Gregory Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Ok here goes, I want to do a Sunburst on an ash body which wouldn't be too hard except.... 1. I have no airbrush 2. I'm running too low on cash to buy an airbrush 3. The grain of ash doesn't act the same as maple (so all those how to do maple sunbursts tutorials wont quite work) I want to use two dyes, a black and a reddish brown, from International luthiers supply. I'm hoping that somebody out there could give me general runthrough of how to do the burst. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morben Guitars Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Seal the guitar first, then shoot your burst with dye. Read the "Tobacco burst???, with Dye?" post from a few days ago. As for an airbrush - an inexpensive one that runs off canned air (spaceballs?!)would work. Or contact your local school to see if they have anything you can use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 What should I use to seal the wood if I'm using water soluble dye? Also, how could I bring out the grain of the ash (its a real nice piece)? What order of what do I put on the guitar to get the finish? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 On Ash you need to fill the grain first then you can seal the wood. I did a cherry burst on ash for my first guitar and it turned out great. Check it out here I used a good amount of grain filler and then I put on a sanding sealer. I sprayed the burst with cans of toner from Mohawk. They work really well. Then top coated it with a two part poly. Morben is right. If your going to shoot a dye, then get a cheap canned air brush at the hardware store. Also, check out Reranch's "How to Sunburst". It's the way I did mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 As I'm getting closer to the actually painting of the Strat we are working on. I went to great lengths just to find out the best way to dye swamp ash. It's a really hard wood to deal with, it doesn't take stain very good at all when applied directly to the wood. I even asked PRS how they did their own guitars and this is the reply I got. Thank you for your interest and support in Paul Reed Smith guitars. After the body is sanded in the woodshop, we grain fill the body and spray it with a polyester basecoat, it is then 220 sanded and prepped for topcoat paint, most of the colors on the Swamp Ash Specials are toner colors, as it does not take stain very well. Once it is in topcoat, we spray the color coat, and then the clear coat, it cures, we 1000 grit wet sand it, and then buff it. Good to go, and I hope that helps with your situation. Take Care. Just like the others have said, they grain fill first, 2 or 3 applications until the pores are all filled level. Then paint a wash coat (lacquer, polyester, polyurethane etc. ) Then a bit of dye mixed with your clear. Then straight clear. That's the same method I'm gonna use on the Strat when we get to that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted July 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Thanks! I used a good amount of grain filler and then I put on a sanding sealer. I sprayed the burst with cans of toner from Mohawk. They work really well. Then top coated it with a two part poly. Wow amazing site, and guitar. Where did you get the Mohawks toner, is it the kind of thing I could buy at good ol' home depot or lowes? I take it you sprayed both of the colors with aerosol. By the way, which 2 colors did you get, thats exactly what I had in mind! Just like the others have said, they grain fill first, 2 or 3 applications until the pores are all filled level. Then paint a wash coat (lacquer, polyester, polyurethane etc. ) Then a bit of dye mixed with your clear. Then straight clear. That's the same method I'm gonna use on the Strat when we get to that point. thanks, so what type of clear, like a laquer or varnish? And does it matter what type of dye I mix in? Whew, thats alot of questions thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a bicycle made of anarchy Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Hitone that finish looks BEAUTIFUL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morben Guitars Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Greg, Go to the Reranch link that hitone listed... Read up on guitar finishing. Let it sink in, then go read it again. You'll want to become familiar with the different products and the advantages/drawbacks of each. It's really a personal preferance thing. Personally I'm a traditional Nitro Lacquer guy - I shoot my dyes straight (I don't tint my lacquer). It's more difficult, and takes some experimentation - but I think it yields a superior finish. TIME TO !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Morben, your shooting the dyes straight without it being mixed with lacquer or such? I've wondered about doing that myself. I was gonna try a alcohol mixed dye and spray some scrap piece of wood to see how it does. That is after it's sealed and grain filled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 BTW.. I also loved that guitar you sprayed Hitone. Really classy!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morben Guitars Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 Guitarfrenzy, Yes, it took a lot of trial & error, but I've got it down now. The key to the whole thing is in the use of a vinyl sealer. After I shot each color, I shot a few coats of the sealer. Every other sealer I tried made the dye bleed and run. The dye is very instable when shot alone...a little brush against the finish and you've scraped it off.. I go to all the trouble because I feel it gives me more depth in the finish and smoother "fades". I did a tutorial on this, but I don't know how to post the link. If you search you'll find it... "sunbursting with dyes" or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 Thanks Morben, I'll check that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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.