Maikkeli Posted November 16, 2010 Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 I’m a hobbyist working now with my third guitar. You can check out photos of my previous projects, The Sun and The Moon. My on-going project is a Les Paul with real gold top, so I will finally apply gold leaf onto the top. Other features include a vine theme inlay, a modified/contoured body shape for better playability and quite a bit of binding. I’ve been working with this for two months now in the evenings. Should be finished in May, so please be patient with updates. Here’s a Kisekae-simulation. I think I’ve made up my mind with the not-so-common hardware choices but I’m open for suggestions. Learning the guilding technique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted November 16, 2010 Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 woo hoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted November 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Tonewoods and shaping the body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted November 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Putting the neck together... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted November 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Working with the fretboard and inlays. Materials include MOP, genuine amber and square silver stock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted November 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Working with the headstock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fliski Guitars Posted November 17, 2010 Report Share Posted November 17, 2010 Looking awesome so far! Can't wait to see the guilding - I love stuff like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) After weeks of radio silence I'm updating the build thread the real Gold Top. Here are some pics of the neck being put together, shaping the neck, fretting and working on the headstock. I recently made a truss rod cover from brass by etching the custom graphics. For details see tutorial. The guitar is named "Aurum", gold in latin. Edited February 27, 2011 by MexicanBreed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Some photos of the body being binded and glued to the neck, and the first look into hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 This is what I've been waiting for. I finally got into guilding. After finishing the top with several coats of polyurethane and sanding it smooth I applied the mixtion - the substance used to attach the gold leaf. After 30min of drying, the gold is moved from the booklet of leaves on the surface using a brush made of squirrel hair. Very delicate business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osorio Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 It reminds me a guitar called Regvlvs, of guitarrist Sergio dias from The Mutants, a classic brasilian acid rock band. I´m not a big fan of Mutants, guess that Sergio isn´t a great musician like all people do here in Bras(z)il thinking, but your guitar is a mith. Regvlvs was made by Sergio´s brother, in middle of the 60´s. It a copy ( just in the aspect ) of a Guild Duane Eddy, but all the rest it´s another story. The guitar was made with your entire interior with gold, and the builder put a spell inside it writed into a gold plate: "That everyone who disrespect the integrity of this instrument, able to find or possess it unlawfully, or that it makes defamatory comments, build or try to build a copy thereof, is not legitimate its creator, finally, that it does not stay in the condition of mere observer submissive in relation to it, is pursued by the forces of evil until they belong completely and forever. And that the instrument returns to its rightful owner intact, indicated by the one who built it. ". The guitar was stolen once in his history and came back to his owner without a risk. The golden foils its a great idea to finish, the build it´s great till here, I´m will folow this thread to the final result!! Congrats!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Thanks, guys, for your positive comments! Osorio, I hope I didn't oppose the spell ;-) By request, a few words about the technique. First, I don't consider myself an expert but merely an amateur, I've done a few picture frames and then this guitar. The only way to learn the technique is trial'n'error, however, you don't have to practice with real gold, instead use faux gold that costs a fraction. I will tell you how I did it but I know it's not the only way. There are loads of videos on Youtube if you have the patience to go them through. 1. The surface. The type of surface will make a BIG difference how the guilding will look. Leaf gold is EXTREMELY thin, so every scratch or irregularity of the surface to be guilded will show after the gold is applied. If the surface is irregular the gold can break, but this can be a good thing. I've seen picture frames and bowls which have had a dark color under the gold and when the gold cracks the color shows and gives an antique/vintage look. If you don't want the cracks to show you should use a base color similar to the metal used for coating or a smooth finished surface. Some experts say the base color will show under the gold, however, I couldn't tell a difference between the maple and mahogany on my top. The surface on this particular guitar had several coats of polyurethane and sanded smooth (800 grit or something) to help the guilding appear smooth. 2. The adhesive. This may also be called mixtion. This is applied on the surface to attach the leaf. The stuff I used is ready for guilding after 30 minutes of drying. There are adhesives that dry slower but this time was fine for me (it took about 1h to do the guilding and the adhesive didn't show any signs of drying). There are also other types of adhesives available that may be better if you want to polish the leaf but I don't know about them. I've even read that someone has applied the gold directly on fresh lacquer but haven't tried it. I spreaded the adhesive using a piece of fine sponge/mattress, however, it left some marks that were visible under the gold. Some recommend using a brush however the marks may be even more pronounced (look at guilded painting frames and you will actually see the brush marks). 3. The leaf. I used 23 carat spanish gold. This is EXTREMELY thin (1/6000-1/8000 of a millimeter) and thus VERY fragile. There are cheaper and easier options (don't be fooled by ads selling gold for $10/book, this is not real gold, real gold costs anything between $30-$90, with one book with 25 pieces of 8x8cm sheets you can cover the whole top). I practiced with some faux gold that was much thicker and easier to work with. Faux gold is an alloy of metals to make it look like gold. Silver is available, I've also read about copper. Found this link after a quick search, I got my stuff from Europe. The leafs come in booklets between thin pages (there is also leaf gold that is attached to a paper and peels when rubbed, however, I don't think it's good for large surfaces). It is very difficult to cut the gold but can be done with the blade of an exacto knife. The pros use a leather cushion as cutting surface that costs a fortune. With faux gold I could move the leafs with cotton gloves but with real gold no chance. You need to get a very fine wide brush, the ones particularly made for this job are squirrel hair. The brush is wiped against your cheek or clothes to make it a little static and then the edge of the leaf is gently touched which will attach it to the brush. Then the leaf is quickly but carefully moved to the surface. It does not matter if adjacent leafs overlap as the junction can be carefully wiped with another brush or cotton cloth and the extra gold will peel off. You can wipe these bits to small areas that lack gold and they will turn fine after polishing. If you end up with areas that miss gold you can reapply adhesive later with a brush and cover this with a small piece of leaf. 4. Polishing. After covering the whole surface I GENTLY polished the surface with circular moves using a cotton cloth. This will remove most irregularities and make the surface appear continuous, leaf seams are hardly visible. Agate stones are used for rubbing to create extremely polished surfaces but check that it can be used with the type of adhesive you use. The cloth will leave small marks on the gold, some make swirl marks on purpose. 5. Binding. I tried scrubbing the binded edge visible the following morning but the adhesive was still soft. After drying for about a day it could be scrubbed but this was more difficult than scrubbing paint/lacquer as the adhesive was still a little sticky. 6. Finishing. Dunno, will know later this week. With small pieces I've practiced it looks like some character of the gold is lost after a clear coat. Using matte lacquer came into my mind but I'll probably want a polished surface. By itself the gold looks extremely attractive but is far too thin and fragile to be left like that. Hope this gives some idea to guilding. I'm happy to answer any questions with my amateur knowledge. If people are interested I can consider making a video tutorial once I'm more experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Just found this link with AMAZING leafs. Look at the variagated leafs on the imitation leafs page. These would make one beautiful guitar!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Maikkeli, I have to say it came out LOTS better than I had imagined. Guilding has been mentioned before, but would you mind sharing a bit of the process? Also, I think there are other materials to use besides gold, aren´t there? I think I remember silver being mentioned, but I am wondering about others like brass, aluminum, copper, etc. Anyone knows? aluminium and copper are usually pretty cheap, these and faux gold are usually left a bit thicker than gold which makes them easier to work with. aluminium is usually used for a cheaper silver effect last one i did on copper just got a couple of light coats of acrylic lacquer to seal it - but i did the whole guitar and its already rubbing through slightly on the edges then i have a distress copper one thats got a full gloss finish and a really distressed aluminium, copper and gold one that was left very textured so just got a few coats of plastic coating before being rubbed down with wire wool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 How do you do the distressing? Any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 here are a few the copper was distressed with a vinegar solution - first it cleans it, then turns it green, worked a lot better on the back than front. The aluminium one was applied in a different way to allow it to go badly wrong, crinkled and cracked all over the place... some black stain and a few sand throughs helped to complete the look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 WezV, really impessive! Especially I like the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Maikkeli, impressive inlay work !! Really classy. And also very impressed with the gilding results, both your's and WeZV's examples are amazing. Specially like your idea of a "real" goldtop LP, hope you don't mind if I do something like that for myself... Really inspiring work, guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 here is a gold topped cheapo LP - a bit rough around the edges, but i like the overall look http://www.musicradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75839&page=18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Specially like your idea of a "real" goldtop LP, hope you don't mind if I do something like that for myself... Go ahead, man! Send me a PM if you need more detailed guilding tips. And thanks for the comments! I really didn't know what was coming before the work was done, hate to practice with something like this. First coat of lacquer on Thu, let's hope it maintains the visual appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Cool, this gives me some ideas for a replica motorcycle Im building comprised of parts from the late 1920's and 30's. Most of the pieces are rusted and weathered and the issue of making a faded and worn brand name on the tank was unsolved till now. This would be a great look for the bike. Thanks ! -Vinny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Cool, this gives me some ideas for a replica motorcycle Im building comprised of parts from the late 1920's and 30's. Most of the pieces are rusted and weathered and the issue of making a faded and worn brand name on the tank was unsolved till now. This would be a great look for the bike. Thanks ! -Vinny Motorcycle tank, yes! Vinny, have a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnOp0R4A0QA. When you're finished post a pick, no matter how off-topic it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Terve! Missä päin suomea sinä olet? Upea kitara. Ostitko sinun puut suomesta myös? Your English is extremely good. Much better than my Finnish ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maikkeli Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Terve! Missä päin suomea sinä olet? Upea kitara. Ostitko sinun puut suomesta myös? Terve! Asun Oulun seudulla. Kitarapuut ostan Amfisoundilta. Monet tilaa tuolta. Hauskat sivut sulla! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.