How to Lacquer Finish an Electric Guitar
An electric guitar body, even with a good coating of paint, fails to look finished until a layer of lacquer gets applied. The fingernail glossy look makes the difference between a professional finish and a homemade, amateur body coat. However, the process requires patience and time. Lacquer takes time and rushing the job can ruin the finish. Much of the work to avoid this problem comes with sanding and preparing the surface for the lacquer to adhere to properly
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Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver
- Needlenose pliers
- Snippers
- Degreasing cleaner
- Sandpaper 100, 80, 150, and 400 grit
- Palm sander tool
- Paper towels
- Compressed air can
- Vacuum cleaner
- Plastic bags
- Masking tape
- Lacquer spray primer
- Lacquer spray
- Solder
- Soldering gun
Instructions
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1
Loosen and remove the strings from your guitar. Use a screwdriver to loosen and remove the electrical components of your guitar body. Disconnect the wiring with needle nose pliers and snippers as necessary.
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2
Wipe the body with a solvent cleaner or degreaser and paper towels completely. Let the cleaner dry off, allowing for a few hours before doing any further work.
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3
Sand the guitar body with a rough sandpaper. Attach the sandpaper to a palm sander to roughen the entire body surface. Resand the surface with an 80-grit sandpaper next. If the guitar body shows a grain, sand the body in the same direction rather than against it. Finish the sanding with a finer 150-grit sandpaper until there are no rough surfaces.
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4
Clean off the sanding dust with a rag towel. Spray the body clean with a compressed air can to get all the dust out of the nooks and crannies. Run a hand-held accessory of a vacuum cleaner over the body to remove the last of the dust.
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5
Wrap a plastic bag with masking tape around the neck where it won’t be lacquered. Tape off the parts on the body that need to be covered as well using masking tape. Fill the hollow cavity with balled-up newspaper if you’re working on a hollow-body electrical guitar.
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6
Apply a lacquer primer spray over the body. Start with the back of the body first. Move in cross motions, not staying on one spot for too long, keeping the spray nozzle at least 3/4 foot away from the guitar body. Let the first side dry for four hours. Repeat the process on the second side and let it dry for another four hours.
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7
Apply sandpaper with 400 grit to the body. Sand the entire surface, cleaning off the sanding with a fine towel.
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8
Respray the body with lacquer paint spray can. Use the same approach as in Step 6. Let the second dry for at least three hours. Repeat the sanding process in Step 7. Apply a second coat of lacquer from the spray can again, using the process in Step 6. Continue sanding, spraying, and waiting until you satisfied with the final layer finish. Let the body cure for at least three days with the final lacquer layer.
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9
Remove the masking tape and plastic bagging. Reinstall the electrical body components and solder the wiring together again with a soldering gun. Secure the parts with a screwdriver. Attach new guitar strings and loop them through the neck pegs. Tighten the strings and tune the guitar.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not have any flame sources nearby when working with lacquer. The chemical is flammable and can ignite, causing serious injury.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
