Stratocaster Rebuild Part 1

Having been gifted a cheap Stratorcaster copy from a friend (thanks Lee!) I thought it was time for a rebuild and respray project on a guitar. The model here is of unknown origin and probably one of the many copies of a copy available for under £100 online (usually with a free amp).

I checked it was working properly by fitting new strings and tuning it, then dismantled it and started the prep work for spraying the body.

Lots of sanding and filler, followed by more filler, more sanding and plenty of Earl Grey tea. Then on with several layers of 2 pack high build primer (flattening back between coats), followed by a thick and glossy base coat of black 2k paint. Warning: Don’t spray 2 pack without good skin and lung protections. I use nitrile gloves, overalls and an air fed mask to protect me.

Once the black coat is on and hardened its time for knocking it back flat and applying a top coat of red sparkle. The red coat is semi-translucent and therefore a base coat is needed to give it depth. Black is often chosen as it works best but you could choose another colour and see how it turns out. The black coat doesn’t need to be perfect as you’ll be sanding out imperfections prior to spraying again.

Again, lots of runs on this one as I was plastering the paint on thick and heavy to get a good build up (limited time also). The runs will be flattened out prior to applying another top coat. Notice also the lighter shading around the edges in places? This is due to rubbing through the black coat back to primer when flattening the previous colour. It doesn’t matter on this build up as I’m looking to shade in the edges black with an airbrush prior to putting a clearcoat over the top. For now, I’ll have to leave it there in lieu of other projects…