I’ve finally gotten up the nerve to attempt this 5150 paint job on the Kramer. I’ll be posting updated pictures and info on how the process has gone over the next few weeks. I hope to take what I learned from the experience of painting the Squire and apply that to this project for a less bumpy ride along the way. Here is the before picture of the Kramer Striker. Take a close look because whatever the outcome is it will never look like this again.
First I removed all the hardware and electronics…
Next came the sanding. In this step I pretty much just used the heaviest sand paper I had access to so that I could take off the existing clear coat. I got down to the wood in a few place as you can see, but I’m planning on the primer taking care of that.
Above you can see where I’ve attached a piece of wood where the neck would go so that I can hang the guitar for painting. Below you can see the guitar hanging in my garage waiting for primer.
After one primer coat…
Â
After 2 or 3 more coats…
 
The primer I used was RustOleum Auto Primer. I debated on this one for a while since I have no clue what base the primer uses. The can doesn’t list any specifics like lacquer,enamel,etc. But this is the same stuff used in the test run and I don’t think the problems associated with it had anything to do with this stage of the project.
That is it for day one. I’m sure this is going to end up being a long process. I just hope it goes more smoothly than last time. Over the coming days I’ll get into more detail about the paint and techniques I’m using and keep posting new pictures along the way.
You’ll want to make sure you get down to a finer sandpaper in a hurry so that you don’t have sanding marks. Try using a high build primer to build up the low spots.
Good Luck!
I look forward to seeing how this turns out. You should check out Axepix.com if you get a chance. I think it’d be cool if you shared your guitar pix and progress there.
Take care,
Clif