Gold Top Paint

     This step takes a lot of time but is definitely worth it if you take your time to get it right. The trademark gold paint that is used on the real Les Paul's is arguably impossible to find because Gibson owns the rights to it and they have never put it up for sale. There are companies that make a gold guitar paint that is close but still not the same. Therefore, I spoke to a guy that helped me come up with my own custom concoction of paint to use. This is now my trade secret which I can only say involves a mixture of gold flake mica powder and polyoxide. I spent weeks to come up with what I think is the perfect gold. It can be applied either by brush or by a spray gun. Each method reveals a different design. I used a Craftsman air compressor with my Husky spray gun to apply the paint. The way to spray paint is to always apply thin coats and wait 1 to 2 hours for it to dry in between.

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Staining

      The next step in this invigorating project would be to stain the sides and back of the guitar body. To do this I used a mixture of a coffee paste and a red wine liquid. You can adjust the intensity of the colors my adjusting the ratio of coffee to red. I used a 1:2 ratio and carefully applied the stain with a 2" wide sponge brush from Home Depot. I recommend applying thin coats and waiting 2 - 5 hours between coats to let it thoroughly dry. Some tips on having a good result would be 1.) Always keep your area clean and away from any possible dust. 2.) Never sand in between coats of stain, only between coats of paint.

    Stain and paint are very different. Stain is what to use if you wish to enhance the color of the wood and still have the wood grain visible. This is referred to as being translucent. Paint is used to cover something up such as the grain on the wood. It can transform the material being used and make it look like metal instead of wood.