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1 Bundle, 6"x13", 19 Sheets.

i'm ASSuming each sheet is 6x13.

so i'd put two together to get 12X13...which i THINK is enough for a jackson super strat. I have to measure..

i would go with a dark blue stain,sand it back,and stain gray.but i think you would need to bleach it after the blue was sanded back.

i think the effect would be of a face in the clouds.very ominous looking

Bleach? Why?

ANd yeah, you see those faces in the pattern too? Thats why I like it.

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Well, just if you want to do anything with it besides an 'earth' tone (yellow, red, brown, etc.)

If you want to do blue, you want it as white as possible to begin with.

Bleaching veneer can be tricky. You've really got to have it bonded extremely well to the substrate, or it will try to lift or bubble in spots. Lifts or bubbles drive me INSANE!

You run into the same problem when using water dyes on veneer too, ya gotta wipe it off and keep it to a minimum as best you can...I've had veneer lift just by shooting finish on it. It can be a pain, but for what you get if it comes off right, it's worth it.

Veneers are some of the best looking woods going these days, 'figure'-atively speaking, so it's worth it to get the hang of veneering and staining it.

It is a tricky process, but it can be done. You want to really let the bleach settle in as much as possible to get the most bleaching effect, but the longer and wetter the veneer is, the more chances it has to start to lift. It's a tradeoff bleaching veneer...

But I wouldn't let any of that stop me, that's how you learn...and veneer is cool because you usually get enough to do several tries if it goes south on you...

Also, if bleaching veneer and you intend to do the 'stain and sand back' thang, then what I do is to do the stain and sand back first, THEN bleach it, because as you are sanding back, you can sand thru the bleached parts back into unbleached wood...(a little tricky) and it can come out somewhat mottled.

AND, wood bleach has very little to no effect on anilyne dyes, so it will bleach the wood underneath the dye, but affect the dye very little! Crazy, ain't it?

But, once again, there's a tradeoff. And it is again, the wetter you leave the bleach, the more it will 'weep', or 'drag' the dye into unwanted parts of the wood. When doing the stain and sand back thing, when you are done sanding back, you want a nice 'crispness' to the dye left in the figure.

I've used my airbrush to 'shoot' the bleach on, so it wouldn't 'drag' the dye with it...

You do it a few times and you start to get the hang of it, how much dye to use, how much bleach to use to have it come out the way you want it.

But to me, this is where all the fun is, in learning the techniques involved and mastering (yeah, right!) all of these different processes to be able to bleach and dye veneers and have a stunning '10+' top...

PS, if the Maple is light enough, sometimes you can get away with not bleaching it, but it almost always makes blue look better if you start out with 'as white as you can get it'.

Nice veneer!

Hey wes, that 'blue then grey' thing is a great idea, I am going to give that a shot on something, thanks! :D

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It would be a waste of a lot of wood bleach to do the whole thing before you glued it down. I wouldn't do that. Wood bleach is very caustic, and you don't want it dribbling all over the place. Use a respirator and latex gloves if you do use it.

May sound a bit complicated, and to tell the truth, it is.

But that's where you start to learn.

A simpler approach would be to just glue the veneer down normally. Sand the raw wood up to 4000 grit using Abralon sanding pads so the wood shines like a mirror when you're done.

Put a finish on it.

Spray a blue toner mixed in with your finish over it once you've levelled the finish.

It won't look anything like what I outlined above, but it will still look very nice.

You could also apply the veneer, buff the wood up to 4000, wipe on your stain, wipe it off, apply finish, and boom, you're done. If you want to do all black, this would work fine.

Just different looks/approaches.

You have to decide how deep you want to plunge in and how much prep time you're willing to spend to have a drop-dead gorgeous look.

You would get so much veneer in that bundle, you would have tons of extra veneer scraps to glue a few pieces down to some scrap wood and try out all the options before you ever glue a piece of veneer down to the guitar.

This is called practicing on scrap, and it is recommended. You don't want to be experimenting on the real thing. Having to remove veneer that's already glued down to your guitar sucks.

And stellar-looking finishes don't (usually) come on the very first attempt, you've got to put some time and experience and a little trial and error into it beforehand.

...But that's why we're here! :D

Give it a shot.

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Well.

I won the auction.

But stupid me

I forgot to measure my Jackson.

And 12x13 isn't gonna be enough.

Oh well :D.

I'll figure something out. If nothing more than just practicing finishing for when I can get a piece of right sized veneer. Any other suggestions?

Oh well, it's not like it set you back that much. Plus, those pieces have an awesome figure...maybe a travel guitar project?

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If its not long enough to cover the entire body you could bookmatch two like normal and the center them on the body when you glue. After that all you would have to do is sand them in till they are flush on the edges and spray a burst around the guitar. No one except you and us would ever know. Just a thought.

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