Step 5: Applying Your First Color Coat

You got paint on the body! Congrats on reaching an exciting milestone in your new creation: applying color!

    The next couple steps are where the magic happens to get the infamous striped look the EVH popularized! The process, in short, will be simple. 

     1. Apply black coat

     2. Stripe off and paint white coat

     3. Stripe off and paint red coat

     4. Lacquer up
     5. Sand to a shine

But first things first! Let's get that primer coat smooth!

     After the primer coat has had time to completely dry, you will want to get a piece of 1200 grit sand paper and LIGHTLY sand over the body to ensure that you have a smooth finish. I stress lightly because the paint will sand off easily, especially around the edges and corners. This is your last chance to make sure the body is smooth to ensure the rest of the coats go on smoothly. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT THAT THE BODY ISN'T SMOOTH, TAKE THE TIME NOW TO EITHER SAND THE BODY FLAT OR BUILD UP A COUPLE MORE LAYERS OF PRIMER AND SAND AGAIN! Don't be afraid or too impatient! You can buildup as many layers as you like and sand down until you get that perfect flatness.

     Once you are satisfied and any buildup layers of primer you may have added have had the time to dry, take a damp cloth and wipe over the entire surface to remove any and all dust and debris, especially focusing in areas such as the pockets and cavities.

     Let the guitar dry off for a few minutes, and ADD SOME PAINT, MAN! YEEAAHH!!

     This process will be exactly the same as the process for applying the primer coat. Start off the guitar and start your spray. Move the spray in an even motion towards the other edge of the guitar and continue off the edge to ensure you don't buildup a "spot" of heavy paint. Continue back and forth, up and down, alternating directions with each layer. Revert back to Step 4: Applying a Primer Base Coat to see the painting process and tips. When you are finished with that, your guitar should look like this!

 Let this layer dry for and cure for at least 48 hours and move on to Step 6: Applying the White!

Step Links: 
-Overview
-Step 1: Materials
-Step 2: Stripping the Paint
-Step 3: Filling Holes and Dings
-Step 4: Primer Base Coat
-Step 5: Applying First Color Coat
-Step 6: Applying The White

Step 4: Primer Base Coat

 STEP 4: FINALLY APPLYING SOME PAINT!

      At this point, your newly sanded guitar body is AS SMOOTH AS YOU CAN PHYSICALLY GET IT. Right guys??? Like I said before, the better of a job you do on this initial prep steps, the better your end product will be!

      What you will want to do now is one of the easier steps: apply the primer base coat. Not much to it but follow these tips to get the best result, especially when using spray cans. The end result of this step should look like the following:

Front View

Rear View

Notice that I do have some slight bumps and uneven body finish. I took these pictures before my finished primer coat. Because I failed to get a PERFECTLY smooth body, I had to buildup quite a bit of primer layers and sand smooth. Throughout the rest of the tutorial, you will see those dings start to fade. But this is a great example of what any dings in the body will look like once painted, which is why I STRESS, STRESS, and STRESS that you take your time in the beginning steps and foundation. 
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 1. Apply multiple, thin, light coast rather than one heavy coat. I know, I know, you put all this work into prepping your body and you just want to put some damn paint on already! But again, trust me. There is nothing worse than having to put all that work of taking paint OFF just to spray on thick and have to remove THAT layer as well. So, spray on one light coat. Your guitar will probably look half gray, half wood at this point. That's fine. Wait about 15 minutes to dry. Return and spray on another coat about the same density. Let dry. Spray on another coat. Let dry. Rinse and repeat this process until you get a good coverage over your entire body. You don't need a thick layer but be advised you will be sanding this coat lightly. So be sure to get enough primer base to ensure you won't sand to the wood.

 2. Be patient! Be patient! Be patient! Let the paint dry and put light coats on!

 3. When you spray the first coat, start with a horizontal spray from left to right, right to left, in a snake pattern down the guitar body.

 4. When spraying each row, start your spray off the edge of the guitar and move your arm (and inherently, the spray) onto the body of the guitar. This will ensure that you don't end up with a "starter" blob of paint that will drip.

 5. End each row by releasing the trigger off the other edge of the guitar. Start the next horizontal row but repeating the above. Do not continue to hold the spray trigger as you move row to row down the body of the guitar. Doing so will give the guitar uneven coverage and make it more likely to end up with paint dripping.

 6. On the second layer, repeat the above spray technique. However, instead of going in a horizontal pattern, use a vertical pattern. Some paint sprayers have a nozzle that can turn to adjust the flat side of the spray. If so, utilize this. If not, it may be easier for you to turn the guitar sideways (rotate 90 degrees).

     When you finish with applying a good, evenly covered coat, let the guitar dry and cure for AT LEAST 48 hours! Paint, especially from a can, will tend to do some shifting while drying and curing. Now normally this is not a big deal and usually isn't noticeable on other project you may use spray paint on. However, due to the multiple layers of paints and lacquers we will be using, we want to do our best to ensure that everything on the base layers is good and ready for other layer to go on top.

So with that being said, go find a bag of Doritos, a couple good movies, and WAIT for your baby to dry!
Of course you guitar players could be practicing also... But don't worry. Nobody is watching.  :)

After that, STEP 5!

Step Links: 
-Overview
-Step 1: Materials
-Step 2: Stripping the Paint
-Step 3: Filling Holes and Dings
-Step 4: Primer Base Coat
-Step 5: Applying First Color Coat