Refinishing Prices?

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light rail coyote
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Refinishing Prices?

Post by light rail coyote »

How much do people generally charge to refinish guitars. A guy wants me to refinish his neck-thru bass. He already has the paint he wants me to use, and has sanded it down. I don't really know what people charge. I want to give him a good price, because he's a friend of a friend, and I really have never done a truly pro jorb, but it's a lot of work.

Also. The paint he has is a waterbased latex paint, I think. Can I clear over that with laquer?
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James
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Post by James »

Estimate how long it will take you, and give yourself an hourly rate. Get a rough price from that and see where you stand.

In the UK I would expect to pay £80, but that's a guess.
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Nick
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Post by Nick »

I didn't know it was a good idea to use latex based paint on guitars....
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Post by DGNR8 »

Water based latex? I am guessing that is completely incompatible with clears. I can't tell you SCiEnZ. I am guessing the best answer is that it does not harden into a protective, shiny shell, and clear coats might do weird things to it. The other thought is that it is a heavy paint meant for coating and it may deaden the sound.

Hourly rate is a good idea. Time and materials. Even if you went with minimum wage it would add up by the time you finished it. I would expect more since it is a skill and you are using messy and toxic materials. $25 an hour seems like a reasonable bare minimum. If he wants to save $ he should do it himself. Otherwise he needs to fork over teh dough!
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Post by Aug »

waterbased is one thing, but latex? I suggest shooting laquer on top of laquer.