Lake Placid Blue was a metallic finish from Fender, which officially became available as a custom colour on the company's guitars in 1960. The finish was originally achieved with an existing metallic blue (inspired by the Cadillac Brougham car paint) sealed with an acrylic lacquer top coat.
Lake Placid Blue is a fairly subtle shade which could be described as a darkish blue. However, the metallic nature of the paint means that changes in the lighting angle will brighten the appearance of the shade ? potentially very significantly. LPB was meant to represent a blue lake, and that?s exactly the type of colour it was.
Alongside Candy Apple Red, Lake Placid Blue remains one of the most famous and best known Fender custom colours. These two finishes kept the original concept of stunningly attractive metallic colours alive for the longest period beyond the '60s in the CBS era.
Colours for vintage-inspired guitars
After great work and exhaustive study by our laboratory and technical department, we have created colours for guitars to faithfully recreate the tones of vintage Fender and Gibson guitars to paint electric guitars. They have been based on original samples from the ?50s and ?60s. However, keep in mind that vintage guitar colours may have changed a lot over the years due to the aging of nitrocellulose lacquer and changes in the brands? own colours. Therefore two guitars finished in 1960 with Fender card colours can look different between them or with respect to a more current guitar today.
Nitrocellulose lacquer gloss aerosol spray
At NitorLACK we have developed all our guitar colours in spray format nitrocellulose so you don?t need professional painting equipment to paint your guitar. You can achieve a professional finish with our entire range of products, from coloured base coats from our entire range up to nitrocellulose top coat lacquers in gloss and matte.
How much spray product do I need to buy to paint a guitar?
It will depend a lot on the type of wood and the amount of product that is applied for each coat and the desired finish, mirror effect or ?open pore?. But in general, to paint a guitar with a medium wood pore:
? Electric guitar neck: 2 cans of nitrocellulose clear finish (gloss or matte)
? Electric guitar body: 1 can of nitrocellulose coloured base coat, 3 cans of nitrocellulose clear finish (gloss or matte)
? Classic or acoustic: 1 can of nitrocellulose coloured base coat, 4 or 5 cans of nitrocellulose clear finish (gloss or matte)
? Ukulele: 2 cans of nitrocellulose clear finish (gloss or matte)
? If you want to apply any colour between the base coat and the clear finish you should add 1 or 2 cans of the desired guitar colour.
Spray application tips
Shake vigorously for 2 to 5 minutes before applying. It is recommended to apply the spray in thin layers and with an ambient humidity that is as low as possible. Apply with a uniform movement and with a distance of approximately 20 cm. It is important to apply a primer and sand with 400 grit sandpaper before applying the spray, to achieve a uniform surface before colouring or finishing. Sand between coats and allow to dry for 12 to 24 hours between coats. Apply in ventilated areas.
