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New Water Drop Effect Guitar Project


GuitarNoobie

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I want to do a water drop effect paint job and I kinda wanted some kind of Flying V, but i wanted a rear routed V because of the paint effect. didn't want no stinking pickguard hiding the beautiful paint...;)

 

so in searching i found the Dean VX, basswood body, 24 3/4", 1 11/16" nut, bolt on, grover tuners, Tune-o-matic bridge, string thru, cheap electronics and dual humbuckers.

 

here's the plan

 

-keep tuners, they are nice

-hardware seems usable

-pickups getting replaced

-electronics getting replaced

-neck is str8 and playable, keeping and the fugly headstock

-frets will probably need a little side filing, they are a little sharp

-strip and repaint the body in a wet water drop effect

-make it a set neck

-paint the back of the neck silver to match the base coat on the body

 

here's a video clip that shows the technique I will use on the project... only i am going silver base with black water drops (front and back of the guitar). if i get real ambitious I might try to do a black burst around the edges...

 

 

[YOUTUBE]sbnTpJQPOTs[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

here's what i bought...

 

dcam3406dl6.jpg

dcam3410wt7.jpg

dcam3407kd2.jpg

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FWIW.

I'd go with a new gibson-style bolt on, or SOMETHING minus the butt ugly headstock. You can ebay the neck and get enough to buy one.

 

As for hardware, lower end stock import bridges have a tendency to RATTLE to HIGH HEAVEN on some frequencies. And strip quickly if you decide to switch from 9s to 11s and need to re-intonate. Then there's the sharp saddle problems and "ping"ing. If it gives ya any trouble as is, replace it, if not, don't.

 

Anyway, what color ya doing the waterdrop on? I think energy-drink green would look NICE!

 

EDIT: When you replace pups, PLEASE make them zebras, I think it just "completes" the look!

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FWIW.

I'd go with a new gibson-style bolt on, or SOMETHING minus the butt ugly headstock. You can ebay the neck and get enough to buy one.


As for hardware, lower end stock import bridges have a tendency to RATTLE to HIGH HEAVEN on some frequencies. And strip quickly if you decide to switch from 9s to 11s and need to re-intonate. Then there's the sharp saddle problems and "ping"ing. If it gives ya any trouble as is, replace it, if not, don't.


Anyway, what color ya doing the waterdrop on? I think energy-drink green would look NICE!


EDIT: When you replace pups, PLEASE make them zebras, I think it just "completes" the look!

 

i thought about replacing the neck, but i really think i want this monstrous, butt ugly headstock to stay... part of it for the uh's :facepalm: it could get from an audience and part of it because the neck and action were so nice on this before i broke it down, i don't wanna lose that... and another part just because this guitar is gonna stand out when you see it... :freak:

 

as for the hardware, if it doesn't live up to my expectations it's easy replaced...

 

colors are pretty much set in stone, silver base, then black water droplets on top of that. maybe a black burst on the edges...

 

haven't decided on the zebra's. although i like them on this guitar some nice open coil black hb's might look better with the finish i am gonna give her...

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ok so the guy in the video spays the water drops with black enamel paint,,,but what then ?

 

does he tilt it and let the water run off ?

 

or does he wait for the water to dry up?

 

if the water dries up does the black paint automatically stick to the guitar once the water is out of the way? or do you have to use the clear coat to bond the black enamel to the guitar body..?????

 

seems a bit vague as to whats happening between the spraying of the enamel and the clear coat application..

 

I have never seen this paint technique before, it looks cool in the video...thanks for showing the video, and good luck with the paint job. :)

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ok so the guy in the video spays the water drops with black enamel paint,,,but what then ?


does he tilt it and let the water run off ?


or does he wait for the water to dry up?


if the water dries up does the black paint automatically stick to the guitar once the water is out of the way? or do you have to use the clear coat to bond the black enamel to the guitar body..?????


seems a bit vague as to whats happening between the spraying of the enamel and the clear coat application..


I have never seen this paint technique before, it looks cool in the video...thanks for showing the video, and good luck with the paint job.
:)

 

 

i tried this painting technique on scrap wood before deciding to use it... you just let the water dry. it took about 5 hours and i did this...

 

dcam3030tx3.jpg

 

 

i will very lightly wet sand it before coating with Deft Nitro Clear... on the piece of wood above, i sprayed it with a light coat of poly and the 3-D effect really took....

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492478.jpg

 

just like that if i do the burst... i have never sprayed a burst before, but i do own an airbrush rig, so i am thinking i could pull it off...

 

what the hell, let's say at this point i will try to do the black burst also...

 

so it's this:

 

1. Silver metallic base

2. Black water effect drops

3. Black burst on all edges

4. Silver metallic neck and back of headstock

 

and if i get really crazy...

 

5. Black burst sides on the back of the neck :eek:

 

I should continue to push my skills to a new level, so a Silverbusrt with Black Water Drops it is !!! :love:

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i tried this painting technique on scrap wood before deciding to use it... you just let the water dry. it took about 5 hours and i did this...


dcam3030tx3.jpg
.

 

so I take it that piece in your picture is flat it just looks like there are bumps of water drops...its hard to tell in your picture the 3d effect is so real looking...

 

in the video i posted above the guy mentions that certain colors can enhance the droplet effect...have you experimented making the drops with colors other than black..? if so how was it..?

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just like that if i do the burst... i have never sprayed a burst before, but i do own an airbrush rig, so i am thinking i could pull it off...


what the hell, let's say at this point i will try to do the black burst also...


so it's this:


1. Silver metallic base

2. Black water effect drops

3. Black burst on all edges

4. Silver metallic neck and back of headstock


and if i get really crazy...


5. Black burst sides on the back of the neck
:eek:

I should continue to push my skills to a new level, so a Silverbusrt with Black Water Drops it is !!!
:love:

 

{censored}, just get on with it bro!

That sounds like a killer combination, I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it!

:thu::thu:

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found another vid of this effect being applied to a car..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1eU6pk_jWc

 

yea, that's another good one... that was the first one i ever saw.

 

i just thought the original clip i posted was right to the point and it was done with rattle cans :thu:

 

it's not that hard to do. my first attempt was a bit weak as i had tons of small water drops...

 

dcam3018dr5.jpg

 

then i realized bigger drops would give a much better effect...

 

here it is wet...

 

dcam3021yw7.jpg

 

and then dry:

 

dcam3030ps5.jpg

 

 

 

 

i encourage all of you to head to the garage and try it... :thu:

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so I take it that piece in your picture is flat it just looks like there are bumps of water drops...its hard to tell in your picture the 3d effect is so real looking...


in the video i posted above the guy mentions that certain colors can enhance the droplet effect...have you experimented making the drops with colors other than black..? if so how was it..?

 

yep, it's flat, look at my other wet/dry post...

 

i haven't tried silver and black, but i know it will work well... black on gold looks good too. i tried black on white and that was decent...

 

i just decided black on silver would look killer :thu:

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hmmm...i wonder , since your using the black for the headstock background then what would it look like if you switched and used the silver this time for making the drops on the black headstock...???
:)

 

dude, that brought a curious smile to my face... :idea:

 

i would really have to be careful to get the clear off the headstock, without damaging the Dean Logo... but if i could do that, silver water drops on the black headstock would be F**King OUT THERE !!!! :love:

 

i am gonna have to consider this option :thu:

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good luck man.I've sprayed a few guitars and even airbrushed a few but that seems kinda complicated......no?anyway better man than I good luck brutha!

:thu::)

 

the water drop effect doesn't intimidate me in the least... spraying a burst a little more so, but you can bet your ass i will practice that several times before doing it ;):thu:

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Still curing a bit so I can sand the runs out of it, and wet sand and spray some clear. I'm curing it in the back room, very low humidity.


The purple is kinda uneven, but it looks cool. I think I'm going to name it "The Bruise".

 

cool, looking forward to more updates in your thread !!! :thu:

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yeah your pics are great , you can see as you say the bigger drops show the effect much better.. :thu:

 

just in case you misunderstood , i didnt mean change the color scheme of the body just that since your gonna paint the headstock all black, why not continue the drop effect on the headstock too, and since its a black background on the head stock you could use the silver for the drops...or maybe thats too much drops..over kill as they say...lol...I tend to get carried away when i find something new and cool and want to do everything in sight with it...lol... :lol:

 

anyway from the samples you made and showed us i think what ever colours you use its gonna end up being a terrific job... :thu:

 

good luck man...and big thanks for enlightening us about this cool method..:)

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