then I'll do a test with a decal and the varnish of choice and see how the pigments hold up on a seperate peice of wood. If all geos well I would have avoided work for a large chunk of time... yippie.

I can foresee this being a bit like the time I fixated on doing a mozaic floor in the kitchen and bathroom. Somewhere in between getting sticky linoleum stuck to my knees and forgetting the exact patern I cut out, it seemed like a slightly less fun idea.

singemonkey

With such a precious guitar Viccy, I'd really heed what Alan's saying and get it done professionally - or wait until you've learned the art on some less important guitars. It does seem pretty tricky to get the finish very thin and very even so that it's only the looks that are affected and not the feel and the tone.

And I think do what needs to be done. The finishes themselves are as artificial as chemicals get (the names should be a hint: nitro-cellulose, polyurethane ?) , so if the previous finish needs chemicals to remove it and that's how it's done, I wouldn't worry too much IMO.

Basically I think it would be hasty to experiment on Juanita.

[deleted]

Sorry, a bit of a duh moment there. Actually, the wood stripper is not the way it's done, as apparently it leaves a bit of a waxy residue and can interfere with the varnish. I actually meant to say I wouldn't want to use a chemical that is not wholly and generally approved.

I will take it very cuatiously. And it's very likely the extra time it'll take to do the Ibanez first is what it requires. I'm a lot of stages away from even approaching the guitars, as I first have to print out a test decal, try out a test varnish and if that goes well then try it out on the test guitar. Basically it's going to be a long time before anything is acted on so the guitars are safe for now (evil laugh)!! But I ain't no quitter, and I'm becoming more relaxed with the changes I need to make on the guitar (that don't involve the soundboard), like changing the pegs and puting on the strap button.

Garth-S

What about using vinyl. Check out www.twiggy.co.za - I'm sure you can request a custom order for your guitar ?