mailman Posted September 13, 2005 Report Posted September 13, 2005 (edited) Now im sitting here going over so many sites that have body blanks and top woods and i'm trying to figure out what wood would look the best for the guitar im having planned. now, the finish i have in mind would be Trans-White i want some nice figuring, but at the same time, i dont want to get something that wont turn out very white at all in the end.. is maple my only option? or are there other nicer "figured" tops out there that would comply with my whole trans-white fetish? the only one that i've found so far to peak my interest is some of this spalted scotch beech....*drool* thanks Edited September 13, 2005 by mailman Quote
Ledzendrix1128 Posted September 14, 2005 Report Posted September 14, 2005 I like Figured Koa... its pretty dark...and expensive... or maybe even a figured walnut... not real sure how well they would work with trans white... dont have any experience using it... what does it do... just make like a haze over the wood? Quote
mailman Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Posted September 14, 2005 well trans white in the same sense that trans-blue works or any other transparent paint ideally i want it as white as it can get. with a darker or brown wood it would take away from the white. if you do transblue, for example, itll still be blue but a darker blue if i used (for example) walnut. though with white....who wants a dark white? kinda defeats the purpose so yeah, im trying to find a nice figured wood thats light in color. the hunt continues... Quote
darren wilson Posted September 14, 2005 Report Posted September 14, 2005 Trans white is basically a whitewash, so you're going to want a wood that has a high-contrast grain (very dark grain on a very light wood) or it's not going to be very visible at all through the milky white. Quote
Devon Headen Posted September 14, 2005 Report Posted September 14, 2005 I've seen some figured Myrtle recently that would probably suit your need pretty well. I'd just go for maple personally, though. Quote
Pr3Va1L Posted September 14, 2005 Report Posted September 14, 2005 why not just stained and sanded back maple.... You'd get the figure darked with very pale wood... Quote
mailman Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Posted September 14, 2005 Trans white is basically a whitewash, so you're going to want a wood that has a high-contrast grain (very dark grain on a very light wood) or it's not going to be very visible at all through the milky white. ← dark grain on light wood? what do you mean? I've seen some figured Myrtle recently that would probably suit your need pretty well. I'd just go for maple personally, though. ← weird, i was actually just looking at Myrtle spalt myrtle to be exact \ should i use it for the top, or is this wood good for the whole body? other woods on my maybe list: white burl ash, amboyna burl, and tamo why not just stained and sanded back maple.... You'd get the figure darked with very pale wood... ← elaborate, sorry. i dont want to use a maple though.....if im getting a custom made i just dont wanna get maple, i see enough maple around , know what i mean? i want something a lil more unique Quote
Daniel Sorbera Posted September 14, 2005 Report Posted September 14, 2005 How about ash where you fill the grain with black epoxy? That would look sweet Quote
mailman Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Posted September 14, 2005 How about ash where you fill the grain with black epoxy? That would look sweet ← know where i can find an example of how that would work? or look? and does it have to be ash? i kinda want something with a crazy figuring Quote
Pr3Va1L Posted September 16, 2005 Report Posted September 16, 2005 look for voodoo gibsons... they're ash with the grain filled red. Really looks cool! Quote
jnewman Posted September 16, 2005 Report Posted September 16, 2005 You probably shouldn't use spalted wood in a load-bearing spot (i.e. main body wood or neck wood) because what makes it "spalted" is actually fungal rot - meaning it can get pretty soft . Quote
scottyd Posted September 18, 2005 Report Posted September 18, 2005 (edited) quilted sapele is very nice IMHO looks a lot better than quilted maple, leopardwood (you could call it the snow leopard!) or lacewood, or snakewood, these are all woods with great crazy figure and they are lighter in color and might do what you want Edited September 18, 2005 by scottyd Quote
darren wilson Posted September 18, 2005 Report Posted September 18, 2005 The shimmer and depth of figured wood is essentially going to get killed by putting a transparent white (which is essentially a milky translucent white) over top of it. It seems like a waste, to me. This is an example of a guitar painted translucent white. This particular one is white over ash, which is a relatively high-contrast wood (darker grain in a lighter wood). You can see how subdued the translucent white finish has made the grain. I don't think you're going to get the effect you're looking for. Quote
mailman Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Posted October 6, 2005 (edited) i dunno, this one looks a lot better Edited October 6, 2005 by mailman Quote
mailman Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Posted October 6, 2005 quilted sapele is very nice IMHO looks a lot better than quilted maple, leopardwood (you could call it the snow leopard!) or lacewood, or snakewood, these are all woods with great crazy figure and they are lighter in color and might do what you want ← sapele: leopardwood: lacewood: snakewood: how...are these light woods?? Quote
Mattia Posted October 6, 2005 Report Posted October 6, 2005 They really aren't. Getting a good trans-white finish on woods that dark isn't going to be easy, is my prediction. Quote
mailman Posted October 7, 2005 Author Report Posted October 7, 2005 so is it 100% impossible to do a good looking trans-white finish? even if its on 5A quilt maple with a lot of shimmer? or will it end up turning out like a white wash and i shoud just scrap this whole crazy idea? Quote
Mattia Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 so is it 100% impossible to do a good looking trans-white finish? even if its on 5A quilt maple with a lot of shimmer? or will it end up turning out like a white wash and i shoud just scrap this whole crazy idea? ← These kinds of trans-white, which are really little more than semi-opaque tinted lacquers, are not going to doa crazy quilt maple top a whole lot of good. My prediction: it'll kill most of the chatoyance (shimmer), if not all of it. If you want to be sure, get some scraps, and start testing. It's the only way you'll really know for certain. Quote
Setch Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 Forget putting it over figured maple. Maple needs a clear finish to show of the reflective/refractive qualities of the figure, and white isn't clear - even transparent white is semi-opaque, and will kill the figure in the wood. As Darren suggested already, you would be best to use ash. All the guitars posted in your example thread were ash, probably with the grain highlighted by using a dark grain filler. Quote
mailman Posted October 7, 2005 Author Report Posted October 7, 2005 but i dont want to use ash....i wanted a white quilted maple top.....i guess my dreams have been shattered </3 Quote
egdeltar Posted October 7, 2005 Report Posted October 7, 2005 Here, I will finishing smashing your dreams, like setch said, trans white over a figured maple top will look like crap, or at least be a waste of the top. Quote
mailman Posted October 7, 2005 Author Report Posted October 7, 2005 trans black on redwood it is then! Quote
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