matthew bryan Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hello all, I am wanting to do a charcoal burst quilted maple top like PRS does. I am wanting to know the best method to do this. The ones I like the most are the ones where the non black parts are almost white to every very light grey. It is like the wood was bleached prior to putting the black dye on it then sanded back and revealing the very light maple. I do not want to see the amber maple after sanding the black back My questions are: 1. Is this just a dye black and sand back method where you just sand the middle area and keep the edge dark for the burst effect? 2. Or....is this a diluted black dye put on, then sand back the whole top, then spray a very dark black edge burst. 3. Or....same as 2 but instead of spraying the dye on the wood you would seal the diluted black, then spray a clear with black dye in it as a toner. 4. Or.....bleach it first to take all the amber or yellow out of the maple and proceed as above by strong black and sand till I like it. Anyway again I like the jobs where there is contrast between dark patches and very light patches only using black.......very minimal amber fron the natural maple showing....with Crome hardware and white binding.....looks like a sharp looking tuxedo. Thanks for any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdshirtman Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 I think the best way would be to do #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcovis Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 It's pretty simple, you pretty much nailed it with option #2. Step 1-stain black and let it sit for a few hours to be really dry or leave it overnight. Step 2- sand the whole top back as far as you like. The more you sand, the lighter the charcoal color becomes.(the more the "white" maple shows through) Step 3--seal the guitar and spray a few coats of clear. Come back the next day and sand the finish flat. Step 4-Spray the black burst edge with a touch up/color gun and clearcoat over. *You can also spray the burst with stain before any finish is applied, it's personal preferance. Here is a charcoal guitar I did without a burst edge. I stained it black, then sanded it back the next day until I was happy with the color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew bryan Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Nice guitar!!!!! Do you think the bleaching idea would make an even greater contrast? Making sure to get most of the yellow or amber out. Or......do I try to just find a very light colored top to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew bryan Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 This is what I am going for http://www.vintageandrare.com/product/Nik-Huber-Guitars-Dolphin-II-2011-Charcoal-Burst-18539 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcovis Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 I wouldn't bleach it if you don't have to. I would search for the whitest maple top you can find. The top on the charcoal guitar I did was 100% heartwood which is why it has a more golden tan undertone to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maull Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 the research i have done shows that a water based clear coat will not discolor or amber your finished product where an oil based clear coat will. If anyone has anything better to offer, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Pretty much. That is a really tight tidy edge burst on the PRS. Masterful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 the research i have done shows that a water based clear coat will not discolor or amber your finished product where an oil based clear coat will. If anyone has anything better to offer, please let me know. I don't know..I don't approach it that way. I use finishes that won't yellow...some of these include polyurethane and catalytic varnish...but I have no idea if they are oil or water based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Pretty much. That is a really tight tidy edge burst on the PRS. Masterful. Definitely! did you scrape/router that edge clean? I find it hard to get a clean edge with dyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 the research i have done shows that a water based clear coat will not discolor or amber your finished product where an oil based clear coat will. If anyone has anything better to offer, please let me know. Be careful because you can't generelize that that. For example, EM6000 does age over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcovis Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Pretty much. That is a really tight tidy edge burst on the PRS. Masterful. Definitely! did you scrape/router that edge clean? I find it hard to get a clean edge with dyes. I seal the faux binding area before staining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Pretty much. That is a really tight tidy edge burst on the PRS. Masterful. Definitely! did you scrape/router that edge clean? I find it hard to get a clean edge with dyes. I seal the faux binding area before staining. Do you use water based dyes? With dyes, the color always bleeds into the sealed surrounding area for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcovis Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 I use the stew Mac colortone liquid dyes and mix them with rubbing alcohol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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