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How To Get A Satin Finish?


Jens

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Hi everyone!

I'm going to build my first guitar and I have a question about the finish.

I want to paint the guitar so that it looks like marble...but I have no idea what kind of paint I should use. Is it ok to use regular oilcolors? I'll probably need to use a lot of thinner in the colors...

Oh, and I probably don't want the guitar to be all shiny either...what should I use to get a nice satin finish above the faux marble? Is it possible to oil the guitar after I've painted it with oilcolors? I feel really clueless right now... :D

I need to find some kind of combination that works...

Any ideas? :D

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Hummm, never been enough of an artist to do the faux finishing thing. Don't know if you have a "Home Depot" of sorts in Sweeden, but they can be a great source of info on that kind of thing. Try a web search for "faux finishes" and you'll likely be innundated with links.

As for the satin finishes, yes they are available in polyurethanes, but as to their compatibility... You'd have to find a method of painting the faux finish and then testing clears to get the look you're after. It should be possible but some clears may just appear hazy or cloudy. Most clear coats are glossy naturally, and they add compounds to reduce the gloss of the finish. You'll tend to see more sediment in the bottom of a can of semi-gloss clear than you would with a gloss at least with the poly's.

Just do lots of testing, and post what worked for you! Good luck!

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A fellow Swedish builder!! How nice.

Try "som marmor" from Nordsjö. Try a search here. Its waterbased and can hopefully be covered with gloss or satin water based finishes like Colortone from StewMac.

The surface will not be very smooth and will require more top finish then usual to be able to level it. Start with gloss until you have sanded everything level, and switch to satin for the final layer(s)

EDIT: I might be able to help you. I noticed you are living in Uppsala. I have some gloss colortone that need to be used before it gets too old. And I live in Märsta!!!

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I went to a paint and hobby store today and I actually found plastic films with a really realistic marble texture. I should probably be able to use these for a material finish, just like Brian Calvert did in this tutorial: http://projectguitar.com/tut/mat.htm

These films, or contactplastic as they called them, already has glue on one side so they seem to be relativly easy to attach. I just need to try it on a test piece first. They are semi transparent so I should paint the guitar in marble white first, and they will probably stick better to paint than to bare wood. Need to find a good lacquer that works with the plastic too...

Anyway, I feel a little more confident now! :D

What do you guys think? Good idea?

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