PB-4 Build no 6

[stansby40]

Attempted a sunburst using the air brush and water based black paint around edges and sides and then a subtle cherry red leading to the black. Had some problems putting the cherry red on with the air brush and had to do some adjustments by hand. The worst of the front gets covered by the pick guard so i am not too concerned. Its not the greatest and I do admire people who can do a good sunburst. I may adjust a bit more when everything dries properly.

[m0j0]

I will never ever attempt a sunburst because I doubt I'd ever be close to getting it right. Did a pink to purple fade on a ST I built for the missus and that was hard enough. Looking forward to your finished product.

[McCreed]

I've only done bursts on pedal enclosures and I used the cardboard masking technique. I think that's the only way I'd try doing a body, at least my first time. It does really help getting a good gradual transition.
Did you use a mask?

[stansby40]

I've only done bursts on pedal enclosures and I used the cardboard masking technique. I think that's the only way I'd try doing a body, at least my first time. It does really help getting a good gradual transition.
Did you use a mask?

No just used the air brush to do the fade in based on a video on the pit bull site. I had considered the cardboard masking but that appears to be done using spray cans. The air brush is much easier to control.

[ozzbike]

Attempted a sunburst using the air brush and water based black paint around edges and sides and then a subtle cherry red leading to the black. Had some problems putting the cherry red on with the air brush and had to do some adjustments by hand. The worst of the front gets covered by the pick guard so i am not too concerned. Its not the greatest and I do admire people who can do a good sunburst. I may adjust a bit more when everything dries properly.

If I am reading right...you have laid down the Feast Watson Golden Teak and let it dry then did the black by airbrush. Okay...but you have two different style stains....black is water based...golden teak is alcohol based...and you have dilution of the golden teak at the base of the neck pocket and around the cutouts on the back.

Honestly to avoid that and to get a good transition line you need to apply the stains at the same time.

e.g. Use multiple pieces of cloth with the different colours...plus intermediate cloths for the mix areas...and apply them at once and keep moving the stain around until you get the transitions to happen nice and neat.

If this was me....I would have five clothes on five pieces of thick paper towel, maybe even two pieces each. I write the colour on 1, 3, 5, and the intermediate ones....e.g. 2 and 4 get mix notes e.g. Black and Red. This is to try and stop me from dragging colour around.

So...work the GT on first....cloth 1....work the black on around the edge....use the 5 cloth....work the red across both the edges of the black and the yellow from the yellow side once only...use 3 cloth. Now use 2 cloth to enhance the mix between yellow and red....then 4 cloth to rub in the transition between Black and Red.

Use 1, 3, 5 occasionally to add some more pure colour to the location and try to stay away for the transition area....use the intermediate cloths to drag the colours over and along.

The trick is to keep the colours moving until you are happy with the coverage.

Also, I don't even go near the surface unless it has about 3 coats of shellac. It really helps to prevent end grain from soaking up the stain and going very dark....but it also helps the surface absorb the stains in a non blotchy way. (Sanding Sealer.)

I really like the colour of the body....the black is pretty cool too. I think you can make the transitions smoother and less defined....as in a feathered finish.

The gloss finish will make this very pretty. Your clear coat will fix and flatten all the colours....but it will highlight blotches and hard transition lines.

I like this one....it looks great.

[stansby40]

Thanks ozzbike for the advice. Yes I was going to adjust the colours manually later. I will digest what you have said and work on it to make the transition look better.

[ozzbike]

Thanks ozzbike for the advice. Yes I was going to adjust the colours manually later. I will digest what you have said and work on it to make the transition look better.

I don't mean to tell you what to do. Just trying to help. I love the colour from the Golden Teak....and I think you can get a great burst on this.

It looks great.

[stansby40]

Mixed the colours better and used some cedar stain from F&W to get a reddish tinge. Happier with it now and makes the grain look good. Still some fine tuning to do but getting there. Looks good with the pickguard on.

[Simon Barden]

Definitely a lot better indeed. Far more of a burst than a solid line.

[stansby40]

Wet sanded the clear coat and polished after 3 days using Spray Max 2k clear gloss spray. It is expensive ($48 per can) but dries very hard and you dont have to wait a month to sand and polish. It was not my greatest spray job and quite a few imperfections are still there but it sounds great and plays well so I will probably leave it as it is. The upgraded bridge and tuners (Gotoh) and the tonerider pickup and upgraded electronics I think all add up to a nice sounding bass.