Recomendations for specialised refinishing.

[Dood]

 

I'd like to get two basses refinished in my *ehem* signature chameleon flip-paint. I know that not all 'refinishers' have experience of these specialised paints (the application is different to say, poly), so I'm on the look out for some who know what they are doing - ideally local to me in East Anglia. 

[pete.young]

Andrew Guyton?

[Dood]

2 hours ago, pete.young said:

Andrew Guyton?

 

Good lord, how did I forget Andy. I think he may be a bit of a busy bee - I've not seen him for a while. Good call, thank you. 

[BigRedX]

Unfortunately you will need to have all the old flip paint removed and then find someone who can spray the whole instrument in a single pass, because that is what is needed to make the flip paint work. It can't be retouched because there's no guarantee that the retouched parts will flip in the same direction.

[Dood]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Unfortunately you will need to have all the old flip paint removed and then find someone who can spray the whole instrument in a single pass, because that is what is needed to make the flip paint work. It can't be retouched because there's no guarantee that the retouched parts will flip in the same direction.

 

Apologies for not having been clearer, neither instrument has a flip finish currently. Totally agree, you are quite correct regarding the finishes and, the reason why I'd asked for a specialist is because I've spoken to one or two spray shops who don't know how flip paints work. It is indeed a one pass after the body has been prepared (for all the reasons you mention and more), then lacquered over the top of the flip. 

Interestingly, as a side note, you can spray over an existing flip finish with a caveat: If it is a new finish rather than "adding an effect" to the first, flip paints work best with a base coat - otherwise they are just affected by the existing finish. I'm going for maximum flip from the paint I have in mind and therefore a black base coat is necessary.

I think with any refinish I'd be inclided to strip back the original anyway, but that requires extra effort and £££. 

Cheers. 

[BigRedX]

@Dood I did wonder after I posted my reply if it was a brand new finish rather than trying to fix an existing one.

 

I own the bass that used to look like this:

 

I don't know how it got in this state, but it was pock-marked all over on both the flip finish and the chrome work when I bought it, which is why it was (relatively) cheap and I didn't have any serious competition when bidding on eBay. This how I discovered that successfully retouching the damage to the finish would be impossible, and as a result since I wasn't totally in love with the colour I had it redone in CAR.

 

However it does mean that Simon at Gus Guitars should be able to refinish your instruments with flip paint depending on his availability.

[Dood]

13 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

@Dood I did wonder after I posted my reply if it was a brand new finish rather than trying to fix an existing one.

 

I own the bass that used to look like this:

 

I don't know how it got in this state, but it was pock-marked all over on both the flip finish and the chrome work when I bought it, which is why it was (relatively) cheap and I didn't have any serious competition when bidding on eBay. This how I discovered that successfully retouching the damage to the finish would be impossible, and as a result since I wasn't totally in love with the colour I had it redone in CAR.

 

However it does mean that Simon at Gus Guitars should be able to refinish your instruments with flip paint depending on his availability.

 

Gotta love a Gus!

 

I have a possible answer for the pits and pocks in that finish.  Today's flip-paints are much better than they were. The original chameleon shifts were suitable for car bodies where we tended to see them used first: Hard, metal surfaces, but, due to the way that those pigments 'crystalise' in the same direction in order to make the flip work, it ended up being a really brittle finish. This is further compounded by luthiers wanting to keep finishes thin to hang on to those 'tonewood' properties.

 

My 7 string has an early flip paint on it that isn't dissimilar to the one pictured and it has succumbed to the same. Its not that the bass ever got bashed hard, it's just that the finish wasn't up to the job. My 6 string has had its flip refinished, arguably done twice as many gigs and received a good few bashes on the way, shows not even a scratch.