5150 build.

This is how swamp ash looks if you paint the bare wood;
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Clearly visible ash grain and a completely different look on the arm contour .
Paul made this guitar and it's pretty clear that 5150 is not this.
If you look at the grain near the neck you see a very typical pattern that is found on the flat surface of all ash guitars somewhere. On here it is all across the body and it would be on any thinly painted ash body that wasn't extensively grain filled. The 5150 is categorically not swamp ash.
On another note I have some more 2k white on the way to test and my original tests have continued to harden noticeably so I may soon get the opportunity to make some progress.
 
Done some tests with paint on to unsealed wood this produces the exaggerated grain on the forearm cut, may risk it but if it doesn't work I'll be in for a lot of sanding.
 
OK some progress; slow.
I got some automotive paint mixed in Wimbledon white (rattle can for that shitty look) I have never used these paints on wood before because I've seen other peoples attempts and often the paint simply never hardens to a level suitable for a musical instrument. I wanted to avoid this at all costs so I would need it to be thin. I wanted to use the paint as the primer because the reason the grain is so visible on the original is a raw body was painted white with no sealer or primer. When you do this the end grain soaks up paint more than the rest and brings the look of the original.
My plan is to paint it sand it a bit and then paint the white .
The paint I have is 2K activated so one go with each can. If you come across this paint it is seriously toxic and I'm surprised you can get it at all.
You need to spray it wearing an air fed full respirator . But I don't have one .I am going to be reduced to spraying it outside using the mask I have and seeing how long I can hold my breath for. So I have about a minute to do a coat before I need to retreat from the work.
So I start with light coats and the guitar on a paint stick. 5 mins flash off and go again . I then leave the guitar hung in the shed for two days.
I come back to it and lightly sand and go again for the actual finished white.
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Well the paint acted as a primer too well and it's almost too neat. I couldn't bring myself not to sand after the initial can because it was too rough looking and now if I wet sanded this and clear coated it would look like a regular finish. I do however think that it will be fine as the red will give it that shitty look I am trying to get right.
 
Another part test of the red over this 2K white;
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This is Chevy Orange Red VHT engine enamel (that's bright) I think it gives the slightly bad uneven finish that the original has but I may try to get some 1k acrylic to test as well. I have to see if it passes the fingernail test before I decide which to use.
I hate using this paint.
I have a ton of experience with nitro and I can get what I want within the parameters it dries hard and you can melt it .
If I had a spray booth kitted out for this with the right PPE I would probably be ok with it but this is not for diy or even a small shop.
 
This is a tip, i got from Chris Stofko. He used this paint very often for his clients. Maybe it helps.
 

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Thanks, I'm not going for perfect I want accurate and 5150 is pretty rough. Also this is going to be reliced.
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My main concern at the moment is my white is not white enough .
I have joined all the Facebook groups and so far they are worse than useless. Everyone uses Duplicolor and nobody questions anything that is obviously BS. Nobody cares about accurate.
 
Ok tape time;IMG_1870.jpg
I prefer to do this one side at a time. With this design that is no problem because there is a centre line all around the guitar that means you can do it with no compromise .
This time I am going to get it as right as I can but you can go nuts looking at all the intersections and subsequent shapes.
I also am going to copy the tape when it doesn't quite reach the line it's going for.
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You can seen these in the photos linked earlier in this thread.
 
I have only taped the front and will paint it as well before I even look at the back.
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Another line that didn't reach on the original.
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This little thin tape line will be the end point from an over long stripe from the back (when I actually do the back.)
Well I've sat and gone over all the intersections and shapes trying to find the best photos on line of the relevant part of the original for comparison. I think it is ready for paint on the front.
 
I have decided to go with some GMwa7753 red orange 1k acrylic for the red. I will dust the first coat as Peter W. suggested in order to minimise the clean up but I'm not going to do a thin white first because this is aerosol 2k and once you mix it that's it.
So here goes;
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This is with no clean up so that works with just a dusty light first coat (thanks Peter W. for the tip.)
I need to leave this for a day or two now before I can do the back.
 
I have decided to go with some GMwa7753 red orange 1k acrylic for the red. I will dust the first coat as Peter W. suggested in order to minimise the clean up but I'm not going to do a thin white first because this is aerosol 2k and once you mix it that's it.
So here goes;
View attachment 88306
This is with no clean up so that works with just a dusty light first coat (thanks Peter W. for the tip.)
I need to leave this for a day or two now before I can do the back.
Looks awesome. Well done. 👍🏼
 
A couple of shots to show the finish at this stage;
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This time painting with plastic shit paint ( in fairness it's fine and very hard) I wasn't going to paint in the neck pocket .
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I need to hand paint in a couple of fuck up's that are on the original before the black and then make some full size templates for the relic work.
 
Black on the back to do then relic.

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Haven't decided how far to go with the relic but it will be in the middle and no cigarette damage as that has caused enough already.
You can see I started to paint in some of the errors in the original ( lower cutaway .)
 
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