i have a ibanez grx40 and i want to make it look more "unique". i want people to see my guitar and say, "damn thats cool!" what can i do to it to make it look more different than everyone elses guitar. I will do ne thing to make it look good, i dont care what it is, ne one got ne good tips?

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you can try fretboard dot stickers, or if you have 8-9 of the same stickers (somewhat large-ish stickers), you can put em right on top of the dots, and it will look like you have new inlays sort of.

if you have money, you can get new inlays, paint job, pickup rings, volume/tone knobs (you can get skulls if you think you're evil), pickup stickers (bobbin toppers)
some of the stuff, you can get at www.universaljems.com

or do like the one Slayer guy, take red paint and a brush, and splatter it on your guitar.



Aye, then you will have a mighty axe, fit for battling heathens for the glory of the King!

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just be like me and bleed on it.(my guitar is white)

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Get a sheet of sticker paper and make your own designs out of it and stick it on.... if you do it right it will look good. or just get one sticker and put it on, sometime over doing it will have the opposite affect and your guitar will look shitter!

ggstickers.com

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throw a cool sticker or two on it. don't cover it, but maybe put one somewhere that matches and just compliments the color of your guitar. get some sticky paper and design something yourself, then print it out and voila.. you have an original addition to your guitar. like mine's black.. so i'll probably make a sticker with a black background to have it blend in seamlessly. don't have a big green square of a sticker on an orange guitar, ya know?

im also thinking about getting some automotive spray paint from wal-mart or wherever (really meijer if any of u have those). the kind with metallic flakes in it.. they sparkle so well under lights. they even have some that are 2-colors in one.. the color changes depending on the angle that you look at it from. paint it all one color (like regular non-metallic black) and then use masking tape to leave some area uncovered and spray paint another color (id probably use a dark metallic flake green) to paint all the parts that aren't masked up.. everything not under the tape will be green and when u take the tape off, you have black underneath. that's a good way to paint a neat design. if you're really dedicated you can make any sort of shape with tape and an exacto knife. crazy criss-crosses? maybe a pentagram? cross? whatever suits you. maybe even after painting it, put a sticker on it somewhere.. you could make it a simple one with a clear background so that it blends in well.

painting requires some patience and care.. you have to sand the lacquer off, prime it, paint it, clear coat it, etc.. look up some guides on the net to make sure that you do it right and you'll get a great professionally custom job done yourself.

you'd be amazed what you can do with one or 2 colors of spray paint, some masking tape.. and maybe a printer with sticky paper. ill have to post pics once im done.

thank you for ur ideas...so if i redid my paint job, what would i have to do?

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sorry dude but you are going to have to do something yourself. search online for paint tutorials. i dont know just yet.. i bet "paint guitar" in google would find something.. i haven't looked yet. good luck, and post your results here so all these punks eat it.

you'd have to do alot, youd need to sand off everything till your at the bare wood, reprime re paint refinish, its a real bitch and a half, your best bet would be to go to a professional. its gonna cost you, but its better that way then doing something wrong and ending up with a ruined guitar. and like mc said, theres lots of tutorials on the web www.projectguitar.com is one of the many, they have some good tutorials on everything about guitar making

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fuck professionals.. go buy a fuckin new guitar instead. here's how to spend $15:

go buy 400 grit sand paper (and maybe 600 too). some plain white or black paint (u painting it bright or dark? get it accordingly),some sweet stuff like sparkley paint in whatever color u want, or just a cool color u find, and finally some sort of clear glaze you'll find in the same aisle. sand off the nice finish and paint. evenly spray it with black from like 1 foot away. maybe u should practice on a piece of wood or something if ur new to spray painting. anyway, do that and let it dry 1 hr. then sand it with 400 grit a bit.. don't take all the paint off, just scuff it up so the next layer will stick well. spray paint it again with the same color (still just black or white.. nothin fancy.. still priming it). sand again with 400 grit after 1 hour. then paint one more time with black. sand it with 400 once more, and wait 1 day for primer to set it fully. then spray it with the paint that you want ti actually show. like fancy schmancy automotive paint with metallic flakes in it. if you use plain paint without sparkles.. get 600 grit paint and sand it, wait 1 hour, repaint. if u used the cool shit, just wait 1 hour and repaint. then after another hour, repaint. yes.. it takes several layers to get a good look. after all this, wait another day. then spray it with a clear coat. do this 3x as well.. waitin an hour inbetween each time. now wait a day for it to dry, too. get some wax and buff it up.

i know this is a pain in the ass. but trust me, it will allow a self-painted spray paint job to look professional. i've done it before to other things, and im gonna do it myself to an old guitar soon, most likely. it'll look fantastic. remember u can layer other paints and mask parts off with masking tape to make cool designs. have fun with it. but BE PATIENT. if u rush paint it will look like you rushed it. if u dont sand, it will look much, much worse. sanding inbetween coats of primer is key, and inbetween color coats is also key unless u get some sort of special funky paint that will get messed up with sand paper (like metallic stuff.. it just needs even layers).

couldnt i just sand all of the orginal off, primer it and spray it withsay color changing paint couldnt i?

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yes. but then you need to finish it. go to guitarproject.com .. ive been looking at it for 2 hours now.. lots of good stuff on there to help you out. make sure you put a finishing coat of something on it after you paint it, or you'll lose your paint. read through some of their paint guides to see what to do.

personally, i think this kinda stuff is a lot of fun, and later on when people ask where u got such a sweet guitar, you can say that you made it. what kinda badass made his own guitar :P look at the tutorial to make your own logo.. that is badass. im gonna do it.

Fuck sanding get a heat gun or sum paint stripper like BIX. and clear glaze??? its called laquer...

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well if you use chemicals, you still may want to sand to get a fresh grain. or use a but of acetone afterwards, since it evaporates without leaving a residue and you can dump plenty of it on to get everything off. getting a heat gun leaves you the option of doing sweet designs with it, too. but my project was for $15-20

not everybody likes a hard lacquer either. anything to seal it up well.

ewww ed roman

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This Might Have Been Said, I Dont Really Know Because I Didnt Read All Of This Thread, But Do What Dime Did The 3rd Home Video. DRILL IT, OPEN IT UP, AND GIVE IT ONE HELL OF A PAINT JOB!!!

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get a guitar model you like take it apart sand the body down nice and fine and do you custom paint job but when you done you want to put a clear coat of some kind on it

(a bunch of these posts were deleted 'cause they were off topic. hailsatan666 asked a legitimate question about making his guitar look better. there's nothing wrong with that; the question of skill, talent, image etc.. shouldn't have been brought up. carry on)

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hailsatan666: what are you thinking about doing now? ive been looking at guitarproject.com, and i want to use their "create your own logo" tutorial and i'd like to put in my own custom inlays on the fretboard, along with a new paint job. you might want to check out their inlay tutorials.. it looks fairly easy (a relative word.. lol) and would really make your guitar stand out as unique!

if you're gonna do a new paint job, i'd recommend making your own logo for the headstock, since the original will already be sanded off (assuming yours doesn't have a mother of pearl inlay for the brand name?). that one looks suuuper easy.. just print it out, color it, and glue is, basically. would be badass to put your name.. i think mine will say Mibanez or Mikanez, since mine's an Ibanez and im mike.