Guitars have many cool designs and color schemes that you can choose from right off the wall at a music shop, but some musicians want their guitars a little more personalized than that.
Adding your own style to your guitar gives you a signature for fans to recognize you when you get on stage. If you have the added talent of visual art in painting, then you can add this extra style easily with a bit of paint.
So, can you use acrylic paint on a guitar? Yes, you can use acrylic paint on a guitar. Like any other wood surface, you’ll need to sand and prepare it first, then seal it after you’ve painted on your design with a clear coat.
Special considerations will need to be made when preparing an electric guitar versus an acoustic guitar, so it’s important to know what each of them will need before painting. Let’s dive in so you can learn how to paint your own guitar.
Preparing An Acoustic Guitar For Acrylic Paint
Before starting to paint on an acoustic guitar, you’ll need to take a few preliminary steps. First, remove all strings, knobs, electronics (if it’s an acoustic/electric guitar), and the neck (if possible).
Once you’ve removed all of these components, you’ll need to use painter’s tape around the areas you aren’t painting and shouldn’t get paint in.
On an acoustic guitar, this will be fairly simple. Just tape over the base of the neck, if it’s not removable, and over the holes where you removed any knobs or pieces of the guitar.
It may be a good idea to add a layer of tape around the inside of the sound hole. This is optional, but can help to prevent tape from running down into the sound hole of your guitar and messing with the sound.
From here, it’s a similar process to the electric guitar. Let’s cover that before we dive into the rest of the steps.
Preparing An Electric Guitar For Acrylic Paint
An electric guitar will require more attention to the preparation stage, because it is absolutely vital that you do not get any paint into any of the electronic areas.
When you remove the strings, knobs, electronics, and neck, you’ll need to use plenty of painter’s tape to cover those areas completely.
You can line the inside of the sound hole in a similar way to the acoustic guitar above to prevent any paint from leaking into the guitar. The most important aspect is covering those electrical areas completely.
Supplies For Using Acrylic Paint On A Guitar
Once your guitar has been prepped, you’ll need to gather your supplies. Use our list below as a guide.
- Painter’s tape (used in the initial preparation step above)
- Sandpaper
- Gesso (acrylic paint primer)
- Pencils
- Paintbrushes
- Paint
- Clear coat spray (Rust-Oleum and Krylon both have great clear coat sprays)
It’s important to get sandpaper that you can use by hand (like the kind we’ve linked above) rather than on a machine sander. We’ll talk more about proper sanding below, but it’s important when buying supplies to get sandpaper you can use by hand.
The gesso is an important step prior to using your acrylic paint. It will help the acrylic paint stick better to the surface of the guitar, giving you a more long-lasting design that won’t chip or crack as easily.
When choosing the acrylic paint you’re going to use for your guitar, remember that your guitar cost hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.
Don’t skimp and get cheap acrylics because you’re trying to save money on this project. Make sure to get good quality acrylic paints and mix the right colors yourself.
Although this will be more time and money, it will be worth the investment to give your guitar a better paint job that will last longer.
The type of clear coat spray you use is up to you, but we linked two great brands above. Rust-Oleum and Krylon are both well-known for their spray paints and clear coat sprays, so you’d be good to do with either one.
How To Paint On A Guitar
When you’ve gathered all your supplies and are ready to get started, follow the steps below to paint your guitar.
- Prepare your guitar according to the instructions above for either electric or acoustic guitars.
- Sand the guitar. You want to do this gently and by hand only. Acoustic guitars tend to be made with thin wood, and sanding too hard can ruin the sound on your guitar. Electric guitars should also be handled with the same care to prevent ruining the sound. Although it will take more time to sand by hand, it’s the only want to ensure your wood will be sanded gently enough to prevent damage to the instrument.
- Once the surface has been sanded, you’re ready to prime. Brush on a light layer of your gesso, then allow to dry completely. Repeat this process once or twice more for a total of 2-3 layers of primer.
- Lightly sand your primer. This will give you the smoothest surface to work on, ensuring that your guitar still feels smooth and clean to the touch. It also helps the acrylic paint stick better when you have a completely smooth surface.
- From here, you can either get started painting if you’re skilled enough to paint without a sketch, or sketch your design in pencil. We recommend sketching the outline of your design in pencil first to help you compose the way it will look on the guitar.
- If you chose to sketch your design first, it’s now time to paint! Be sure to work in light layers, allowing each layer to dry as you build on it to prevent your colors from mixing too much and turning muddy.
- Once you’ve finished painting your design, give the paint enough time to fully dry. This can take several hours, and the process shouldn’t be rushed. It’s important to let your paint dry fully before sealing.
- After the paint has dried, lightly spray a thin layer of clear coat over the paint. Hold the paint can about 8-12 inches away from the guitar to allow it to create a light misting layer over the guitar.
- Allow this initial clear coat layer to fully dry.
- Spray on 2-3 more layers of clear coat, this time holding your paint can a little closer to the guitar. Allow each layer to dry completely before spraying on your next layer. Read the label on your clear coat to determine proper dry times.
After your final layer of clear coat has dried, your guitar is done! You can put it back together, replacing all of the knobs, electronics, and strings.
Now you’ve got a fully customized guitar to rock out on! Not only will you impress with your music, but you’ll impress with your painting skills and show off a guitar uniquely yours.
To see this step-by-step process in action, watch the video tutorial below from Fieldey TV: Art & Tutorials.
Ideas To Paint On A Guitar
If you want to create your own custom guitar but aren’t sure what to put on it, we’ve got some ideas that you can consider.
First, you want to choose a design that’s going to flow well. If you want a more complicated image rather than a simple decal, like a mandala design for example, remember to add a background and a foreground. An example would be a background of flowers with a bird in the foreground as the main attraction.
Having a design that has one eye-catching element in the front and other elements in the back helps give the design depth and makes it more interesting to look at.
Florals always work great to use as a design for a painted guitar because they naturally have flow. You can have vining flowers weaving their way around the body of the guitar, emphasizing the natural flow of the shape of the guitar.
Another thing to consider is choosing a design that speaks to who you are as a person and as a musician and artist. Try thinking about one or two things that are the most important to you or that you feel passionately about.
For example, if you love animals, create a design that has your favorite animal in the foreground with some greenery found in that animal’s natural habitat in the background.
You can also choose to go more abstract with your design. If you’re not very artistic, you don’t have to try and imitate a sophisticated and skilled drawing.
Instead, try grabbing or mixing a few of your favorite colors that complement each other, and add them in splotches or sections around the guitar. Blend the edges to smooth out the design.
Another idea would be trying polka dots, stripes, or another more simplistic design that doesn’t take years of artistic practice and skills classes.
In the end, your guitar’s painted design should be a reflection of you. It’s a way to show the world that this is your guitar, for your music, with a design that is uniquely you.
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