# Repainting my Aristides? (Painting over a matte finish)



## Wolfos (Apr 8, 2017)

Hey guys,

I just want to start by saying that I am 
A.) Not a Luthier 
B.) Not a painter

I just bought however an Aristides 070 at an incredibly low price and the only complaint I have is that it was finished with a terribly boring matte grey finish. 

I wanted to know how easy it is to paint over a matte finish so I can cover it (or a professional) with a gloss coat because everyone knows how the matte finish wears wherever your hands frequent on the guitar and leaves permanent shiny areas. I have no idea why matte is even an option for guitars to be honest.

I also wanted to know if anyone had thoughts about painting issues since the guitar is not made of wood but some engineered material called Arium.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas! I live in Ontario about 2 hours from Toronto if anyone knows of a good painter.

Thanks! Here's a pic of the guitar if it helps


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## narad (Apr 9, 2017)

I heard the Aristides matte wasn't very prone to shininess. I don't recall seeing one with any (vs. Ibanez matte, which is already shiny when they're hanging up in a guitar store for a couple weeks).


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## High Plains Drifter (Apr 9, 2017)

Just one dude's opinion ( and I typically like shiny things)... that particular guitar looks KILLER in matte-grey finish especially with that blank board. I would honestly leave it alone. 

I do a fair amount of painting, refinishing, etc... and I think it would be terribly easy to mess up a "simple" paint job on that one... especially given the recessed areas. If you do decide that you must re-paint it, I would spend the money on having it done professionally. If you got a great deal on the guitar and you really like it, then maybe it's worth putting some money into a pro-job. 

Last thing... I would maybe consider putting some covers on those pups and changing out the hardware to chrome or even gold. That may bring it to life. 

Bad-ass looking Aristides btw.


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## oracles (Apr 9, 2017)

Id talk to Pascal directly and see if the factory would be open to refinishing it for you, otherwise, there's no one I can think of at all that I'd trust to do a full refinish on an Aristides given the material and contours of the body.


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## Wolfos (Apr 9, 2017)

narad said:


> I heard the Aristides matte wasn't very prone to shininess. I don't recall seeing one with any (vs. Ibanez matte, which is already shiny when they're hanging up in a guitar store for a couple weeks).



I'll be sure to test that theory out. Right now it's fine but as I use it ill be on the look out for shiny spots. Once I see some shining I'll be wanting a gloss coat. But I also was thinking I don't know how strong Arium is and maybe a gloss finish would help protect it more from dents.


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## Wolfos (Apr 9, 2017)

oracles said:


> Id talk to Pascal directly and see if the factory would be open to refinishing it for you, otherwise, there's no one I can think of at all that I'd trust to do a full refinish on an Aristides given the material and contours of the body.



I agree if that is something there willing to do then I'd rather do it right. I just wonder what the cost would be.


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## takotakumi (Apr 10, 2017)

Hey man I'm kind of in the same boat.

I have the first 080 and I talked to Pascal about a refinish last year and unfortunately he said the shop is not open for that...

If you happen to stumble upon someone who makes an excellent job let me know


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## Wolfos (Apr 13, 2017)

He just replied to me saying the same thing. Appearantly since his shop is determined of providing perfect quality they will not do a repaint. He stated that there is no way the replicate the quality of the first paint job once it's been done.

Understandable yet frustrating.

I'm currently looking around.


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## Blytheryn (Apr 13, 2017)

You got an 070 in Strike Eagle Grey? Dude, I would so leave it alone, but then again that's my taste vs. yours. Hope you find someone qualified enough to do it!


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## bostjan (Apr 13, 2017)

What kind of refinish are you thinking of doing?

I've tried my hand at refinishing before and it's one of those things you have to do just so, or else you end up redoing a lot, until it's just right or until you shrug your shoulders and say "well, I guess that's good enough..."

I've seen professional refinishes go as low as $200 for really basic easy stuff, or more like $300-400 typical. I honestly don't think that your guitar would even qualify for the easiest refinish job. You'd have to ship the guitar to the painter, he'd have to prep the guitar, paint it, then apply the final touches. It'd probably take a week or maybe two once he gets to your guitar, but you might have to wait a few months before he even gets to your work.

If your idea is to have something really special, you're going to have to add onto that. Maybe you want some crazy thermo-reactive colour change paint with some sort of prismatic tribal flames and 3-D bats and skulls shooting out of the guitar, then you'd be talking several weeks extra and maybe a couple grand.


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## rifftrauma (Apr 13, 2017)

If you're happy with the guitar and got it for a steal I'd recommend just selling it and using the funds to start a build with Aristides that meets your tastes. Any kind of custom refinish would most likely tank the resale value if you're honest with your sale. You also run the risk of the refinish going bad since the material these guitars are made from is fairly unique.

If you're still interested I've used Marty Bell to finish a couple of my Perle projects and he's always done a killer job.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Apr 13, 2017)

+1 on leaving it. If you did a refinish less than 100% on a guitar as sleek it would look [email protected]

Imo. Sweet guitar


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## prlgmnr (Apr 13, 2017)

I was going to say it's fine as it as, but it isn't fine as it is, it's awesome as it is.


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## Dust_to_Dust (Apr 16, 2017)

Leave it as it is man, I wish I could find an Aristides going cheap, not sure I'd care about the colour


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## Humbuck (Apr 16, 2017)

Step away from the guitar...


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## Supernaut (Apr 17, 2017)

Cover it in ....ty stickers like some guy with a Squier telecaster in a highschool punk band.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 17, 2017)

if it was me I'd trade it off for one I do want or say fvck it and proceed to paint it myself. Since neither of those is an option for you then just slap a vinyl decal over it: https://www.rvinyl.com/Chameleon-Shade-Shifter-Vinyl-Wraps 
There's some awesome sparkle ones or color shifting one, but they also have tons of other designs as well. Best part is it's not permanent so you can remove it if you ever want to sell the guitar.


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## cmtd (Apr 17, 2017)

Just my opinion, I think it looks awesome as is.

I'm looking for an 070 currently if you decide the color doesn't suit you.


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## sawtoothscream (Apr 17, 2017)

Looks great to me


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## narad (Apr 17, 2017)

Wolfos said:


> I'll be sure to test that theory out. Right now it's fine but as I use it ill be on the look out for shiny spots. Once I see some shining I'll be wanting a gloss coat. But I also was thinking I don't know how strong Arium is and maybe a gloss finish would help protect it more from dents.



The arium is the inner foam-like material that sits inside some sort of stiffer exoskeleton, so not really an issue there. But I think you're just looking to find some problem with it to rationalize the refinish!  

It's not the type of thing I would do on your own though. I'd just send it to Marty Bell or something, so I know I'd be getting an Aristides-grade job. And I'd get a sparkle or metallic or something crazy to justify sending it there


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## Nialzzz (Apr 18, 2017)

I thought the arium was the material that they poured into the moulds and the guitars popped out, 100% arium. Don't think there's an exoskeleton, considering arium is a composite resin, NOT foam.


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## Jonathan20022 (Apr 18, 2017)

Incorrect, the guitars aren't 100% arium, it's injected into an skeleton mold that has several layers of different materials.


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## A-Branger (Apr 18, 2017)

rifftrauma said:


> If you're happy with the guitar and got it for a steal I'd recommend just selling it and using the funds to start a build with Aristides that meets your tastes.



that^

I know guitars go low in value second hand but its still an Aristides, you can still get good money out of it. Plus going by the picture you posted it seems the guitar pain is still pretty intact. For a black mate finish thats almost impossible for a second hand guitar. Even some guitars at a store already have polished parts due to playing. If the mate finish is still that intact I wont even play it anymore and hurry up to sell it before you start to buff it out and loose re-sale value due to poor finish


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## kavinsky (Apr 18, 2017)

#firstworldproblems


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## Nialzzz (Apr 18, 2017)

Jonathan20022 said:


> Incorrect, the guitars aren't 100% arium, it's injected into an skeleton mold that has several layers of different materials.



I 100% didn't know that. Thanks for the info bro!


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## Jonathan20022 (Apr 19, 2017)

All good man, I'm a huge fan of these guitars, Pascal, and the team. 

If I were you I'd keep it like that, but I don't think you'd run into many weird snags with the refinishing process. If you're keen on shipping something, you could send it to Marty Bell for refinishing, his prices are fair, and the colors are wild.


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## Jan1580 (Apr 16, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> Hey guys,
> Do you need any special paint for Arium?
> I just want to start by saying that I am
> A.) Not a Luthier
> ...


D


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## Jan1580 (Apr 16, 2018)

Do you need special paint for Arium?


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## NateFalcon (Apr 16, 2018)

I spray some pretty wild polycuramine and industrial epoxy finishes and have done custom auto paint for decades so trust me when I say anything can be painted with the right prep and materials. I’ve started using a parts A/B industrial epoxy that covers ANYTHING...can be color matched, comes in different levels of matte finish (or gloss) and it’s chemical, salt, acid proof, impact resistant as a MF and can be wet-sanded to a glass finish in 48 hrs!!!...In fact IMO, traditional luthier and production finishes (poly and nitrocellulose) are subpar and garbage compared to all auto/industrial finishes...take it to a KNOWLEDGEABLE custom auto paint shop, see what they say -I find a lot of luthiers and guitar guys are WAY behind the times as far as finishes and products when it comes to spraying...


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## jephjacques (Apr 16, 2018)

don't you dare refinish that thing


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## NateFalcon (Apr 16, 2018)

If you like the color but just want clear over top of it...I’d recommend a Devoe Devthane 379 “activated” part A&B clear...dries hard as a rock, wet sandable in 48 hrs in a wide range of temperatures with no fumes...this stuff is magic and there’s no special processes...any decent painter would chuckle at how easy this stuff is to use and never want to use any other clear coat again. I’ve already said too much lol


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## Wolfos (Apr 17, 2018)

jephjacques said:


> don't you dare refinish that thing


Oh dont worry the guitar wont be touched... ever... because it never existed. I was scammed for 2k and the guy sent me all of these fake pictures and shipped me a $2,000 rock.

My kids did paint the rock however so it wasn't a total loss.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 17, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> Oh dont worry the guitar wont be touched... ever... because it never existed. I was scammed for 2k and the guy sent me all of these fake pictures and shipped me a $2,000 rock.
> 
> My kids did paint the rock however so it wasn't a total loss.


damn, hope you paid through paypal or something with consumer protection


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## J_Mac (Apr 17, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> Oh dont worry the guitar wont be touched... ever... because it never existed. I was scammed for 2k and the guy sent me all of these fake pictures and shipped me a $2,000 rock.
> 
> My kids did paint the rock however so it wasn't a total loss.



WAT

Name and shame please! Who is this asshole? On which forum/site was it listed?


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## narad (Apr 17, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> Oh dont worry the guitar wont be touched... ever... because it never existed. I was scammed for 2k and the guy sent me all of these fake pictures and shipped me a $2,000 rock.
> 
> My kids did paint the rock however so it wasn't a total loss.



Dude, need more details than this! Where did you buy it from?


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## Wolfos (Apr 17, 2018)

narad said:


> Dude, need more details than this! Where did you buy it from?



It was a person from this forum who is no longer on the forum. I trusted him because of this and did not use a protected payment method. This was a year ago and I'm 99% I made a thread about it with lots of detail I'll look to see if I can find it. He was a dirtbag anyway and I never got my guitar... or money back.

Live and learn, it was the only time I've ever been scammed and never will again. I'm very careful now thanks to him.


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## narad (Apr 17, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> It was a person from this forum who is no longer on the forum. I trusted him because of this and did not use a protected payment method. This was a year ago and I'm 99% I made a thread about it with lots of detail I'll look to see if I can find it. He was a dirtbag anyway and I never got my guitar... or money back.
> 
> Live and learn, it was the only time I've ever been scammed and never will again. I'm very careful now thanks to him.



Oh weird - I swear I just saw this thread pop up last week. Didn't realize it was so long ago.

Man, sucks to that. I'm almost at the point where I was thinking, "Why do we even put these references in these for sale listings?"...I'll definitely be bearing it in mind.


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## Wolfos (Apr 17, 2018)

narad said:


> Oh weird - I swear I just saw this thread pop up last week. Didn't realize it was so long ago.
> 
> Man, sucks to that. I'm almost at the point where I was thinking, "Why do we even put these references in these for sale listings?"...I'll definitely be bearing it in mind.


 It just shows that saving a few extra dollars by doing deals outside of say PayPal or secure sites like reverb is just not worth it. In my mind I was doing a deal with a trust sevenstring member, getting a dream guitar and saving a hundred or so bucks by dealing outside of those platforms. 

The guide to safe and consistent dealing is stickied for a reason.


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## KnightBrolaire (Apr 17, 2018)

shame them anyways, that way we can have them added to a blacklist or something


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## narad (Apr 17, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> It just shows that saving a few extra dollars by doing deals outside of say PayPal or secure sites like reverb is just not worth it. In my mind I was doing a deal with a trust sevenstring member, getting a dream guitar and saving a hundred or so bucks by dealing outside of those platforms.
> 
> The guide to safe and consistent dealing is stickied for a reason.



Yea, paypal/Reverb fees are hard to stomach when you think of it as a transfer fee or service fee. But lately I've come to view it as a safety fee, and that, I'm much more down with. 

I actually just received a pricey guitar that I'm about to NGD with a ding in the headstock. It was on Reverb, but the seller contacted me off Reverb, and sent a paypal invoice. For that kind of thing, I think Reverb would have really had my back, but even paypal isn't so great if your item isn't destroyed or missing. Live and learn.


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## Wolfos (Apr 17, 2018)

narad said:


> Yea, paypal/Reverb fees are hard to stomach when you think of it as a transfer fee or service fee. But lately I've come to view it as a safety fee, and that, I'm much more down with.
> 
> I actually just received a pricey guitar that I'm about to NGD with a ding in the headstock. It was on Reverb, but the seller contacted me off Reverb, and sent a paypal invoice. For that kind of thing, I think Reverb would have really had my back, but even paypal isn't so great if your item isn't destroyed or missing. Live and learn.


I bought something over 2 weeks ago on reverb using PayPal. Seller still hasn't shipped the guitar and keeps having excuses. I'm going to ask for my refund tomorrow if I dont get a tracking #. 

At least I know I'm getting my money back this time.


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## nyxzz (May 3, 2018)

Gear thieves and scammers belong in Dante's cocytus with Judas


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## narad (May 3, 2018)

Wolfos said:


> I bought something over 2 weeks ago on reverb using PayPal. Seller still hasn't shipped the guitar and keeps having excuses. I'm going to ask for my refund tomorrow if I dont get a tracking #.
> 
> At least I know I'm getting my money back this time.



How'd that work out?


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## USMarine75 (May 3, 2018)




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## Wolfos (May 4, 2018)

narad said:


> How'd that work out?


Got my refund the guy acted so offended that I put a PayPal claim on our transaction yet he still wouldn't ship. He basically said F U for not trusting me I'll just resell to a better person. Funny enough the guitar was never relisted 

I think the scam he was trying to pull is wait for the buyer to put a claim in, then make a sad story and try to convince the buyer to close the claim on trust. Once its closed its closed forever and the seller keeps the money and the guitar.


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## p88 (May 4, 2018)

Sorry to hear you got scammed!

Incidentally, if anyone IS looking to get their Aristides (or any other guitar) refinished, Patrick Sims is the only person I would trust.

Check out this Aristides that he refinished (it used to be white):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgoG6OpjktS/?taken-by=simscustomshopguitars
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgo3cayDbOX/?taken-by=simscustomshopguitars
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgmynYzDkt0/?taken-by=simscustomshopguitars

Be warned, going through his Instagram profile does not help with GAS!


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