Looking for sexy paint. Need resources

[stumps]

hello all, I'm new to the forum and sort of moderately experienced when it comes to working on my own guitars. I am going to be buying a saga tele kit to put together as a birthday present for my girlfriend to play in her blues band. I want to do it up right and being more familiar with electrical and technical aspects, I am lacking when it comes to sourcing and choosing paint for this guitar. She absolutely LOVES royal blue and big metal flake so I want to do that kind of a paint job with a pearloid pickgaurd and a bigsby tremolo for her, I had one set up on one of my teles and she loved that too. So........can anyone tell me where I can find royal blue metal flake paint or the right base and topcoat and clearcoat? I'm trying to keep the cost down too I know its bad but I'm just a poor struggling sculptor/guitarist. thanks everyone

[cknowles]

Check your local automotive store. There are some very sexy paints available in rattle cans with compatible primers and clearcoats. They are designed to wear well and give an excellent finish.

Duplicolor has some amazing finishes available check out their "Metal Specks" paint system duplicolor.com/products/metalspecks.html
It may be what you're looking for.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

I concur -- DupliColor paints are great and readily available.

You may also consider AutoAir paints. They are compatible with nitro and acrylic lacquer and look great. Here is their site:

autoaircolors.com/

Good luck,
John

[Nick stumps]

Thanks, I was kind of apprehensive to use metal flake out of a rattle can just because I know that people who use spray guns usually have to use a bigger spray nozzle to accomodate flake paint, so it seemed that flake paint out of a little rattle-can nozzle would clog fairly easy and/or coat unevenly, but thanks for the info, I'm going to shop around this weekend......

Also, when it comes to finishing a neck, what kind oil does everyone use? I've done some finishing on wood with linseed oil and that worked well, but others are swearing by tung oil, is there really any advantage from one to the other?

[GuitarAttack Forum]

Some use Tru-Oil -- the gun stock finish -- with great results. The only problem with most of the oil finishes is that it doesn't protect the neck like a lacquer or poly finish.

I've also used MinWax Handrubbed Poly (satin) from Lowe's with great results. It is always highly rated in woodworking magazines, and it makes a very nice neck finish.

Always practice on scrap, and your mileage may vary.

Good Luck,
John

[stumps]

I refinished the neck on my epi 12 string acoustic with the hand-rubbed minwax poly. It looks great but can get a little sticky after playing for a while (hand sweat). I'm going to have to practic a bit, thanks

[cknowles]

I use lemon oil on my guitars with rosewood fretboards. It gives a rich color without too much gloss.