OK Sorry Gav you mean a run down on this guitar./<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from Gavin1393 on January 19, 2014, 07:25
The finish and depth of the gloss is perfect! Very well done. Can you give our curious forumulites a hint as to your process to get such a great outcome? Airbrushed? Compressor used? Spray booth? Stains, etc.? I think many can learn from you!
right well as much as I love the colours that Wudtone do , they are sadly not compatible with the clear coats I use and as much as that Wudtone finish on natural wood is stunning I like a very high gloss that's like a mirror. So if your kind of thing is that Les Paul or Strat that are hanging in the shop window that has that dive into the gloss look, here is how to achieve it.
On this particular Guitar I wanted (like my SV) what we call the rock pool effect . Imagine looking into a crystal clear rock pool at the beach, through the water the bottom has this kind of 3D effect.
That is the effect I try to get with the grain on my guitars. Through the clear coat you can see the grain in a 3D-ish manner. Unfortunately photo's just cant seem to show this but trust me you could dive into my SV-1 . Any hooooo's enough gabble and here is the process for my STA-1m.
First the usual sand,
then our good friend Timber mate (in this case Ebony)
A good sand and try sand out as much of the Timber mate as possible but leaving colour.
At this point I want the grain to be un even and not smooth.
Next I gave a coat of color tone vintage amber then red mahogany.
The reson for this is so I can get a glimps of the amber through the mahogany on the high peaks of the grain, achieved with a light fine sand when all is dry. Color tone is the only dye I can find that is compatible with clears.
I then airbrushed the black burst with wicked paints transparent black. Easy to do as long as your airbrush is either pointing directly at the surface or into the burst. You must never go with the burst or you will get unsightly over sprays that you wont see until the clear goes on.
Once this has all dried over night is best , We start the clear sealing coat as shown in pics above.
This was two thin coats or mist coats of clear Acrylic laquer.
I have sinced put 7 heavy coats on (with 600 grit in between to flatten the peaks and It has only just filled the grain. Clear coat will always follow the lumps and bumps so if you think it will fill on it's own with out cutting back each coat your kidding yourself.
Ok I am now at the stage that I call the beginning of the proper clear coats. The 7 grain fillers only took a day by the way with infra red curing in between. Already I am starting to see the rock pool effect in the grain. I use an Iwata air brush gun and 50 liter 145 psi compressor I spray my clear coats at 28 psi and mix thinners to manufacturer instructions , I then adjust that mix to weather conditions IE: hot days more thinners. If you look in my Aces High build diary you will see my home made spray booth.
By the way no disrespect to anyone but these kind of finishers are truly not possible with an aerosol can as you just don't have the control of mix and pressure . It's a small investment if you wish to have show room guitars with clear coat finishes .
Air brushing is a different kettle of fish , simple bursts are easily done but art is gonna take a lot practice and a different kind of knowledge to learn.
I now unfortunately have to go to work for 3 weeks and shall continue this build and progress reports when I get back from sea.
Hows that Gav.
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Gavmeister
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). Any other insights you can provide us are greatly appreciated.
