How to prepare your guitar body's surface prior to painting

By Steven Dean










Guitar building of any type whether it is electric guitars or acoustic (particularly acoustic guitars) is usually very demanding, expensive and time consuming. Mostly if the guitar is a first effort the finished result will finish up costing almost what you may have spent on an entirely new guitar to begin with, occasionally even more if taking under consideration the tools needed for the task. However most first timers do not get involved with guitar building to save money most simply do it for the challenge of owning a guitar they have made completely on their own. But where does one start?

Electric Guitar Kits provide a straightforward and comparatively cheap way to get into guitar building when first starting out however it can quickly get costly and take a great deal of time if you run into trouble assembling or finishing the guitar (painting or staining). Firstly finishing the guitar after assembly can be a difficult task.

Let's accept it if you are going to the trouble of building your very own electric guitar kit chances are you want an instrument you can be happy to call your own. It's essential when finishing your guitar that you give yourself a good base to work on and in some cases this implies employing a grain filler to smooth out the surface of the guitar body prior to undercoating.

Using a Grain Filler

Dependent on the timber your guitar kit body is made from you may need to employ a wood grain filler to fill the pores of the timber. The main reason or this is to make allowance for a much more even surface for the subsequent stage of finishing. Loosely grained timbers like Mahogany or Ash will most likely need some treatment. Tightly grained timbers such as Maple mostly won't need grain filler at all.

When first applying begin by working the grain filler into the timber first moving with the grain and then against it until you are satisfied you have got a good even surface to commence painting. When you've applied the grain filler let it set completely and then start to scrape it back till you are left with a smooth surface.




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