# Can you paint a Floyd rose...I am sure as hell gonna find out.



## XBIGJIMX (Nov 26, 2013)

I through this in a seperate thread becaus ei know a lot of people were interested if this will work. I knew on the new build I did not want the black FR and being its metal I didnt see any reason why it could not be painted.

So i started with a black FR and took it apart. Now on floyds the fine tuners do not back out all the way so you have to "cut the thread" so it will back out all the way. 

After disassemble its on to the scotch bright pad. All paint has to have something to grab on to. So you start by roughing up all the parts. Now you would be surprised how easy you burn though the paint even with a scotch bright pad. 




After the rough up I covered the open parts of the tuners and and made sure the parts I didn't want painted were masked or laid flat. ( the bottom of the tremolo arm, the bottoms of the saddles. You would be surprised how much a layer of paint will cause something not to fit any more or screw up action.

I placed all the pieces in a pizza box which worked out really well to hold things at angles i needed. I installed the floyd bar in the box to hold it as well.





Then I put on a layer of adhesion binder. It helps paint to stick to anything you put it on. Then 3 coats of yellow. The only reason i did 3 was to make sure it was all covered . 
coat 1



coat 2




Now at this point you could be done. But i think clear will not hurt. I usually use a 2 part clear, but i think it will be to thick when done so i am just putting on a light rattle can clear. now waiting for the drying


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## kodokunohatumei (Nov 26, 2013)

This'll be neat if it works.


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## guitarmadillo (Nov 26, 2013)

You might want to be careful with the knife edges and the posts. Make sure the saddles are smooth too.


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## XBIGJIMX (Nov 26, 2013)

guitarmadillo said:


> You might want to be careful with the knife edges and the posts. Make sure the saddles are smooth too.



I'll be cleaning these out after. Masking such a small surface area was proving to a big pain in the tush


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 26, 2013)

Didn't Valkkiko already get a floyd powder coated? Not that this isn't cool. I'm just saying the question in the thread title has been answered...


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## darren (Nov 26, 2013)

Did you use an etching primer?

Might have also been a good idea to have plugged up any threaded holes, too.


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## mike1033 (Nov 26, 2013)

Always wanted to try this, only concern I had was how well it would last. Good luck on your project, should be pretty cool!



> Didn't Valkkiko already get a floyd powder coated? Not that this isn't cool. I'm just saying the question in the thread title has been answered...



Painting and powder coating is not the same thing.


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## Konfyouzd (Nov 26, 2013)

ok


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## darren (Nov 26, 2013)

Powder coating is dry powder that's applied electrostatically and then baked on. Much more durable than paint, though it tends to be thicker and not as smooth.


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## XBIGJIMX (Nov 26, 2013)

darren said:


> Did you use an etching primer?
> 
> Might have also been a good idea to have plugged up any threaded holes, too.



Not sure if the adhesion primer is an etching primer, but I went ahead scuffed every thing manually. 

And for the threaded holes it was faster for me to run a tap through after then plug all the holes


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## Daf57 (Nov 27, 2013)

Subbed for the conclusion of the experiment! Good luck!


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## XBIGJIMX (Nov 27, 2013)

Well I let the clear coat fly last night with 3 coats.
Now this was the only spot i made a mistake. The clear coat only takes about 10 minutes to set up, so I flipped the tuners to get the underside. Which was dry but the box was not it was tacky so it actually pulled some paint. So then will take some touch up. So no big deal

Next was i had a brass block lying around that did not fit any tremelo own. So I marked out the holes for the floyd (btw this pretty much the way to make a big brass block upgrade as well.)




Then I tapped a center dot in each mark so the drill bit would not drift. Then 3 holes with the drill press




Then a few twists of the tap 




So then it was just a matter of a reassembly and its done.


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## Cloudy (Nov 27, 2013)

Hope it works out, sure looks cool!


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## Xaios (Nov 27, 2013)

Indeed. The style itself looks awesome. Let's hope the paint is durable enough to stick.


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## RV350ALSCYTHE (Nov 29, 2013)

That turned out excellent!

Looks like a factory finish.

Such a great contrast with the black as well.


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## eddiewarlock (Nov 29, 2013)

this only works if you have active pickups...otherwise, it makes the bridge IMPOSSIBLE to ground.


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## XxJoshxX (Nov 29, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> this only works if you have active pickups...otherwise, it makes the bridge IMPOSSIBLE to ground.


Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldn't he just ground to the spring claw?


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## infernalservice (Nov 29, 2013)

Call me crazy, but is the brass black screwed on the wrong way? I think the side with less distance from the edge to the spring holes needs to the other way so the "hook" of the springs can get in there all the way.


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## Hollowway (Nov 29, 2013)

This is awesome! I can't wait to see the whole guitar come together.


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## rghoarder (Nov 29, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> this only works if you have active pickups...otherwise, it makes the bridge IMPOSSIBLE to ground.



It'll be fine.

Source? Electrician by trade.


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## XBIGJIMX (Nov 29, 2013)

infernalservice said:


> Call me crazy, but is the brass black screwed on the wrong way? I think the side with less distance from the edge to the spring holes needs to the other way so the "hook" of the springs can get in there all the way.


 it might be never put one on before so i might be flipping it.


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## Prophetable (Nov 30, 2013)

It looks like you've already got some of the yellow chipped off on the underside shot of your FR. I hope it doesn't peel from those spots. Keep us updated on how the durability comes along.


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## fastmerc (Nov 30, 2013)

I didnt notice this thread till late, but I have already tried that experiment. Sorry to say the finish didn't last long at all with mine.


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## XBIGJIMX (Nov 30, 2013)

I am not sure how long the finish will last. But that said i did learn a few things about the concept. 
#1 The finish on the floyd when you start makes a big difference. The chrome plated ones have a few layers from the chrome that are not friendly with paint. Where as the black ones are are much easier to scuff.
#2 next time i will use the 2 part clear. I did not run into any peeling or flaking until the rattle can clear got involved.
#3 do not move the trem till the paint has time to dry and cure.


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## eddiewarlock (Dec 1, 2013)

rghoarder said:


> It'll be fine.
> 
> Source? Electrician by trade.



My experience?

I have painted several bridges. None of them conducted any current. You can use a tester if you don't believe me.

The paint acts as an isolator. 

You can't ground them.


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## xwmucradiox (Dec 1, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> My experience?
> 
> I have painted several bridges. None of them conducted any current. You can use a tester if you don't believe me.
> 
> ...



All you could need to do is remove paint from the point where the grounding occurs so you have metal-on-metal contact.


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## RV350ALSCYTHE (Dec 1, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> My experience?
> 
> I have painted several bridges. None of them conducted any current. You can use a tester if you don't believe me.
> 
> ...



I guess you'd have to make sure the string contacts are bare metal or conductive and there is a conductive path to the ground wire. You would have to make every point of contact bare metal then ring it out with a meter. 

Or use EMGs


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## rghoarder (Dec 3, 2013)

eddiewarlock said:


> My experience?
> 
> I have painted several bridges. None of them conducted any current. You can use a tester if you don't believe me.
> 
> ...



Tester? Meter, my friend.

Isolator? The term you are looking for is insulator, and no - Paint does not act as an insulator, nor is it an ideal conductor.. but go ahead and paint over your receptacles in your home. I'll wait.

There are many factors to consider, and I'm not going to waste my time explaining it to somebody who's "painted several bridges" when I've dedicated the past 8 years of my life to knowing the ins and outs of how electricity works.


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## eddiewarlock (Dec 4, 2013)

xwmucradiox said:


> All you could need to do is remove paint from the point where the grounding occurs so you have metal-on-metal contact.



You could do it, but i never wanted to because i think it might start chipping from there...


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## eddiewarlock (Dec 4, 2013)

rghoarder said:


> Tester? Meter, my friend.
> 
> Isolator? The term you are looking for is insulator, and no - Paint does not act as an insulator, nor is it an ideal conductor.. but go ahead and paint over your receptacles in your home. I'll wait.
> 
> There are many factors to consider, and I'm not going to waste my time explaining it to somebody who's "painted several bridges" when I've dedicated the past 8 years of my life to knowing the ins and outs of how electricity works.




I'm sorry, english is not my first language.

Don't worry dude, it's always nice to see someone arrogant in these kind of forums.

You should do it yourself, and enlighten us, instead of telling us how much of a genius who's spent the last 8 years of his life knowing the ins and out of how electricity works you are.

Good luck in life.


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