Foggy

Every bit as excellent as I thought it would be..........then some! Cliff you are a master of your art form and I take my hat off to you buddy. That guitar looks just amazing Jim

Yes I too have heard of something like this but never tried it myself. If I remember rightly, the technique that was described to me was that the photograph was laid face down into the wet clearcoat/lacquer (over a white basecoat), the finish allowed to cure, then the paper backing of the photograph was very carefully soaked away from the back of the photograph using water and a sponge until just the image (in reverse), was left in the surface of the lacquer. This was then re- cleared. Never tried it myself so I don't really know if it works or not, and, that was done (I think), using the traditional old photographs.............so probably not much use here anyway. But interesting all the same, going to try it one day! Jim

Haven't really got a clue how they did this But the first thing that popped into my head was run over the surface of the wood with an iron. Probably a completely stupid idea and I'm sure there are lot's out there that will give hundreds of good reasons why NOT to do it, but that's exactly what it looks like to me. I'd not recommend doing anything like that without trying out on a piece of scrap wood first mind.............and I wouldn't borrow 'Wifeys' iron to try it either............not that I'm a wimp or anything!! Jim

Yeah, I caught that problem today and fixed it. Thanks for the heads up. AND.... What do you guys thing of the body art? Cliff that's looking pretty awesome. I've been looking through the reference images that I have saved on my computer in relation to what you were specifically looking for, and there wasn't much there that would be much use to you. Most of the images I have on the computer for the project I'm working on I'm using for individual pieces of reference, ie., helmet designs, chain mail detail, weaponry, clothing, etc. I have however, got a few pictures in reference books I looked out yesterday that might be of some use to you, but I'm having a problem with my scanner at the moment so I haven't been able scan them. The scanner came very close to being the first flying scanner sighted in Orkney airspace yesterday evening! I'll get 'wifey' to get the relevant piccies scanned at her work tomorrow though and then, (finally) get them emailed to you......................probably too late judging by what you have on show here already, but better late than never. One thing I would say, is that the Vikings apparently didn't ever actually have the horns on their helmets as portrayed in many of the films and much Viking artwork. They did however sometimes embelish their helmets with birds wings (ala 'Ogri'), but then again, unless you're looking for absolute historical realism I really don't think it's an issue here. Anyway, really looking forward to seeing this guitar and I'll try and email those images through to you tomorrow Jim

YES!!!! I've been looking around for inspiration and I'm coming up with very little. Whatever you got I would love to take a look. This project started out as just a t-cover I made and that got me thinking. For me thinking is a dangerous thing. I've PM'd some info to you, hopefully some of it may be useful

Awesome! Look forward to seeing that. Great subject too, I'm just custom painting a jetski with a Viking theme at the moment...........so if you need any reference material or good sources for information on the subject, I'd be more than happy to share them with you. Jim ps. Just checked your website out................amazing work, really looking forward to seeing the Viking SG now!

Whoooaaahhh!..................That's better than porn! Only worry is................the faces in that grain..................can anyone else see 'em .................or do I really need back on the tablets again?????

Orange peeling is right enough usually caused by any one of a number of factors, air temperature, the temperature of the surface being painted being too hot making the solvents dry out too quickly before the paint has flowed out, excessive paint, poor painting technique and also applying basecoats before the primer coat is fully dried..............being but a few. But you can also get that kind of orange peel effect if the basecoat paint and the primer aren't compatible, a fact I know through bitter experience and the only time I've ever had that kind of orange peel effect. The reason I suspected that that might be the case here is that from what can be seen from the pictures (although they're not that clear), it looks as though there is the same orange peeling effect even inside the body cavities, where the paint seems to be applied more thinly..................that could also indicate that the paints been applied too thickly and unevenly to the body though, and not in even consistent sweeps across the surface.. I'd be interested to know what primer you used................some primers take far longer to fully cure before they're ready to take basecoats Rustoleum Primer for example. Jim

Probably a simple case of paints that don't work together causing an adverse reaction. It's very important to make sure that all the paints, whether they be primers, basecoats or clear finishes are of the same type (with paints 'preferably' of the same brand).............or at the very least are all compatible with each other before attacking a project like this. If you're ever in any doubt at all, it's always worth doing a test piece first on a scrap piece of wood just to make sure. Jim

That would interest me too if you've got the time to do a tutorial on it. As Dakhahn says, any new information is always useful, you never know when a new technique might come in handy Jim

Without going into too much detail. Depending on the state of the finish already on the guitar you have the option of just rubbing back the original finish with wet and dry (something like 600 grade) and priming, without necessarily taking all the original finish off back to the wood (if that's what you were intending to do). If the finish is really badly chipped and dented it might be worth taking it right back, but even then, rubbing back, filling and priming might still be the way to go. Once it's primed (I'm presuming you're talking about automotive primer here), as long as your primer, your white basecoat/s and any paints you're planning to use in creating your artwork are compatible you shouldn't have any problems when it comes to clearcoating. Jim

I know this is an old thread, so this is purely in case this information is of any use to you guys. But I also noticed that Neil is UK based, so particularly for those Brits on here considering this dipped swirl finish, this website might be of some interest to you. Out of this swirled Jim

+1

Brilliant work ...................how the hell do you do that?????

Probably the first lemming ever to squeak...................Darwinism at it's best!