# Cheap goldtop finish



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I've decided to turn the LP body that no one wants to buy into a goldtop.

I've never done this before. I'm not overly concerned with the end result. I've sanded the whole thing, but not to the wood - I took most of the finish off, if not all of it. I was thinking prime it and then spray it gold.

What paints should I use? Can I just grab the stuff from Home Depot?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I used gold spraypaint for pedals...for whatever reason, gold (and a few other colours) tended to make a real thick coat that was very easy to mark up - always soft even to fingernails no matter how light I tried to make the layers. Gonna need a real solid topcoat if you're going to rattle can it, unless you have better technique or find a better blend than I had/did.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

reranch has everything you need. But if it is nitro they can't ship it to Canada

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/goldtopgold.html


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

knight_yyz said:


> reranch has everything you need. But if it is nitro they can't ship it to Canada
> 
> http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/goldtopgold.html


Sweet. Thanks, I'll order tomorrow


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

keto said:


> I used gold spraypaint for pedals...for whatever reason, gold (and a few other colours) tended to make a real thick coat that was very easy to mark up - always soft even to fingernails no matter how light I tried to make the layers. Gonna need a real solid topcoat if you're going to rattle can it, unless you have better technique or find a better blend than I had/did.


I'll try to find something that dries hard. Thanks


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Visit your nearby Cdn Tire and pick a colour rattle in the automotive section can that matches = $10. If the body is still coated in paint, buff it with 400 grit wet dry paper.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Steve motatto redid a tele some years ago with rattle cans. Turned out super nice. He also experimented with a second coat before full curing that gave a cool marble finish. Call him. He'll tell you


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I'll probably go that route then. Sounds like something I can get done quick.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Go with duplicolor from canadian tire or partsource.
Buy 2 cans.
Wait until it's kinda dry (2 weeks to a month) and then topcoat with watco laquer from home depot (nitro)

Avoid krylon like the plague
It's enamal and it doesn't ever dry....miserable stuff

Nathan


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

RE: rattle cans...from my experience 1 can is sufficient for even 3 coats.

I did my Son's first guitar in blue metallic spray duplicolor..looks good after 15 years.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

nnieman said:


> Go with duplicolor from canadian tire or partsource.
> Buy 2 cans.
> Wait until it's kinda dry (2 weeks to a month) and then topcoat with watco laquer from home depot (nitro)
> 
> ...



Most krylon paints have a 7 day cure time. says it right on the can. Great pain for plastic.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I grabbed the duplicolor perfect match "sunburst gold", but have sprayed a duplicolor primer to deal with any scratches, etc. The primer looks really good. I tried to get a nice close shot. This is a lazy man's dream. I put silicone in the pot holes to block dust and paint and wood filled to turn it from a stop tail to a wraptail.

I'll put a couple more coats on it and then sand it with some 400 grit.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Great!

Never use a full spray can, only use about 3/4s down
The end of the can always spits and can ruin a flawless finish very quickly (found that one out the hard way).
Buy 2 cans and use half of them.

I wouldn't plug any holes with silicon....in the auto refinishing world silicon=death

"Silicone contamination is common with old finishes and is a particularly difficult problem. Silicone is an oil that is contained in many furniture polishes and is difficult to totally remove from a surface because it gets through cracks in the finish and into the wood. Because it is so slick, silicone causes fish-eye (the finish bunching up in ridges as it flows away from areas, such as pores, where the silicone exists).

To a large degree, silicone can be removed by washing the surface with a petroleum-distillate solvent or with a strong detergent, TSP or household ammonia and water. But if the silicone has gotten into the wood through cracks in the old finish, you may not be able to get it all removed."

http://news.thefinishingstore.com/i...finish-a-risky-business-that-sometimes-works/

Use paraffin wax (or crayons) or crumpled up kleenex or even painters acrylic laytex caulk (by dap- does not contain silicon).

Nathan


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## Bastille day (Mar 2, 2014)

adcandour said:


> I've decided to turn the LP body that no one wants to buy into a goldtop.
> 
> I've never done this before. I'm not overly concerned with the end result. I've sanded the whole thing, but not to the wood - I took most of the finish off, if not all of it. I was thinking prime it and then spray it gold.
> 
> What paints should I use? Can I just grab the stuff from Home Depot?


I would take it to my local body shop and they could spray the base coat and clear it next time they are painting a car.

Just have the body ready to hang with your own hooks.

Hanging with a light chain makes it srayable without handling it.

You should dig out the silcone and fill with a two part epoxy filler then prime or let the body shop do it.

They may not like having something repaired with silicone in thier paint room.

They likely already have a left over basecoat and it should take a about a coffe cup of clearcoat.

When I worker as a painter we had numerous cans of left over cans of paint in all colors.

Now that I see you filler the holes with silicone, they may not want it in thier paint room.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Well, the biggest mistake I made here was using a greenish primer. For some reason I couldn't bury it in the gold paint.

I would have also like to have more binding exposed on the front of the guitar, but not sure how to remove the paint without f'ing it up. I quickly went around the side to clean up the lines a bit. Still a few imperfections, but I'm not concerned. 

The shittiest thing about this is that I did this to make it a wraptail. None will fit, so I'll have to dig out the holes. they turned out crappy anyway.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

The colour is not that "unpleasant" to my eyes. I like it.

Quite awhile ago, you were getting into guitar electronics/soldering. I assume those skills have progressed well if you did/are doing all the wiring of this guitar yourself.

Laristotle had some sort of approach to cleaning the binding. Hopefully he will post it here.

Cheers

Dave


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I painted a car silver once. I think silver is a lot like gold, very hard to paint. Anyway, I had used some green paint I had laying around as an undercoat. a few weeks after the paint job, the green started to bleed through the silver......and it just kept getting worse. I sold the car.......at night.........

btw, that's a great looking paint job!


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

greco said:


> The colour is not that "unpleasant" to my eyes. I like it.
> 
> Quite awhile ago, you were getting into guitar electronics/soldering. I assume those skills have progressed well if you did/are doing all the wiring of this guitar yourself.
> 
> ...


Thanks Dave. The colour isn't bad. I don't mind it, but in person, you really see the deficiencies. If there was a gold primer available, it would have come out perfect (colour-wise). Thankfully, I wasn't expecting much from a first try. What bothers me is the hindsight.

I won't mind soldering the pick-up covers on (when I find some), but I won't have time for much else. when I do have time, I tend to just play. the new puppy we just bought is a lot of work. We're buying another to keep her busy, so we'll see what happens


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Don't quote me on this but I recall reading that some gold finishes get a green tinge when they age.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

ed2000 said:


> Don't quote me on this but I recall reading that some gold finishes get a green tinge when they age.


That is true, but that looks cool. This...not so much.

My plan is to move around a lot while I play, so no one can tell.


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2015)

I agree that the colour's not bad.
As to the binding. I used an exacto knife 
and patiently scraped the paint off.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

nnieman said:


> Great!
> 
> Never use a full spray can, only use about 3/4s down
> The end of the can always spits and can ruin a flawless finish very quickly (found that one out the hard way).
> ...





Bastille day said:


> I would take it to my local body shop and they could spray the base coat and clear it next time they are painting a car.
> 
> Just have the body ready to hang with your own hooks.
> 
> ...


I just realized how I confused things. I used a silicone sealant to plug the pot holes, because the electronics were still in there. It worked wonderfully, since it created a perfect seal, but will pop right out after.

- - - Updated - - -



laristotle said:


> I agree that the colour's not bad.
> As to the binding. I used an exacto knife
> and patiently scraped the paint off.


Thanks Larry. I gave it a go and botched it up large. I don't think I was patient with it though. I'm afraid to try it again, cause it was difficult to correct.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

ed2000 said:


> Don't quote me on this but I recall reading that some gold finishes get a green tinge when they age.



Oh, I'm quoting you all right! https://www.google.ca/search?q=les+...TCOCK-NXp88YCFQzrgAodXoMELA&biw=1920&bih=1008


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

keto said:


> Oh, I'm quoting you all right! https://www.google.ca/search?q=les+...TCOCK-NXp88YCFQzrgAodXoMELA&biw=1920&bih=1008


I never had a yearning for a gold top. That solidifies it for me!


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I really like that. I have to grab one of the cream-coloured washer thingys for the pick-up switch. I might have a pickguard kicking around and I definitely need similar knobs.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

My favourite 'greened' goldtop is Tom Wittrock's. It looks like it's been through a couple of wars.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

keto said:


> My favourite 'greened' goldtop is Tom Wittrock's. It looks like it's been through a couple of wars.


Man, they are getting uglier by the hour!


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Steadfastly said:


> Man, they are getting uglier by the hour!


Beauty and ugly are in the eyes of beholder.

That looks like it would feel like wearing an old pair of jeans...or shoes...or whatever.

Cheers

Dave


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

greco said:


> Beauty and ugly are in the eyes of beholder.
> 
> That looks like it would feel like wearing an old pair of jeans...or shoes...or whatever.
> 
> ...


I guess so. That would be a very, very old pair of shoes.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Adcandor it looks great
It looks luke an aged goldtop, if you could get it to check it'd be perfect!
I'm glad I misunderstood you! lol

Nathan


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2015)

nnieman said:


> if you could get it to check it'd be perfect!


that's not a bad idea.
stick it in the freezer then out in the backyard during a hot day.
at least I _think_ that's the relic'ers way of doing it.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I'm not into relic'd guitars, unfortunately. Maybe it'll age quicker than the average guitar, since it's not a pro job. Also, I do tend to move guitars from my cold basement to upstairs on occasion. That might affect it.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Well,...I thought I would buff the finish to a nice shine, so I bought a buffing disc for an angle grinder and modded it to fit a drill.

Can anyone guess what happened?

Apparently, you can buff a guitar right down to the wood using this method . In seconds. Faaaack.


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## teleguy (Jul 31, 2015)

take to body shop and get them to spray it for you..


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

Dude that sucks

Sorry to hear that

I use the ones for a cordless drill, I find that they're a little more forgiving.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Oh Noooooooooooo!!!!!! wTF



adcandour said:


> Well,...I thought I would buff the finish to a nice shine, so I bought a buffing disc for an angle grinder and modded it to fit a drill.
> 
> Can anyone guess what happened?
> 
> Apparently, you can buff a guitar right down to the wood using this method . In seconds. Faaaack.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> Apparently, you can buff a guitar *right down to the wood using this method . In seconds. Faaaack.*


Oh no!!! 

What is your plan now?

Sorry that this happened. Hope your luck with this project improves dramatically...and soon.

Cheers

Dave


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

nnieman said:


> Dude that sucks
> 
> Sorry to hear that
> 
> I use the ones for a cordless drill, I find that they're a little more forgiving.





Stratin2traynor said:


> Oh Noooooooooooo!!!!!! wTF





greco said:


> Oh no!!!
> 
> What is your plan now?
> 
> ...


This is something I would have done as a child, so I'm just sort of shaking my head at myself. I'm not angry, upset or frustrated.

I'm just glad I can use everything and that I'm putting it back together. I don't think it'll ever sell, so I'm not too bother about it getting banged up.

To top it off I've got the same pickup cover issue stratin2traynor has - I'm just going to let Gian at lil' demons sort it out.


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Some people pay big bucks to get a look like that.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

What's going on with these pickup covers recently? 

I know that Seymour Duncan pickups required their "proprietary" covers at one time, but I assume that is not the case here...or could that be your problem?

Cheers

Dave


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Please send them my way. I'm a pro.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

@greco

No, not SDs. Not sure why it's happening. I'll look closer tomorrow.


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