Painting guitar case help

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST,Barbara
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 05:14 PM

I painted a lily on the 'casket case' for a friend's heart-shaped bass (long story....)

I first cleaned the case well, then sprayed with several light coats of Krylon Clear Acryllic (don't use the low-odour kind - leaves a foggy residue for some reason). Then painted with 'craft' acryllics (DecoArt, to be specific) and sealed again with several more coats of Krylon. It has been a few years now, and it seems to be holding up very well. Good luck and hope I'm not too late to help.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST,Ian Pittaway
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 02:34 PM

I have started my case with a pencil drawing, then filled this in with clear nail varnish. This, apparently, will fix the acrylic paint to a solid base, despite it being on a plastic case. Tomorrow (or tonight - undecided) on goes the dark green acrylic base coat. After that comes the sun flowers.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 06:14 AM

Mcfat,s case is painted stunningly..he might be worth asking

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 22 Jul 06 - 04:19 AM

Limpit's suitcase has a bow of bright pink netting tied to it. Imagine my surprise when a case with a bright pink netting bow turned up at Belfast Airport when we went to Portaferry... Limpit was staying with her grandparents in London!

Now she has her own passport, I envisage this happening more frequently....

Did anyone suggest a car body shop? They might be able to help, especially those that do custom paint jobs - they can certainly advise on types of paint and varnishes.

LTS

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Les B
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 02:02 PM

Or, you could decoupage the case with clippings and photos of your or your favorite musician's illustrious career.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GLoux
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 10:36 AM

As an alternative to painting, we bought some flourescent yellow (day-glo) shoe laces and tied a bow on each of our instrument case handles. They really help us find our instruments when they are in a storage area at a festival.

-Greg

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Mark Ross
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 10:23 AM

30 years ago down in Mountain View Arkansas Glenn Ohrlin painted my Mark Leaf case with a a gorgeous scene of a cowboy roping a calf with snow covered mountains in the background. I later coated it with polyurethane. The top side by the handle is plastered with IWW silent agitators. They've started to chip, but it still enables me to find the case fairly easily. Of course, a Mark Leaf case does stand out due to its distinctive shape.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 21 Jul 06 - 03:39 AM

How about using a print or a picture, sticking that on it and painting the whole case with a hardwearing, flexible clear varnish? Manitas did something similar with one of his melodeon cases and it's wearing pretty well, despite me falling over it regularly at least once a week.

LTS

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Grab
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 07:45 PM

Halfords (and other car places) sell primer specifically for plastics for respraying body-coloured bumpers. That should help it to stick. Also use wire-wool to key the plastic first for extra grip, but that should go without saying.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST,Ian Pittaway
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 02:33 PM

An art teacher friend has told me that WH Smith sell System 3 Acrylics, which he says are far more hard wearing than more expensive acrylics and more workable than any car body paint. So I'll go for that. I thought I'd paint a huge sunflower down the middle of the case (I have them in my garden in the summer and adore them). But before I start, anyone like to try and convince me to do something else?

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: open mike
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 01:14 PM

see the other thread about creating a case from paper (papier) mache'

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Bert
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 12:59 PM

Good idea, but try a small spot first, some plastics don't take paint very well and you may need to use an acrylic primer.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Scoville
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 12:45 PM

I painted my cases to help them stand out. We had an incident a few years ago where a dulcimer from Dallas accidentally went home with someone to Galveston (not a case of theft, just mistaken identity--the person who took it was mortified).

Jim, maybe you should retire that case as an "art piece" and get a new one for actual use. Expensive, but a thought since you don't want to lose your stickers.


This is slightly OT, but if anyone out there has woven nylon cases, they can be painted using regular plastic-y Tulip fabric paint (the kind in squeeze bottles you get at craft stores). If you're using red or other translucent color, paint white under it to keep it from sinking in and disappearing against the nylon, especially on black cases. I've painted both my green dulcimer case and black guitar bag this way and they came out really well. You can even brush the paint to shade stuff. The paint doesn't get sticky in heat (it's meant to be washable, anyway), and stays on well as long as it's not in a place where it will get bent sharply over and over, which is usually not an issue on stiff, padded, instrument cases.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: leeneia
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 12:42 PM

Ten years ago I was taking a guitar into the Grand Canyon, and I painted its case white with flat white latex paint, as found in the average basement. It has stayed nice ever since.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 11:29 AM

A design on the case does make it easier to spot - plus, if it is individual enough, it would prevent someone walking off with your case as other peple will also know who the case belongs to.
I did the duck on my banjo case with a paint called Japlac. It also did the duck on the inside of the clear plastic banjo head. The original banjo head duck lasted several years, but my more recent one strated to fake and crack after very short usage - possibly less effective surface preparation?
Standard Humbrol Enamel modellers paint is pretty effective for a general purpose case.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Mr Happy
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 11:28 AM

I've a Mudcat badge on mine.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 11:02 AM

Perhaps they would put it on for you at one of these shops where they airbrush paint pictures - at the seaside. I 've seen one in Yarmouth and I bet they're all over the place

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 10:54 AM

I'm one of those guys that SharonA mentioned that slaps stickers all over my cases. After a few of my stickers started ripping, I put a coat of verathane on the case and that seemed to help, but now, after over 40 years of wear and tear, one of my banjo cases and a guitar case are sarting to come apart at both ends of the top. These have some very sentimental stickers (the 1961 Mariposa Festival in Orillia, actually the cover of a program glued onto the case) and I don't want to discard the case. Is it possible to fiberglass the case and still be able to read the stickers?

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: SharonA
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 10:10 AM

What an awesome idea! Most people just slap bumper stickers on their cases, which I've never cared for. But painting the case... I'm envisioning a mini-mural, an airbrushed design like some folks put on their cars and motorcycles, painted on a smooth plastic case. Imagine the "oooh's" and "ahhh's" you'll get! (Airbrushing probably wouldn't work on my fabric gig bag, though...)

Leeneia makes a good suggestion about going to a paint store first. Beware, though, because they may be more interested in selling you something than in giving you sound advice. If you're in a community that has artists' studios, an art gallery, a college that offers art courses, or a public arts center, I think you might want to consult with some of their knowledgable artists and/or art instructors, too.

I imagine that there must be a lot of good painting tips on the internet! I have to go to a rehearsal soon but I'll try to search out some sites later.

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: leeneia
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 08:58 AM

It depends on what the case is made of and whether the finish is rough, smooth, plasticized, etc. Take your case with you to a nice paint store and ask for their advice.

I think that to make my case stand out from a pile of cases, I would paint the edges, not the front. Of course, why not paint the front too, because that would be fun?

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Mr Happy
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 08:27 AM

useful hints & links here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stencil

Subject: RE: Painting guitar case help
From: Mr Happy
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 08:23 AM

do a stencil & use masking tape for the rest

Subject: Painting guitar case help
From: GUEST,Ian Pittaway
Date: 20 Jul 06 - 08:18 AM

Because - a. I haven't done any painting for years and b. I want to spot my Hiscox case easily in the case pile at the end of a folk club night or session - I want to paint my case. Not the whole thing, just a design on the front. Not having done this before, I'd value some help and advice on how to go about it. I've been recommended to use car repair paint as acrylics, for example, stand a chance of chipping or flaking with use. Don't know if this is right. Any clues on paint or bristles to look good and last?