Party in the Spray Booth

Today's main event was spraying the base coats of finish on the electric guitars.

This is a procedure that is simple in concept but rather tricky in practice. They have a superb setup here, with a heated lacquer system that allows for the lacquer to be thinner (from the heat) without adding more thinning agents, so it dries faster and you can do more in fewer coats. Very good ventilation system, too. We put 6 base coats on today. The idea is to build up thin layers of finish, evenly and cleanly. It takes practice to do this well... so of course we are all making mistakes, but we are all learning, so that's the point. It's easy to hold the instrument wrong, or the spray gun, or to spray unevenly, or too much or too little. After 4 passes today (the teacher did the first 2 to demonstrate), I'm feeling a little less awkward with it... but still far from skilled.

BTW - in Boyland, everything is set up for taller people with longer arms. I had to stand on a little platform in order to reach my guitar properly when it was hanging on the hook. Also, in Boyland, all the face masks are Large and the Tyvek shirts are one-size-fits-them. They offered me a smock that went on the front, but the sleeves were WAY too long. Made do. But still.