How To Achieve a Transparent White Finish Like This?

[Adam SE]

Hey guys, I am building a neck-through guitar with swamp ash wings and a quilted maple veneer. I would like to put an oil finish on it, but I would like to get the top a transparent white finish like this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v306/dermiglia/DSC_8742_zpsbd3e3d52.jpg & http://images.jacksonguitars.com/home/2011/feature/08-chris-broderick-bass.jpg

I'm looking to do a matte Tru-Oil finish. From what I've read after searching around is that this kind of finish can be achieved by mixing a small bit of white pigment with a lacquer or polyurethane so that it has a faint amount of white that still allows the grain to show through. As I would like to do an oil finish, my prof suggested that I first apply a coat of thinned down milk paint (water-based), to achieve the light white, then apply to oil once that is cured.

What would you guys suggest? Is the milk paint wash, then oil coat suitable for a finish similar to the pictures I've posted?

Thanks very much, -Adam

[Ripthorn]

If it were me, I would probably do something like this: Apply straight oil or perhaps some with a little aniline dye mixed in to make the figure pop; mix a light concentration of white pigment (like mixol) and oil, apply in thin coats until you get the desire coverage; continue with clear coats, lots and lots of clear coats so that you have a good barrier when wetsanding. You could go milk paint, but I would rather go with a universal tint like mixol, as it can be mixed with oil, lacquer, shellac, whatever. I would start light, perhaps a 1% solution, and go from there.

[Prostheta]

Milk paint is not as durable as the finishes you would expect to find on instruments. Its beauty comes with how it ages and gives a "vintage distressed look". The translucency from the first and second coat is likely what was being referred to here.

The finish on Tosi's guitar looks similar to how "Butterscotch" on Teles looks, at least to my eye. As Ripthorn describes, the figure is popped with a dark wash and sandback () possibly with a thin amber coat after the sandback. The clear looks like a semi-translucent white over the top of that. A nice finish, but a difficult one to get right. Do plenty of testing on scrap to refine your technique and balance of each step.

[Adam SE]

Thanks for the responses! I'll definitely try that 3D technique, I was wondering how I would make the grain pop. As for the white pigment, I can't find Mixol locally, would mixing a bit of white oil paint into the Tur-Oil work?

[jsullysix]

The tru oil is going to give an amberish tint to the white pigment; is there no way you can clear coat over it?

Mike Learn painted a guitar in that finish for me once; as mentioned, it's dye black, sand back, then a little white mixed into some DBC500 (untinted base coat), but you can add it into clear. If you want it matte, you could wetsand it up to 2000 and leave it.

[demonx]

I'd over reduce the white basecoat by a large percentage, spray that and then spray clear. I've done this often but never with white.

Very much the same as what Sully said above but cheaper as in reducer is much, much cheaper than blender (aka untinted base) and it'll return the same result.

You'd start off with a light coat and then spray layers until it was the consistency you want.

Then clear as normal.