This page has more details of what to expect wih a custom paint job and an explanation of the materials used with a small insight into the process.

Further down still you will find a reasonably detailed but fairly loose price guide for getting work done on your own instrument, customising ones for sale on the site or creating a guitar from scratch or from parts through or in conjunction with myself.

First up though......

A note on paints & finishing materials

There is much debate about the finishing of guitars, with the main topic of discussion being the effect of different lacquers, paints and clearcoats on the sound of the guitar.  In particular, that some materials and finishes affect the tone and 'deaden' the natural sound of the guitar more than others.

This is not a major concern or issue for many players but is something that seems to come up time and time again with regards to doing these custom paintjobs on guitars.  To save any grief, argument or worry etc for anyone out there regards these particular painted guitars, this is the approach I take and some, hopefully sensible, reasoning. Here we go....

...there's a wide variety of materials and choices out there for a guitar finish, each one with it's own feel, characteristics and pros and cons.  Some are more suitable for certain guitars and projects than others.  It is unlikely that the actual material used to lacquer or paint the guitar makes much if any difference to the guitars sound.  What is more likely is that the thickness in which the material is applied is the key factor i.e. a guitar with a thick layer of paint or lacquer of any material may well sound different to one with a much thinner coat of the same material, which in turn may sound different to a guitar with a natural oil finish.

It makes sense that a heavier, thicker paint coat will deaden the natural resonance of a guitar, and therefore effect the 'tone', exactly how much is hard to say.  What relevance this is to you personally is a matter of taste and preference, depending on your personal sound and playing style.  For example, some styles of music and some players will derive most, if not all, their sound and tone purely from the pickups and the amp, and to some extent the guitar setup and hardware etc (but lets keep it simple); whereas others may have a sound that combines the particular qualities of certain wood type and guitar style with a good choice of pickups and amp; and of course variations of these two in all directions.

Guitars of all qualities and ranges, whether factory finished, branded, custom built, whatever, come in a whole range of finishes. Some are very light and thin, others heavier and thicker.  Depending on the approach taken when finishing, aswell as preparation and other factors, most finishes can be applied thinly if desired/it's necessary.  As mentioned above it is more likely this, over the actual material, that is the key factor when finishing a guitar and the resulting effects on the guitars sound.

So with this in mind when doing a paintjob I try to keep every layer of paint as light and thin as possible in an attempt to have the very least possible effect on the guitar body as a working bit of wood.  From my experience many people seem to think that a paintjob like the ones I do involves thick, heavy layers of primer, paint & clear to get a good end result.   I can't speak for others but I have found that this is not the case with the process and materials I use.

I do very much try to avoid 'caking' the body in paint at any stage.  The primer coat is kept very light providing just enough to seal the wood, give enough of an undercoat for the artwork to key to, and give enough white for the vibrancy of the paints I use to really show through.  This primer is then rubbed down.  This thins it out further and provides a smooth, but even more importantly, flat surface for the next stage of painting. There are times when i have worked over an existing finish also, but the same approach applies.

All the artwork here I do by hand using almost entirely water based paint pens.  These have great coverage meaning the paint goes on very thin but still gives vibrant, true colours.  After that comes the clearcoat to seal and protect the artwork and give the quality high gloss finish you see on many guitars.  I out source this to the best in the business and the results are top quality; easily comparable to, if not better than, many factory finished guitars.

The prep stages are very important. The better they are, the flatter, smoother and lighter the primer coat can be, the smoother and flatter the artwork can go on, meaning the thinner the final clearcoat can be to still achieve the high gloss mirror like finish.  With this approach I can be sure, whatever the issues may or may not be with various finishing options, that the paintwork I offer has as little effect as I can possibly have on the working guitar, whilst still achieving quality end results in terms of the artwork and the clearcoat.  This then allows the customer to decide how, and with what, they go about building the rest of their guitar to get the sound they're after.

The majority of the guitars worked on here are finished in PU/Poly to a high gloss.  Some have been cleared with acrylic.  There have also been a few that have gone back to the customer for them to clearcoat themselves with aerosol nitrocellulose.  I cannot vouch for all types and brands of nitrocellulose lacquer but I have one brand I can recommend that seems to have no compatability issues with the primer and paints I use, as long as a few basic steps are taken which I can advise on.

All a bit long winded I know, but I figure it's good to get it out there!!!