Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

H

haiz69

New member
Okay guys, My Custom Guitar is almost completely finished. I just cant decide on what color to go with it. I was thinking of fades or bursts or maybe just solid, I dont know! Its got a flamed maple top, so I plan on dyeing the guitar. All suggestions and examples (i.e. Pics) are greatly appreciated. Help me guys!!

Thanks.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

If you don't even have the finish on it, it's not that close to being done ;). Unfortunately no one can tell you what color to use on your guitar, that's something you really need to decide on yourself. What type of paint do you plan on using? I'd recommend doing some reading up over at www.reranch.com, they have some great FAQs and a discussion board FULL of very helpful guys.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

Looks like a great site. In the meantime, if anyone has some cool suggestions or some good dyeing know-how please feel free to share. Thanks.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

what style guitar is it? what kind of music do u like/play? can we see a pic of the flame....?

i personally love blue or green for solid dyes...
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

The shape is PRS like, I dont have a pic on this computer. Ill try and get one at school tommorow, where i work on the guitar.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

I've always wanted a green burst finish guitar. Starts deep emerald green, and goes to black on the edges. Carvin's new catalog has it I think, or at least the color green I like (on the California Custom).

http://www.carvin.com/wood_finish/#
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

FretFire said:
If you don't even have the finish on it, it's not that close to being done ;). Unfortunately no one can tell you what color to use on your guitar, that's something you really need to decide on yourself. What type of paint do you plan on using? I'd recommend doing some reading up over at www.reranch.com, they have some great FAQs and a discussion board FULL of very helpful guys.
Click to expand...

FF's got it right about not being close to being done!

+1 on ReRanch, and make sure you visit the forum there too. Lots of great guys who know tons about finishing, starting with Bill Lester who owns ReRanch.

The Musical Instrument Makers Forum is also a great resource, although sometimes it's not such a friendly "place". You have to sign up to get access to "The Library", but it's free and you'll learn a ton just lurking there.

For some reason, guitar finishing is more like alchemy than any other aspect of lutherie to me. I'll read a description some guy writes up of his process and just know that he's deliberately left out a step or two. Guess it's kind of like chefs (no offense to JohnJohn). Anyway, working with dye on figured wood is an art. Period. Read everything you can, practice on scrap, cross your fingers, and don't be surprised if you have to sand it all the way back to bare wood at least once during the process.

Here's a link to a short write up on how a guy did this guitar:

dimasitele.jpg


This is a tutorial on a burst. There are other approaches to doing a burst, including free hand with an airbrush...

StewMac "Trade Secrets" on dying and finishing a maple top.

I hope that some of this helps.

Chip
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

All good advise so far. The best advise is to pratice on a junker or piece
of wood. I'v done a few burst in my time and I can tell you there is a
learning curve. I've used the cardboard cut out method & rattle cans.
This works good, But you still run the risk of getting a hard line instead
of a smooth transision. I use a Badger 350 now for doing Burst work.
Again this takes some Finenese. There are many ways to dye and burst
a guitar. If you give me a idea of what matrials you plan on useing and
how you plan to do it? Maybe I can give you some tips (Do's& Don'ts)
The Reranch 101 is a great soucre of Info.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

Dyeing isn't hard. A neat trick to bring out the figuring is to dye it, lightly sand it back (the grain should still hold the dye), and then dye it again.

What is hard is the clear coat. I messed that up big time, gave up, and bought a finished body from Warmoth.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

For translucent color finishes TransTint dyes work great - http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/TransTint.htm
as do probably most strong NGR (non-grain raising) dyes. Mix a few drops of dye with denatured alcohol, and spray with Preval sprayers (you can get these at Home Depot or Lowe's). Go slow, don't spray too much at a time. Make sure you get several of the Preval replacement spray components. After every color coat, let it dry for maybe an hour and then spray clear over it - the dye will not reveal it's true color until it has a clear coat. Better to go with light coats...it's much easier to spray more than to remove. Read the www.reranch.com instructions. Test on similar-colored scrap!!!
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

OK, I forgot one critcal ingredient before: Color Theory from Liberon Supply.

Materials list:
scrap wood (detect a pattern here?)
black dye
blue dye
red dye
black pigment

Process (top only - see ReRanch 101 for sides & back, grain filling, etc.):
sand to 220
wipe on black water based dye & allow to dry
sand back until black is in figure only and field of wood is mostly bare
wipe on mixture of blue water based dye with a bit of red
(pure blue on bare wood will tend to have a touch of green and the red should help cancel that out - you'll just have to experiment with this)
3 sealer coats of clear lacquer
tape off front to edge of where you want solid black
prep back & sides, including primer coat(s)
mix black pigment in lacquer & spray 2 coats
remove masking from top
thin your black lacquer and spray burst with airbrush, always pointing away from the center. multiple, thin passes will get you a nice even burst
multiple clear coats of lacquer following Bill Lester's "Rule of 3's"

May God give you patience...

Chip

P.S. this is just one take on it. Aaron, JohnJohn, or others may have better ideas. My only project is this one, but it's taken 3 or four full attempts so it's really like finishing three guitars ;) This pic was taken just after the first batch of clear coats and the birdseye figuring didn't come out in the photo very well.

site1044.JPG
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

This was my 1st attemped at a sunburst on this J-bass. Notice the hard line
by the thumb rest. The cardboard w/t stickpins works great, But you must
keep the angle of the spray consistant. Practice or keep sandpaper on hand.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6pbyg/...ebuilderpictures/.pond/jbass.jpg.w300h395.jpg
After Practice and sand paper :smack: and a few more burst under my belt
this is what I do now with a Airbrush freehand. :D
cherry.jpg.w300h419.jpg
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

Should I get a sprayer, or can i just get it in cans? Should i get alcohol or water based?
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

haiz69 said:
Should I get a sprayer, or can i just get it in cans? Should i get alcohol or water based?
Click to expand...
The cans work fine aslong as you hold it on a consistant angle and get
the propper fan. This is where the pratice is needed. Like on the J-bass
I did. It was done on a windy day outside. I started to 2nd guess myself
and I moved the templete to get a wider fan. Instead I got a hard line.
I wish I had a pic of the back, I did that 1st and it came out pro !!
I wouldn't invest in a Air brush unless you plan on doing somemore Bursting.
I prefer the alcohol dye's. No particlular reason. I've just never used the
water based stuff B4.
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

haiz69 said:
Should I get a sprayer, or can i just get it in cans? Should i get alcohol or water based?
Click to expand...

For applying clear lacquer, cans seem to work fine for a lot of people. If the color you want (like the opaque black) is available in a can, go for it.

Other guys have done good work with Preval sprayers (at Home Depot, etc.), but I had too much spitting and inconsistency as the propellant can lose pressure. If you use a Preval unit to spray on a dye, you could use alcohol based dye. You'll need to spray the black for the edge of the burst, and a thinned out black toner or just pure alcohol-based black dye would be the way to go there. However, I'd recommend an airbrush for that. It will give you a much better spray pattern, smaller droplets, and more control. You can get a decent Badger airbrush kit with a propellant can (to avoid buying a compressor) for not too much $$$.

For dying directly onto bare wood, I found water-based dyes much easier to blend evenly. They don't dry as fast as alcohol. Also, you need to use black water-based dye for the first step because that way it will raise the grain best and "pop" the figure the most. You could spray blue alcohol-based dye over that, but wiping on water-based dye was easier for me.

KMC - big props on that really pretty burst finish on the Strat. You got really nice color & tone on the maple neck too.

Chip
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

Would it be possible to wipe the burst on the top maple, and then spray the black on the back? Could I use water based for both, or should i used water for the top and alcohol for the back? Thanks for all of the help!
 
Re: Custom Guitar almost done, Finishing HELP!!

Look at the galleries of reranch and the PRS custom shop. Also look on the Gibson sight at the finishes they have on the special edition and supreme edition les pauls and SGs.


Shades of blue and green are really cool and not too common. I love the look. They have a very modern feel to them though, and my fear with owning such a guitar is that I would get bored of the look.

Amber, tobacco burst, sunrise burst, gold tops, and wine red are all favourites of mine. They look classy and I KNOW that I won't get bored of them. Reds are more for a les paul than a strat or telecaster, for a PRS I think you might want to go towards something more modern.
 
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