# Cost to Change Body Colour



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i have a retro yellow strat plus, and a huge appetite for a red fender, so...

does anyone know how much it might cost to have the body professionally painted red?

-dh


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

david henman said:


> ...i have a retro yellow strat plus, and a huge appetite for a red fender, so...
> 
> does anyone know how much it might cost to have the body professionally painted red?
> 
> -dh



Nope, don't know.

DIY is fun and cheap though, and doesn't take a lot of special tools or equipment.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I agree with milkman, DIY is fun, and pretty easy. Big thing is to do your research and take your time.


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

make sure you strip the old paint off first, do it in the sun it will speed up the paint striper, wipe off the paint with steel wool, then go to a local car body shop and have them paint it and specify thin coats. Idealy you want less than 1mm of finish on that guitar, regardless of what type of finish it is. If you go the spray bomb route, the paint will relice awefull fast  The paintshop guys use hardener in the paint so it will be more like a factory job then a DIY. They should charge between $75 and $125 with a wetsand and buff job included


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## Xanadu (Feb 3, 2006)

good luck with whichever option you go with.:rockon:


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

I guess my vote would go with the paint shop. Besides then you'd have someone to complain to if it didn't come out right. Not much use complaining to yourself....


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I've used both good quality spray cans and I also use spray guns / air brushes (I used to work in a body shop when I was a younger lad). The big thing to make sure paint sticks is proper prep and sealers etc. You would also need to decide whether to go with a lacquer or an acrylic. It can be very rewarding to do it yourself. Spray cans can do a fine job if you take your time. Make sure to use tack rags and a wash down of a good oil/silcone remover to make sure you don't get fish eyes or orange peeling. Check out the guitar reranch site for lots of good tips on painting and prepping. Wet sand (use a very very fine grit at least a 600 and preferrably higher). between each coat, especially if you are clear coating an acrylic. 

If you are serious about trying it yourself, find a peice of practice wood and do it first to see what you are doing and to get used to the spray patterns etc.


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## sw686blue (Apr 15, 2006)

At http://www.montrealcustomguitars.com/ Stephane charges about $195 for opaque colours.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

sw686blue said:


> At http://www.montrealcustomguitars.com/ Stephane charges about $195 for opaque colours.


...thanks, mate. that gives me a ball park of the cost. no way i'm going to attempt this myself. i'm not a dyi guy and, in any case, i'd much rather spend my time _playing_ guitar.

-dh


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Probably a wise decision Dave. I don't think I would attempt that. Perhaps one of the more inclined on here will offer to do the job for you. There seems to be a bunch into it.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Probably a wise decision Dave. I don't think I would attempt that. Perhaps one of the more inclined on here will offer to do the job for you. There seems to be a bunch into it.




LOL, I've done it many times, but my skill level at refinishing is not something I'd be comfortable charging money or risking someone else's guitar on.


I started out doing furnature and did a couple of pianos before moving on to guitars. Doing a guitar is really a fun and easy project, but as with most things there is a considerable range of qualities.


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

Damn, my post didn't post. Here we go again.

I think you need to decide exactly what you want. Paint job or do you want to see the wood through the finish. Paint job is the easiest. Strip/sand prime & paint wetsand, buff & polish.

If you want to see the grain then you have a couple of choices stain or dye. Dye will give you a greater intensity of color and clarity of wood grain. Stain tends to obscure the grain to a certain degree. for a finish using dye the steps are, strip and sand to clear wood, dye, sand , seal ,sand clearcoat , wet sand buff & polish

Here is a photo of a red guitar finished with anoline dye. 
the picture no way shows the intensity of the color. This is because of my poor photography skills and bad lighting. However you can see every nuance of the wood in the guitar. This particular guitar has a solid maple body, maple neck and cocobola fretboard.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

Lowtones said:


> Damn, my post didn't post. Here we go again.
> 
> I think you need to decide exactly what you want. Paint job or do you want to see the wood through the finish. Paint job is the easiest. Strip/sand prime & paint wetsand, buff & polish.
> 
> ...


...looks delicious!!! that is exactly the kind of intensity i'm hoping for. a paint job will suffice - no need to see the wood grain.

-dh
(shopping for a matching outfit...)


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

I would suggest going to an automotive paint supply. Check out their color chips. They have large ones about four inch square. The selection of colors and shades can be a little overwhelming. Take them outside in the sunlight and do your selection. A pint will cost you about $75.00 that's the smallest amount you can buy. It will do about six guitars or more so if you ever want to do a matching guitar you will have lots left over. For a super deep looking finish I would suggest base coat / clear coat usually the guy spraying the guitar will have clearcoat on hand and just charge you for the bit he uses.

good luck


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## screaminking (Feb 5, 2006)

I've been looking at getting an LP Studio refinished for a long time, but I've never been able to find someone to doing at a regular price. That Montreal site looks pretty cool, I'm going to contact them.

Is there anyone/anyplace in Toronto (or close) that does this? I basically just want to change the look of my white LP Studio to something more similar to a black LP standard (probably get the binding done).

Great thread.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

screaminking said:


> I've been looking at getting an LP Studio refinished for a long time, but I've never been able to find someone to doing at a regular price. That Montreal site looks pretty cool, I'm going to contact them.
> Is there anyone/anyplace in Toronto (or close) that does this? I basically just want to change the look of my white LP Studio to something more similar to a black LP standard (probably get the binding done).
> Great thread.


...i would imagine 12th fret could accomodate you, but they would charge accordingly. i'm looking for guys, like independent luthiers etc, that might appreciate the work and be willing to give us a $$$ break.

-dh


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

I've done about a dozen guitars myself. A lot of satisfaction in DIY. If you want to go that route, check out www.reranch.com - an invaluable source of information dedicated to refinishing guitars. They have a great forum with pro refinishers as well as newbies and first timers. By the way the Twelfth Fret charges $500 to $700 for a Fender body refinish.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

I was quoted $800.00 for a refinish for my '77 Jazz body by a reputable luthier.

The paint thing is a lot harder then it sounds as you need quality spary guns in a dust free enviorment. Choosing the right paint product is a must and I cant offer any help there.

It can be done as stated by others BUT not by me...

Good luck !!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

$500 ~ $800 to refinish a guitar?



I guess it's good that I do such things myself, LOL.

Unless I had a prized vintage instrument I'd never spend that on an aesthetic change or improvement.


I've seen a repair done at the twelfth Fret and it's clear that they have highly skilled people, but ....yikes.


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

Milkman said:


> $500 ~ $800 to refinish a guitar?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It doesn't cost me that much to make a quality guitar with premium hardware & pickups. But I think that refinishing takes a lot more time & effort than most would expect. If you were to compare it Auto repair shop hourly rates of around $70. hr it doesn't seem so far fetched.


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## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

a few words about the auto body shop direction.

I have a client that runs an auto body shop. I have known the owner for many years. It took me 2 weeks of constant hounding to do a guitar body for me. He had never done one before and didnt know if it would work out.

Once he agreed. the only request he had was that I attach something to the body that would allow him to hang the guitar body. I screwd a makeshift plate thru the neck holes and that did it.

Reguarding time used for the job. lets say 5 minutes tops. Let me remind you that thses guys have all the right rooms including a heated area for fast drying.

results...FANTASTIC....

All you have to do is get one of these shops to do it.

HINT...I would guess if they say yes, they would have NO idea what to charge you, so offer them 50 bucks cash and see what happens.


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## rippinglickfest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Auto Finish*

The paint used to paint vehicles dries to a super hard finish that does NOT do well on guitar bodies in terms of sound. ... on the plus side it is super durable. 
But do you want a guitar that looks good but sounds like crap

Ray


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

alot of the jackson, bc rich etc from the 80's have a very thick very hard finish on them and they sound fine. I redid a guitar with a stone finish on it and it sounds great and sustains for days. I've had people ask me about the tone of this guitar. I would imagine that general production guitars get it just like an assembly line, fairly hard paint to last, painted in a line and then heat dried.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Milkman said:


> $500 ~ $800 to refinish a guitar?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, you could buy an entire 2nd hand American Strat for $800. Totally nuts.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...the autobody shop idea intrigues...

a warmoth body, painted, is approx $400 US.

-dh


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

I have one done in an Automotive paint and it sounds great. Also unless you want to go the lacquer route most guitars produced today have a Polyureathane finish. This is exactly what the automotive clearcoat is. The base coat is reletively soft by comparision. The other option is acrylic enamel (cheaper) if you use automotive products on your guitar you will be using exactly what all the major guitar manufacturers use With the exception of those with a lacquer finish. The automotive industry finaly stopped using that altogether about eight years ago. As for the neck the only thing I use is Tung oil. Just put it on with a foam stick, wait about three minutes and wipe it off with a clean rag. Repeat about every 6 hrs. 3-6 coats depending on the gloss that you want. Lightly buff every other coat with 0000 steel wool and you can have a satin or super gloss finish depending on what you want. When you are done give it a coat of old english furniture oil and you will have the slickest satin feeling neck you ever played. 

BTW David this is a picture of a body done in automotive paint. However the reason I'm posting it is to see if you have a strat with universal routing (something like this) This will be required to install the pickguard assembly with the 3 balanced P90s. If you don't I'll loan you the guitar. That will also give you the chance to check out the tone with automotive paint


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i'm looking forward to meeting you, lowtones!

i've found someone (my son-in-law) who will lovingly strip the body, and a friend of his who builds and finishes furniture is going to do the painting/finishing/curing/polishing etc.

my quest will now be to find out what kind of paint etc to buy and where to buy it.

-dh


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

david henman said:


> ...i'm looking forward to meeting you, lowtones!
> 
> i've found someone (my son-in-law) who will lovingly strip the body, and a friend of his who builds and finishes furniture is going to do the painting/finishing/curing/polishing etc.
> 
> ...


I'll see if I can get you that information this afternoon. At least paint type.

I got mine from a Sherwin Williams Automotive paint supplier in London.


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

Ok, the paint that I used was Sherwin Williams Ultra 7000. That's a base coat/clear coat system. Pretty pricy for one guitar. However You can use a variety of single step paint systems used such as acrylic enamel that do not require a clear top coat. If you talk to someone at the store and tell them what you are doing they can probably steer you in the right direction. 

Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes 
180 Brunel Rd
Mississauga, ON
905-890-1600

Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes
525 Milner Avenue
Toronto, ON M1B 2K4
416-298-3471


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