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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3

    Default Newbie Questions:

    G'day all
    I apologize for making this account that I'll only use once and making a topic which you've probably read 100 times before, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

    I recently got an old acoustic guitar handed to me (looks like a cheap aria), that could use a bit of restoring.
    Anyway, my main question lies in that it is covered in graffiti and I plan to re-spray it (currently a polished wood body), but will the paint I use affect the sound of the guitar?

    I originally was just going to sand it back and go with a matt black but thought I'd check to see if there are any certain paints to steer clear of or if you had any advice.
    the guitar will end up just being a thrashy kind of thing, as I have better guitars for proper play, I'd still like to keep the sound as best I can though.

    Cheers,
    Clay.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
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    66
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    3,803

    Default

    A few comments:


    1. Restoration implies that you want to end up with the guitar in its _original_ condition. If the guitar wasn't originally black then why paint it black? Black paint will definitely not enhance the acoustic properties of the instrument...thats why most acoustic guitars are finished with shellac or laquer rather than house paint.

    2. If you cant remove the graffitti without damaging the finish then youll have to go back to bare wood and refinish the instrument. If youre a beginner in this department then be prepared for a steep learning curve.

    3. If youre still intent on painting the instrument black then Ill give you $20 for the guitar and I'll give it a restoration job and a decent home.

    Cheers Martin
    Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    33
    Posts
    200

    Default

    "looks like a cheap aria"
    If it is a "cheap" guitar, is it really worth restoring?.
    Deano



  5. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Sydney
    Age
    62
    Posts
    423

    Default

    Come on guys ... we know he doesn't mean "restore" restore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    He has been given a cheap old guitar and wants to get it going again. He wants to know if he can spray the guitar and if the paint will affect the sound of the guitar.

    OK. Its going to be a thrashy sort of thing for you. So do what you want with it. Probably won't make much difference at all. Except it will be a different colour.

    Of course, if its a nice old guitar, you might want to be nice to it and take care of it, but that doesn't sound like what you've got there, does it??


  6. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Melbourne Outer East right next to mount dande
    Age
    73
    Posts
    1,859

    Default

    graffiti would be cool
    why not leave it as is
    if its a thrasher graffiti would suit

    otherwise if you want to some fun refinishing it in matt black, sounds like it is a good one to learn about refinishing on. if it is already sprayed in grafiti, more paint wont hurt - stay away from enamel - use acrylic with waterbased clear on top
    ray c
    dunno what's more fun, buyin' the tools or usin' em'

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
    Age
    66
    Posts
    3,803

    Default

    My offer of $20 still stands.
    Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Canberra
    Posts
    97

    Default

    Hey Fresh, go for it. If you want it black, make it black.

    You could try sanding it back to wood and staining it black first and then get some clear spray in a can and seal it in. As long as you try to keep the coat as thin and even as possible. You used to able to get clear Nitro in a can from auto shops that people were successfully using to finish guitars. Not sure if its still available. But they do have other clear lacquer finishes in spray cans.

    If the stain looks a bit crap you can just go for solid colour but again keep it as thin as possible and you should not affect the sound. Plenty of the big factories use solid colours on guitars with second grade tops.

    Cheers
    Dom

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3

    Default

    Thanks alot fellas, great advice all around, and Thanks for the offer Kiwigeo but no thanks.
    Perhaps "Restore" was a bad choice of a word, this guitar will most likely live out the remainder of its life in the backseat of my car and I would rather use a guitar I got for free than one of my other guitars for the job.
    I have a much older 'classical' style guitar that hasn't seen a good life that I would love to restore to its original condition so perhaps this 'thrashy' guitar would serve as a practice go.
    The graffiti is in Permanent marker and I was originally just going to go at it with the metho/turps/whichever I find first, but figured I could make use of some matt black and sandpaper I have lying around.
    I'd purchase a new Head nut for it and a set of steel springs and done.

    Actually that is another question I had, the 'old' head nut is broken and can anyone suggest any methods of getting it off without damaging the guitar?

    Cheers.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    173

    Default

    Hey, I realise as a "newbie" my comments are at risk of being overridden by other long-term members, but two salient points.

    Firstly, keeping black guitars in cars is a bad move. They just suck in the heat and it does them no good at all. A clear finish will actually preserve it a little better in this way. As a "recovering luthier" I have no concern with originality; it's yours to do as you please but would be a shame to put some effort into getting a finish down, then have the guitar turn crook on you from heatstroke.

    Secondly - by "head nut" you mean the whitish slip at the fretboard end which has six slots for the strings? Buy some pincers or endcutters and grind the "face" flush so there is no remaining bevel in to the cutting edge. Now grasp the nut firmly with these pincers (strings removed!) and slightly wiggle it towards the bridge, then back the other way. Be gentle; you only want to break the glue bond.

    A nut is reglued with 90% of the glue applied to the fingerboard end - NOT the seat below. Shave the old glue clean off first with a new Stanley blade. I use the green label "Zap" superglue in nearly all situations (see your local hobbyshop). Trim a new nut to width and approximate height first, then glue in using gentle finger pressure for thirty seconds while your superglue goes off.

    Hope this helps a little! Beware of people asking you to help fix their guitars for a few bob once you've got this one sorted. Bricklaying pays much better.

    Regards, Adam.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    3

    Default

    Thanks alot Adam, that info it dead set beaut!
    Good point about the colour too, I'll look into that.
    Cheers.

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