New Les Paul Paint Job

[remoteCONTROL]

Hey so I completely stripped my Les Paul Studio and repainted it.

It went from alpine white (the guitar is from 1990 so it faded to an ivory/yellowish color) to a pearl white with a blue pearl stripe/head stock. I didn't paint the sides or back because the natural wood looked pretty sick with just a lacquer finish. I'll post close up pictures as soon as I can.

If you guys want to do this as a project to your guitar, I kind of taught myself from the beginning how to do this and would love to share pointers. Let me know what you think!

Original...
http://a554.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/45/l_042f9d4d3e6f44a2b9cd48b6e2d12771. jpg


New and improved?
http://a389.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/31/l_4f3ef5b1935c696a7e62f51ff1efd71c. jpg

Other upgrades...
Gold Gibson vintage tuners upgraded to nickle Grovers
Black pickup rings upgraded to chrome
Black "Studio" truss rod cover upgraded to white pearloid
Gold hardware upgraded to chrome hardware
Black speed knobs upgraded to clear speed knobs
I liked the 490 and 498 gold pickups that came with it so i just sanded down the finish to chrome

Also, if any of you want to pick up spare parts, I've got all the gold Gibson hardware still and the Gibson vintage tuners. I cracked a speed knob prying it off so I've got 3 knobs

[miketrondson]

It looks like a Gretsch in the pictures, maybe because of the pearl paintjob and stripe, but it looks sick dude!

I would have left the back and sides un-painted as well!

Can't wait to see the close ups.

[Tristan Needler]

I've considered sanding down my shitty black electric so it's just a natural finish. How difficult/expensive is it?

I've never done anything to a guitar modification-wise before either, so my experience is zero as far as removing necks, bridges, etc.

[patrickhowell]

I've considered sanding down my shitty black electric so it's just a natural finish. How difficult/expensive is it?

I've never done anything to a guitar modification-wise before either, so my experience is zero as far as removing necks, bridges, etc.

What kind of guitar? It's usually really simple to take everything apart, but it will have to be set up once you put it back together. Setting up your own guitar really isn't hard to do though.

[remoteCONTROL]

I've considered sanding down my shitty black electric so it's just a natural finish. How difficult/expensive is it?

I've never done anything to a guitar modification-wise before either, so my experience is zero as far as removing necks, bridges, etc.

I got an aerasol can of paint stripper. You spray it all over, wait 15 minutes and the paint practically melts off. Sanding will take hours and will ingrain the paint into the wood. I just taped off everything that I didn't want stripped. It was tempting not to airbrush it because the natural maple looked so clean

[TheSkyline]

Looks awesome dude, can't wait for the close-ups!

I'm actually in the middle of building a guitar from scratch. I have a thread about it a few below this one.

For anyone wanting to know about painting/building guitars, check out ultimate-guitar.com/forums and go to the gear building section. It's got all sorts of info in it.

[Tristan Needler]

What kind of guitar? It's usually really simple to take everything apart, but it will have to be set up once you put it back together. Setting up your own guitar really isn't hard to do though.
Haha uh oh, time to let the truth out.

My guitar is an embarrassment to guitars haha. It's the guitar that Squiers laugh at. It's the Yamaha EG112 (http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/products/productdetail/0,,CNTID%25253D62858%252526CTID%252 53D600089%252526CNTYP%25253DPRODUCT ,00.html). Basically it's a Walmart guitar, no exaggeration.


Which brings me to another point I've been meaning to bring up some time... would it be worth modifying that thing? If I added decent pick ups could I improve it or will the electronics in general just be too shitty for any quality from the pick ups to make it through?

I also need to fix the jack at some point, because it randomly cuts in and out all of the time so I can't record anything unless I pull the chord and hold it in a certain position, but I don't have a soldering iron and I'm poor. Damn poorness, it's such a pain in the ass if you want any sort of quality anything.

[SamKS]

My friend did this to his black Gibson SG. He didn't take off the original paint I'm guessing that's necessary. He painted it a nice blue color and didn't put that much gloss on it and now it sticks to his case when it gets hot.

Is he fucked or can he still save it?

What's the full process of doing this?

[Tristan Needler]

I got an aerasol can of paint stripper. You spray it all over, wait 15 minutes and the paint practically melts off. Sanding will take hours and will ingrain the paint into the wood. I just taped off everything that I didn't want stripped. It was tempting not to airbrush it because the natural maple looked so clean
That's the other thing, my guitar is so shitty that I half expect there to be knots in the wood and all sorts of ugly stuff.

That's good about the paint thinner thing though, I hadn't thought about that before.

[TheSkyline]

My friend did this to his black Gibson SG. He didn't take off the original paint I'm guessing that's necessary. He painted it a nice blue color and didn't put that much gloss on it and now it sticks to his case when it gets hot.

Is he fucked or can he still save it?

What's the full process of doing this?

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542726

Did he clear coat it? What kind of paint did he use?

[SamKS]

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=542726

Did he clear coat it? What kind of paint did he use?

This is all he did. Taped up everything he didn't want painted and then put a little gloss stuff over top.

[TheSkyline]

This is all he did. Taped up everything he didn't want painted and then put a little gloss stuff over top.

That's a little vague for me to say if he messed up or not..

Do you know what kind of paint he used? What kind of gloss stuff? It's all pretty important.

[OveriseFan]

Can we get better/close-up pics? Especially of the headstock (glare on it in that picture).

It looks good though! You've got such a "performer" look to you. Haha. It's great.

[bassdrummer2333]

Haha uh oh, time to let the truth out.

My guitar is an embarrassment to guitars haha. It's the guitar that Squiers laugh at. It's the Yamaha EG112 (http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/products/productdetail/0,,CNTID%25253D62858%252526CTID%252 53D600089%252526CNTYP%25253DPRODUCT ,00.html). Basically it's a Walmart guitar, no exaggeration.


Which brings me to another point I've been meaning to bring up some time... would it be worth modifying that thing? If I added decent pick ups could I improve it or will the electronics in general just be too shitty for any quality from the pick ups to make it through?

I also need to fix the jack at some point, because it randomly cuts in and out all of the time so I can't record anything unless I pull the chord and hold it in a certain position, but I don't have a soldering iron and I'm poor. Damn poorness, it's such a pain in the ass if you want any sort of quality anything.

Hey use what you can get! I would say it's worth just saving for a new guitar rather than replace the pickups etc. As for the paintjob that could be a cool modification, but I have no experience there.

[remoteCONTROL]

Haha uh oh, time to let the truth out.

My guitar is an embarrassment to guitars haha. It's the guitar that Squiers laugh at. It's the Yamaha EG112 (http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/products/productdetail/0,,CNTID%25253D62858%252526CTID%252 53D600089%252526CNTYP%25253DPRODUCT ,00.html). Basically it's a Walmart guitar, no exaggeration.


Which brings me to another point I've been meaning to bring up some time... would it be worth modifying that thing? If I added decent pick ups could I improve it or will the electronics in general just be too shitty for any quality from the pick ups to make it through?

I also need to fix the jack at some point, because it randomly cuts in and out all of the time so I can't record anything unless I pull the chord and hold it in a certain position, but I don't have a soldering iron and I'm poor. Damn poorness, it's such a pain in the ass if you want any sort of quality anything.

you can repaint the whole thing for probably $30. $5 for the paint stripper (not thinner, it literally eats the paint away but doesnt damage the wood at all), $5 for the primer (white spray paint), $5 for the actual color of the paint you want to use, and $5 for the clear coat. If you're patient, that's all the supplies you'll need. It took me 2 times to do it because i tried to rush the whole job. I left an extra $10 bumper incase you needed sand paper or masking tape or whatever. I like the natural wood on guitars tho. You would just need the paint stripper, maybe a wood polish to cover up blemishes and make the wood an even color. My Les Paul Firebrand came natural from the factory and I wouldn't change it at all!

http://a512.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/48/l_020cd5a04edcd701de4d51c4b546ab87. jpg

My friend did this to his black Gibson SG. He didn't take off the original paint I'm guessing that's necessary. He painted it a nice blue color and didn't put that much gloss on it and now it sticks to his case when it gets hot.

Is he fucked or can he still save it?

What's the full process of doing this?

He should've stripped the paint, sanded the wood with fine grit sandpaper, primered it (flat white spray paint works), put on a couple coats of paint (i airbrushed it and did about 6 or 7 really thin layers, spray paint would be less layers because it's thicker), then sprayed about 3 or 4 clear coats and let each coat dry completely. not too late to do that!

Can we get better/close-up pics? Especially of the headstock (glare on it in that picture).

It looks good though! You've got such a "performer" look to you. Haha. It's great.

ha you made me blush. it's at our practice space. i'll put up pictures next time i'm there.

[remoteCONTROL]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/CavalierMusic/guitar3.jpghttp://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/CavalierMusic/guitar1.jpghttp://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/CavalierMusic/guitar2.jpghttp://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/CavalierMusic/guitar4.jpg

[johnh5304]

That looks pretty sick. You did a great job with look.

[Prestonxsmith]

Wow, great job. I love the natural finish on the back as well. Again, great job!

[ArTkY_]

Looks fantastic, haha