DIY Nitro Guitar Finish from a Rattle Can?

CONGRATULATIONS to YouTube user JohnToner320 for winning the Vintage Stratocaster Replacement body!!!

And my sincere thanks to everyone who has watched this video and/or commented. I really appreciate it. It shows us that these videos are worth the time and money it takes to make them.

[barnettg]

I learned that having Warmoth do the paint job is a heck of a bargain. Well worth the price.

[jcdable]

Couple of tips. Nitro and acrylic lacquer paints are self leveling which means the new coat melts the previous coat and blends into it. If you were to sand between the color coats then the new color coat erases all your hard work of sanding between coats. So don't sand between color coats. Just pile one color coat on top of the other after letting the previous coat dry for about 15 minutes. I never do any final wet sanding as I hand polish the guitar afterwards and this will basically level sand the final clear coat. If you want a perfect paint job you will have to start from the foundation of sanding the guitar body as best as you can with progressive higher grit of sandpaper. Also, use a spray booth as there are lots of specs of dust floating in the air ready to land on your freshly painted guitar. It also takes about one month for the guitar to dry before buffing. If you do the prep work then you don't need as many coats of paint afterwards to cover for mistakes in sanding. Also, use dark ie. gray or black primer color for dark colors and use white primer for light colors. That sherwood green should have had a dark primer and not a white one. The white one was great for the red strat. If you don't use a white primer then the color will be much darker. Lastly, nitro evaporates after years and will probably sink into the wood if the sealer is also a nitro product. I would use duplicolor sand and sealer spray can to do the primer coat with and then either a nitro or duplicolor perfect match acrylic lacquer which is more durable than nitro but sprays just as easy as nitro. Acrylic lacquer is more plasticky substance and therefore more durable than nitro. They use this stuff for car paints.

One more thing, before spraying primer or sealer make sure you wet sand the body to raise the grain that you will then cut down with a sandpaper. It creates smoother surface afterwards.

[steverolfeca]

This is why I’m addicted to hand-rubbed oil finishes. Costs more for figured woods that look good naked, but oil or oil/poly mixtures are much easier to apply, and endlessly repairable. I’ve also found that polishing the wood out to 2000 grit before applying oil seems to seal up the end grain, making for more even colouration- especially if you’re using dyes to tint the finish.

[drzainnas]

Thanks Aaron . What I loved about your videos is your humbleness and trying your best to share your experiences. You are really a good man, I hope the viewers and the company appreciate your work. Learning is a continuous journey and no one is perfect . This time I have remembered to comment and say thank you for your kind words and sharing your wisdom. Best regards from ENGLAND UK.

[andrew-pc]

I really like this guy. If I had the time I’d love to make my own guitar. And the care and honesty that goes into these videos convince me this company is a 100% trustworthy place to go for that. Respect.

[TheEnergyball]

I appreciate the humility venturing from familiar (professional guitar making) to unfamiliar (finishing) and posting the process.

Beyond that, the adherence to doing it like anyone else without the same facility makes the process more relatable.

[VishalAgarwalMusic]

If you ask me that turned out absolutely beautiful and I like how humble you are and calling yourself a newb, you basically achieved what I and other newbs would achieve after 3 months of trial and error haha. Way to go!!
I have always been a fan of warmoth finishes and since I live in India, I could never thought about owning one. Maybe I will get lucky and finally build myself a warmoth strat! #HerosJourney
Thanks Aaron!

[telev]

I watched this without skipping. so satisfying. happy to see the great result.

[silverjaw]

I did a tru-oil finish on my mahogany tele.
No filler, I wanted the grain to come through much like a gibsons raw finish.
It took me about 2 months of layer after layer. Waiting 24 hours between coats.
It came out AMAZING.
If you’re after a natural finish try-oil is great and dummy proof.

[JS-nfsn]

You killed it in your first try (if it counts as a first try with all your experience). I think I'll buy mine painted! Respect for what you guys do.

[soyborne.bornmadeandundone]

Just finished watching. You did a 99% perfect job I'd argue. And honestly after a few days or weeks of playing, those lil nics would have happened somewhere on the body anyways. Remember folks. No such thing as a 100% perfect finish. If you look close enough after a while you WILL see a imperfection.

[soyborne.bornmadeandundone]

I think you forgot to mention temp factors. Make sure your can is warm and the same for your guitar body finish : )

I take a soup cup, fill it with a bit of water, micro wave it for 1 min, take it out, put the can of spray paint inside of it, let it sit for a few mins, and now you're ready to paint.

To make your body warm, let it sit in the sun for a second. If you don't want to do that, Nuke a hot towel for a few minutes and then touch it all over your body to get it all nice and warm.

And that sounded dirty! lol.

[craigpoole]

I modified an old boom mic stand to shoot bodies on. Reranch is also great friendly company to get supplies from. Ive never had any issues with the Stew Mac canned lacquer either. The one thing with the lacquer in a can is it dries much slower. Wet sand using naphtha....it flashes off very fast so as not to swell up any grain. It also helps cut the lacquer so sanding moves along quicker. Great video! Great job.

[JohnToner]

I've done a couple aerosol finishes.
It is very time consuming, and I found myself going "Yeah, that happened to me too!"
It's all a learning process and experience.
Thanks for sharing this.
#herosjourney

[petersouthwell]

Yap totally.. I do the finish.. Love it. Natural woods and stains... Always turns out nice so far. And having an awesomely perfect body.. Like warmoth... Ya almost can't go wrong.

[GerryBlue]

#herosjourney great job! I just painted a Charvel with poly cans. You did quite nice, not taking away anything, there’s a 3 part series over at Stew Mac channel on how to finish a body and neck with cans, it us really helpful. Peace

[rosslarocca]

I've been watching your videos since quarantine- Warmoth's attention to detail and Aaron as their spokesman have won me over- I can't wait to build a guitar of my own from Warmoth #heroesjourney

[damerica]

This channel is getting better and better every time. 👏🏻👏🏻

[markwybierala]

Great video. I hope that enthusiasts will note the few times that you mention that such a finish actually does take weeks to achieve and there are no short cuts. There is a character to an old fashioned nitrocellulose lacquer finish that simply doesn’t happen with other finishes. The finish ages in a wonderfully natural way that can’t be faked. In twenty years, the wear, the age, and the minor accidents will all look good. Whether your journey in guitar making stays limited to assembling parts and putting a telecaster together or you advance to making your own bodies and necks, Warmoth is certainly a place to begin the journey.

[pooshNchums]

Just came here 2 years later to share that I did my own finishing on a guitar recently and today was the sanding/buffing day. I too got a blister on my index finger. #HerosJourney

Warmoth finishing is an absolute steal for what you get! (I did my own because I was set on a nitro lacquer.)