How to re-finish a guitar body in 48 (and counting) steps.
1. Buy cheap affinity squier body off of ebay.
2. Strip paint.
3. Sand neatly.
4. Apply stain.
5. Apply 12 coats of tru oil intermixing with coats of dust.
6. Call good enough and put guitar together and enjoy guitar. (I had to. Winter came. I try to do things like that in the house and I'll find a cat stuck to them.)
7. Put the new pickups my cat bought me in and declare it the best sounding guitar in the house.
8. Decide that the finish isn't good enough for a guitar that sounds that good. (<- problem starts here)
9. Sand down guitar.
10. Buy wrong spray paint.
11. Prime.
12. Wonder about paint choice.
13. Paint.
14. Strip paint.
15. Sand.
16. Buy duplicolor primer and paint.
17. Prime.
18. Paint.
19. Put down 4 coats of lacquer.
20. Note that the solvent in the lacquer has eaten the duplicolor paint.
21. Sand down through the duplicolor paint.
22. Repaint.
23. Apply shellac.
24. Put down 4 coats of lacquer.
25. Sand.
26. Watch shellac peel off the duplicolor in sheets.
27. Sand.
28. Buy cheap ass krylon lacquer paint in black and white.
29. Paint guitar white.
30. Sand.
31. Paint black stencil.
32. Note stencil had lifted.
33. Sand.
34. Decide to make a B+W guitar ala the cookie.
35. Paint front black using masking tape to make a neat line.
36. Remove tape.
37. Use alcohol to remove tape residue.
38. Note that you knew what would happen to lacquer if you put alcohol on it before you used alcohol on it.
39. Say screw it and paint over everything with a candy red color.
40. Re-read the information on the can of candy red paint.
41. Rage impotently.
42. Finish the can of paint stripper used in step 14.
43. Marvel at how much paint was on that thing.
44. Sand.
45. Apply an odd blue stain I found in a drawer.
46. Wait an hour.
47. Use alcohol to remove much of the stain with steel wool until it is just a tint of blue with darker blue end points.
48. Start applying lacquer.
I'm not sure what to expect next. I'm guessing the Rapture will slot in there somewhere.
Even with a mask I think all the fumes from paint and solvents has eaten a squirrel sized hole in my brain.
If I give finishing advice (other than don't) please do not take it.
I will say this. It has that kind of reclaimed wood look I was going for when I started step 1.