Nandobang Posted April 23, 2007 Report Posted April 23, 2007 (edited) Heh, wazup? For 2 years I've been looking at PG's guitars... always amazing things. My strat' finish just cracked.. the strange is that it all came off like some old snake skin. Kinda looked like a shell, the finish wasnt really grabbed into the wood. Dunno if it's a bad finish or what.. Now I'm into refinishing it, which I fear to death.. Anyway, my goal is to get it purple with metal flakes, but I'm just not sure about a good way to do it First I thought in giving it a base purple, then a clear coat with the flakes, then the final clears. What you guys recommend? Another thingy: if I give it a blue base paint, and use purple metal flakes, will it have some purple-reflecting-blue effect? I'll post pics ASAP, Thanks ^^ Edited April 23, 2007 by Tiida Quote
Batfink Posted April 23, 2007 Report Posted April 23, 2007 I have reasonably little experience with flake but have just completed my second 'flaked' guitar so i offer this only from my experience and readings. Firstly i'm assuming that you are looking for a full (or virtually full) coverage of flake or are you looking for a 'dusting' (some flake) finish ?... just clarify as your post says "purple with metalflakes". If you are looking to have full coverage then the base colour will only effect the reflectiveness of the flake - it will not change it's reflective colour as such....if you wanted a mixture of purple and blue you could mix some purple and blue flake together or perhaps shoot alternate layers of purple and blue again depending on the coverage you're looking for. I suppose you could try a light blue candy over purple flake to see if that gave you the look you're after....just an idea, i've not tried it myself. Obviously if you're looking to have just 'some' flake then the base coat would be highly visable. I must admit that i've not found a website that really gives too much information - i suppose the combinations are so endless that it's too subjective. Oh, and yes - base coat, mid clear with flake and then lots of clear to 'bury' the flake and give an even surface. Jem PS: Next time post this in the 'Tech' area as oppossed to the 'Tutorial' area - you'll get a much better response. Quote
Nandobang Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Posted April 23, 2007 Really thanks for the info man! Helped a lot =] Yes yes, I'm after full coverage with flakes, and probably will mix the colors as you've said. The idea of the light blue over the purple flake is interesting, maybe it can produce a different color based from the angle you look? Would be nice.. Again, thanks for all the info! I'll be posting pics as soon as I start the finishing process. PS: sorry for that, if any moderator wishes to move the topic, ok. Quote
Loki440 Posted April 27, 2007 Report Posted April 27, 2007 (edited) I became a member on this forum to specifically answer your question which i stumbled apon during my search on more information about dye and sanding back ect. Ok all that aside, lets get down to the questions and answers. First off the basecoat you will want to spray in a similar metallic color as your flake, the reason for this is come time when your actually spray your flake you will not need to layer on numerous coats(4-5+) to get full coverage, instead you don't need to cover everything because the metallic background will fill in all those tiny spaces where the flake hasn't covered completely. Now some neat effects can be had with spraying a small sized colored flake over darker backgrounds as from one angle it will look like the basecoat color, but at the right angle it will sparkle in the color of the flake. Now to get the purple color your want, there is really no vibrant deep looking purple colored flakes out there, and i should know as im a metalflake addict (have a 22lb box of 45+ different colors and sizes). Now to get that purple color i suggest spray a chrome/silver flake down (with a silver basecoat first of coarse) they spray a candy purple (transparent purple) over top of that to get your color. Now if wanting a bit of blue sparkle/shift to it, what i recommend is to spray a light coat (after your done spraying the purple candy) of a bit of clear with a bit of blue iridescent pearl mixed in, or some blue transparent flake just a very tiny amount (house of kolor, Old School Flake, and a couple other brands have transparent flakes) As for actually spraying them you first have to have a gun with a nozzle size that can support them (.015 flake with a 1.7mm nozzle or larger), but what you want to do is to first spray down one medium coat of just plain clear (its not needed but there is a bonus to doing so), the reason you spray one coat of clear down first is that it gives the flake a bit more room to sink into, as what you want to go is to spray a medium coat of clear on and while its still wet, but slightly tacky you come back right after it and spray your first coat of flake, what i do is just mix up a decent batch of clear spray my first coat then i mix in some flake into the the clear i have still remaining and by the time you do that (depending on temperature and humidity) your then ready to come back and spray your first coat of flake. Now after you spray a couple coats of flake, till you get the sparkle you want, what you want to do is then bury all that flake in 3-4coats of clear, because come time to wetsand you DO NOT want to cut into the flake as like if using a colored flake if you cut into it the flake will become silver where you cut into it instead of the color you want, obviously its not a big problem if it silver flake and you cut into it because it will just remain silver, but its something that needs to be mentioned. Also it helps to spray the the wet flake barren clearcoats with air, right after your done spraying your coat on, because this causes all the flakes that are standing on end to lay flatter, which in turn requires less clear coats later on to bury the flake. So yeah after your done spraying and burying the flake then you apply your candy purple to it to get your color. fell free to contact me and ask me any questions, i also keep an eye on this forum from time to time Oh i build Custom Longboard Skateboards as a hobby/ partial business, and am a true car fanatic so it all ties in together, but i look to custom guitars for all the boards i do my figured wood staining on. Heres a pic of a board i just finished about 2weeks ago, which is decked out in gold holographic flake, it already has about 120+km on it, as i took it on my trip to kelowna last week Edited April 27, 2007 by Loki440 Quote
Nandobang Posted April 28, 2007 Author Report Posted April 28, 2007 First of all, welcome to the forum! =] Man, you just solved all my doubts about metal flakes! Really thanks for joining in to answer me, I don't know how to retribute that, so thanks. So here are some pics of the body I am refinishing. As far as I know, it is made of cedar. It has a beautifull around the cuts.. too bad it doesn't show that much on the top and back.. Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 Pic 4 (bad quality is due to cellphone's camera and my laziness to get a decent cam) Well, I'll try to start the work this week, so I'll be posting updates and pics. Again, thanks everyone! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.