See behind-the-scenes footage of the new Custom Color Series guitars in the spray booth
If you’ve ever wondered how many people it takes to spray a Burst finish on a Gibson Les Paul guitar, you’ve come to the right place. In the latest video on the Gibson Gear Guide, you’ll get a backstage look into the spraying process for a Gibson Les Paul in the Gibson USA craftory in Nashville, Tennessee.
Watch as we show you how each Gibson Les Paul is prepared before it makes its way to your hands, from initial sanding to the spray booth where the magic happens. You’ll see how carefully a Gibson guitar is sanded in preparation for grain filling, find out why mahogany needs grain filling and maple does not, see the staining process for a Gibson guitar, and finally, the finishing and spraying of a Gibson Les Paul in a Burst finish from the Custom Color Series.
Witness a Gibson Les Paul come to life when applied with a beautiful nitrocellulose lacquer finish sprayed by Gibson’s Master Luthier and Product Development Manager, Jim DeCola. Jim explains how every Gibson guitar is finished in nitro, which is widely regarded as the best finish for a guitar because of the beautiful way it ages. Thinner nitrocellulose finishes also tend to have less of a dampening effect than polyurethane alternatives, allowing the guitar to ‘breathe’ for greater resonance and sustain.
We often get asked, “how are bursts painted?” and it’s safe to say that the process is almost exactly the same for solid colors, but as Jim DeCola points out in the video, the Burst finishes include an extra step for the guitar’s edges—but both Bursts and solid guitars get a final thicker clear coat that brings out the depth and desirability in a Gibson guitar.
Jim also illustrates how many coats of nitro are applied when finishing a Gibson guitar and explains why Gibson applies multiple coats in different directions for an even covering. In addition, Gibson Gear Guide presenter Dinesh Lekhraj challenges Jim DeCola to a spray-off, where Dinesh learns how to spray a Burst finish on a Gibson Les Paul.
Shop Gibson’s Custom Color Series Les Pauls, and find out how you can follow in the footsteps of legendary musical artists by using color as part of your branding.
