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Darker Finishes


MattSA

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I am working on re-finishing my first guitar. I am using a water-based lacquer with added dye to add color (green) to the finish. What I am mostly concerned with is how to create a 'dark' finish over the original color without changing the color of the finish. I believe if I added black dye to the mixture it would simply change the color. Perhaps I should layer the finish - first add a number of coats of the dyed finish, and then add a few coats of finish with black dye? I do not think this will produce the effect I would like. Perhaps it is only a question of dark grain showing through that gives the guitar a dark finish. Seems that in the two pictures attached that both have grain showing through, but the blue guitar maintains a darker finish.

Dark_Finish.jpg

Light_Finish.jpg

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I think you're meaning "toner" coats? That's perfectly achievable, and a lot of bursts like those are a combination of graduation using dyes on the wood itself and/or toner coats over the top. It'll work, however you should gauge how much pigment to add to the clear. Too much and each pass will be difficult to match up with the last without them getting stronger or showing differences where they merge. That can be as much technique as your choice of mix in the clear.

Check out how this is done:

 

 

You can see how the opacity of the toner is pretty high there, so it takes a lot of skill to get that right. You can add less pigment to make it more forgiving, but it will take more coats to get to where you might want to be. If you have the ability and resources to practice, I recommend doing so on sheets of paper, even when testing your gun settings. Getting your passes to merge, ascertaining fan size and density, flow rate....there's a learning curve definitely!

What equipment and materials are you using for this? That would be a good start in helping you set off in the right direction for getting good results first time.

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Thanks for the quick response. I searched for toner coats and could not find a step-by-step guide. Does anyone out there have a link to a tutorial on toner coats? From what I understand I apply the color I would like first and then gradually add coats with (less or more) black dye?  I am looking into buying a spray can system, but currently I will be using a brush to apply water-based lacquer with water-based lacquer dye.

Thanks,

MattSA

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I think StewMac have a few guides on using their tints in lacquer. That should provide a reasonable starting point for you to figure out what works with what you have in mind I think. Things like this tend to involve a lot of practice and finding your own recipes, so unless you've done similar work already I'd spend a bit of time getting your muscle memory and approach in the bag. By the time, you'll have more information on what to do than tutorials out there....it's a pretty hands-on bit of work, and not one I'm that good at myself to be honest.

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Thanks for all the help. I have been through some of the Stew Mac stuff, as well as Luthiers Mercantile Inc. web site. Tundraman website also offers very good tutorials on finishing. I have not found anything on toner coats, but will start with these three sites. I was planning on getting some different types of scrape wood to practice on so I am not to concerned with botching the job.

Thanks,

MattSA

 

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