# Sandblasting my guitar...?



## Atomshipped (Oct 23, 2011)

So I've been greatly inspired by a few sandblasted guitars; particularly this Flaxwood: 

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu243/engage757/Engage757%20Album%202/DSC_0519-1.jpg

My current guitar is an Ibanez RG2EX1 - basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. Black finish on the body and headstock with white binding. All black hardware. Very cheap guitar; I'm not too afraid to mess it up. I'm wondering if it's possible to get the same look as the Flaxwood on my RG2EX1. I can't really refinish it except possible a clear coat or something if needed after all is said and done.

How do I go about doing this? Is it possible? I don't really know much about this so I would just take all the hardware out and take the neck off the body and sandblast where I want it as much as I want it but for some reason I doubt that's all there is to it.

Anyone who can point me in the right direction I'll love forever.


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## joaocunha (Oct 23, 2011)

I've seen that guitar on a FS thread and got curious about the proccess too. Will keep an eye on this one.

Good luck.


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## demonx (Oct 23, 2011)

I have a couple sandblasters, ones a cabinet and the others an outdoor pot blaster - although I'll admit i've never sandblasted a guitar.

From sandblasting cars and car parts though I can tell you that you will definitely want to dissassemble the guitar first. Think of sandblasting like painting - theres overspray! You can tape off areas but it'll rip through the tape.

Turn down the air pressure and choose a softer medium. I would not use Garnet, I'd use glass or something similar.

Don't stay in any one spot. Skim over the surface like your spraying a tack coat rather that trying to sandblast, otherwise if you stay in one spot it'll start digging a hole. Try not to take all the paint off, just try for the surface as if you're trying to leave the underneath coats in tact. Basically just keep moving!

Make sure you post pics!

This is a Corvette Stingray Convertible decklid I sandblasted the underneath of using glass media and the exact same procedure I lined out above before spraying it Viper Red.. People reckon you can't sandblast fibreglass - but I've done it, successfully as you can see. The reason I blasted this rather than sanding like I did on the outside panels of the car is I wanted to leave in tact the grain and markings on the inner sections so it retained it's factory appearance. If I had have sanded it, then it'd not look so original.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 24, 2011)

joaocunha said:


> I've seen that guitar on a FS thread and got curious about the proccess too. Will keep an eye on this one.
> Good luck.


That's where I found the picture  I think it'll look cool if I do it well but I'm not sure if it'll work. 


demonx said:


> From sandblasting cars and car parts though I can tell you that you will definitely want to dissassemble the guitar first. Think of sandblasting like painting - theres overspray! You can tape off areas but it'll rip through the tape.
> 
> Turn down the air pressure and choose a softer medium. I would not use Garnet, I'd use glass or something similar.
> 
> ...


This helps a lot! I think I have a much better understanding of what to do now. So basically I just skim over it until I get the color and texture that I want, correct? Will the color and texture turn gray and rough like the Flaxwood guitar? The more I sandblast in one spot, the lighter the color will become, correct?

This would probably be the ultimate color for me but I can really settle for anything as long as it's not too light colored and doesn't make the guitar unplayable.


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## joaocunha (Oct 24, 2011)

This finish will look gorgeous matched with BKP's distressed camo / battle worn covers.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 24, 2011)

joaocunha said:


> This finish will look gorgeous matched with BKP's distressed camo / battle worn covers.


 I was actually considering getting some BKP's for this! The stock Ibanez pick-ups suck pretty bad. I love the idea of getting some killer covers to match with a sandblasted guitar. I'm not sure which ones I should get though or when I'll be getting a "real" guitar to determine if I should bother getting new pick-ups for this guitar to tide me over.


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## demonx (Oct 24, 2011)

Atomshipped said:


> So basically I just skim over it until I get the color and texture that I want, correct? Will the color and texture turn gray and rough like the Flaxwood guitar? The more I sandblast in one spot, the lighter the color will become, correct?



Think of blasting like sanding with a rough grit sandpaper - it can only change to whats underneath, if you sand further you get wood.

I cant tell you the guitar will turn black, cause I dont know whats under your paint. My guess is that it'll be patchy with a combination of the top color, primer and wood showing through.

You'll just have to experiment


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## Swyse (Oct 24, 2011)

demonx said:


> Think of blasting like sanding with a rough grit sandpaper - it can only change to whats underneath, if you sand further you get wood.
> 
> I cant tell you the guitar will turn black, cause I dont know whats under your paint. My guess is that it'll be patchy with a combination of the top color, primer and wood showing through.
> 
> You'll just have to experiment



This. The flaxwood looks like that because that is what it is made out of. It is some sort of resonant glue and wood chips. It is much different than wood. I don't think sandblasting a guitar is a good idea at all, unless you want to strip the paint off unevenly.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 24, 2011)

Oh I see...think I'll wait on this at least until I get a new guitar so I won't be screwed if I mess this one up. Thanks for the advice.


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## demonx (Oct 24, 2011)

Atomshipped said:


> Oh I see...think I'll wait on this at least until I get a new guitar so I won't be screwed if I mess this one up. Thanks for the advice.



You won't be "screwed" - it'll still play the same. It'll just look like shit!


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## Atomshipped (Oct 24, 2011)

demonx said:


> You won't be "screwed" - it'll still play the same. It'll just look like shit!


 Yeah, kinda worried about that


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## idunno (Oct 24, 2011)

Swyse said:


> This. The flaxwood looks like that because that is what it is made out of. It is some sort of resonant glue and wood chips. It is much different than wood. I don't think sandblasting a guitar is a good idea at all, unless you want to strip the paint off unevenly.


 This guys right. I played a flaxwood once and it was great, i really regret buying it...Anyway its made of a composite material so sandblasting gives it that look. Sandblasted paint just looks like sandblasted paint, might be cool if you take it easy and dont burn thru too far.

If you go for it tell us all about it, Good luck dude!


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## Atomshipped (Oct 24, 2011)

idunno said:


> This guys right. I played a flaxwood once and it was great, i really regret buying it...Anyway its made of a composite material so sandblasting gives it that look. Sandblasted paint just looks like sandblasted paint, might be cool if you take it easy and dont burn thru too far.
> 
> If you go for it tell us all about it, Good luck dude!


 Thanks! I can't find anywhere what sandblasted paint looks like  Do you have a link?


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## Pikka Bird (Oct 25, 2011)

^It'll just look rough. Sandblasting doesn't bring out any particular texture since you're just hitting the surface with abrasive particles. I'd think you could make a good matte finish with it if you can get it level, but I suspect that would be very difficult.



idunno said:


> This guys right. I played a flaxwood once and it was great, i really regret buying it...



You bought it? Or did you leave out a word?


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## Atomshipped (Oct 25, 2011)

Pikka Bird said:


> ^It'll just look rough. Sandblasting doesn't bring out any particular texture since you're just hitting the surface with abrasive particles. I'd think you could make a good matte finish with it if you can get it level, but I suspect that would be very difficult.
> 
> 
> 
> You bought it? Or did you leave out a word?


 I see. I just want to be sure I know what I doing if I end up doing this because even if it's a cheap guitar I don't want to ruin it for nothing. I'm also worried about the white binding and what it will do with that...


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## demonx (Oct 26, 2011)

Atomshipped said:


> I see. I just want to be sure I know what I doing if I end up doing this because even if it's a cheap guitar I don't want to ruin it for nothing. I'm also worried about the white binding and what it will do with that...



It'll make the plastic binding look like a chewed up twisty.


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## Swyse (Oct 26, 2011)

Maybe get a textured finish spray paint or a matte finish clear and go to town? It would kind of give the effect of sandblasting, but it will be much more controllable.


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## endo (Oct 26, 2011)

I'd say paint a ton of coats on the body to build up the paint on the body (so as to make it a little less worry free about bringing it down to bare wood) and set the pressure on the compressor VERY low, with a soft medium, and then go up from there if that is taking too long. I'd imagine the smaller the medium, the finer the blasting and vice versa. Test it out on some scrap wood with a few coats of paint on there. Trial and error!


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## Atomshipped (Oct 26, 2011)

demonx said:


> It'll make the plastic binding look like a chewed up twisty.


That doesn't sound like it'll look good...I guess the only way I could pull this off is if I add many more layers of paint. 


Swyse said:


> Maybe get a textured finish spray paint or a matte finish clear and go to town? It would kind of give the effect of sandblasting, but it will be much more controllable.


Interesting idea! I didn't think of this. I'll do some research about it.



endo said:


> I'd say paint a ton of coats on the body to build up the paint on the body (so as to make it a little less worry free about bringing it down to bare wood) and set the pressure on the compressor VERY low, with a soft medium, and then go up from there if that is taking too long. I'd imagine the smaller the medium, the finer the blasting and vice versa. Test it out on some scrap wood with a few coats of paint on there. Trial and error!


This seems like a great idea but I can't really get ahold of any fancy paint or anything...Would spray paint do the job for this? And the larger the medium the rougher the result?


Thank you all so much for the insight on this.


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## idunno (Oct 26, 2011)

Pikka Bird said:


> ^It'll just look rough. Sandblasting doesn't bring out any particular texture since you're just hitting the surface with abrasive particles. I'd think you could make a good matte finish with it if you can get it level, but I suspect that would be very difficult.
> 
> 
> 
> You bought it? Or did you leave out a word?



OOPSIES! I meant regret NOT buying it. It was fantastic and had such a warm open sound to it. It was so secy too, smooth neck and very light. It was the tobacco colored one.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 28, 2011)

idunno said:


> OOPSIES! I meant regret NOT buying it. It was fantastic and had such a warm open sound to it. It was so secy too, smooth neck and very light. It was the tobacco colored one.


 That makes me want to try one out at the music store


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## Jacobine (Oct 29, 2011)

if i remember correctly i think on the warwick website said they sandblasted this bass (originally the vampire body) and it gave it this texture. that'd be pretty cool. but i could be wrong about the sandbllasting part. but its called the dark lord.

top wood is french ash


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## Atomshipped (Oct 29, 2011)

Jacobine said:


> if i remember correctly i think on the warwick website said they sandblasted this bass (originally the vampire body) and it gave it this texture. that'd be pretty cool. but i could be wrong about the sandbllasting part. but its called the dark lord.
> 
> top wood is french ash


That's cool! I do like the color of it. I'd like to achieve more of a rought texture instead of highlighting the grain of the wood. Is this something I can do with black spray paint to build up enough coats?


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## Jacobine (Oct 30, 2011)

It looks like you could use a white primer and satin black spray paint. dont worry about a smooth texture when applying. And then very very very very lightly sandblast it off.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 30, 2011)

Jacobine said:


> It looks like you could use a white primer and satin black spray paint. dont worry about a smooth texture when applying. And then very very very very lightly sandblast it off.


 So white primer on top of the guitar so the spray paint can be applied...Then I assume many coats of the satin black spray paint which is what I'll be sandblasting on. How many coats? Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to this stuff. Thanks!


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## Jacobine (Oct 30, 2011)

Atomshipped said:


> So white primer on top of the guitar so the spray paint can be applied...Then I assume many coats of the satin black spray paint which is what I'll be sandblasting on. How many coats? Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to this stuff. Thanks!


 
Im thinking small amounts so that the whit can be seen like in the picture. (little speckles) Like shading art with dots. Enough little white spots where the sand blasting went through the black will give it the grey, and some more sandblasting will give it the white. like in the picture. thats my theory.


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## Atomshipped (Oct 30, 2011)

Jacobine said:


> Im thinking small amounts so that the whit can be seen like in the picture. (little speckles) Like shading art with dots. Enough little white spots where the sand blasting went through the black will give it the grey, and some more sandblasting will give it the white. like in the picture. thats my theory.


 Oh I see. I'm not as worried about getting the little white parts as much as just getting the rough black/grey texture, but if I can pull it off I'm sure that would be a bonus 

I think I might actually do more coats vs less coats just to be safe. Not enough paint and I'll go through it. More paint than needed, though, and I can just slowly work at it until it's the color/texture I want.


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## Jacobine (Oct 30, 2011)

Atomshipped said:


> Oh I see. I'm not as worried about getting the little white parts as much as just getting the rough black/grey texture, but if I can pull it off I'm sure that would be a bonus
> 
> I think I might actually do more coats vs less coats just to be safe. Not enough paint and I'll go through it. More paint than needed, though, and I can just slowly work at it until it's the color/texture I want.


 

sound like a better idea haha


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