The ESP Guitar Company

Tip #1: LIGHT COATS

Alright, kinda knew that...thanks though..anything else?

sounds nice.

My friend, you should Google this.

Regards.

My friend, I have.
I just need a few real person ideas and suggestions instead of "sand this then paint and now you're done..."

EDIT: Sorry, repost.

So anything?

Sand, Mask, Prime, Paint, Clear, Wet sand, Buff... keeping an eye on this build, hope it works out for you, there's some helpful vids in youtube that might help you out, good luck man.
Also, I dont know, but seems pretty hard to mess this up, only thing is the masking, especially the neck, Ive used Vinyl Pinstripe, than, go over with painters tape masking the fretboard, the vinyl will help with a nice clean line, I never just paint, I sand, and use primer, light coats of paint, same goes for the clear..

define mask,

Define mask? lol, Covering the areas you dont want painted.
Also, when it comes to wet sanding, use light pressure till it turns "milky" dry it and feel it, it will feel nice and satin like, next step is Buffing, this is where you will get your "glass" look, again, goodluck.

ha..gotcha..

If I have to choose from a good guitar job and "Im proud of myself for doing stuff", I kinda think I might spend a little more money..

Woah hey don''t just assume that I havent studied my ass off learning how to do this stuff. I've spent more time studying for painting my guitar than I did for my finals...(granted, that wasn't that much)...BUT STILL DAMNIT

How much prep work you do is really the major determining factor in how well the paint job will turn out. Sand all the old paint off, then go through and block sand the guitar to 320 grit, mask off all your areas, spray a few coats of primer, allow that to fully dry then wet sand it, using blocks where you can and flexible but firm pads where you can, never sand it just using your fingers, after that spray your color coats and then your clear, then let it cure for about a month and then go through and wet sand it again, paying careful attention to your clear, when it's dull and flatlooking, you've done your job, now you can go through and buff it.
It's kind of hard to answer this because really it's a ton of steps, and I don't want to type out each and every step. Just research using google and watch videos on youtube.
Oh, and if you want amazing results, use a spray gun and good quality paint, it's possible to get a decent finish with a rattle can, but you have to have some experience.

Thank you very much, see thats a good nice written tip or two!