Black Dog Transparent Black Tele

[Tonar8352]

Here is another fine one for Brother Bart the Black Dog.  This is a transparent black on alder.  If you ever want to do a transparent black this is how I did it.

First I mixed Luthiers Mercantile MEK Black Dye in a mixture of lacquer thinner and lacquer retarder and wiped it on with a clean cotton rag.
It gave me a sort of silver gray look on the alder as seen in these two pictures.

After that I put clear coats on the dyed body until I had it level sanded and no more finish was soaking in to the wood. When it was level I made a black shading lacquer by mixing some of the leftover stain in with clear lacquer and added additional black dye. I shot 2 real light coats of see-through black and extra on the sides so they are more opaque. Here it is ready for the final coats of clear and it looks really nice. It is amazing how lighting effects the look of it so it is hard to get a good picture but this is an idea of how it turned out. The grain shows through really great, I think on flame or quilted maple it would kill.

Here is a shot with a parchment white Callaham guard.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Yum !

Nice.

 

[Cagey]

That is an interesting finish. What kind of neck will be mated up with it?

 

[Jusatele]

watching this close

 

[nexrex]

Wow, I really like this a lot  :icon_thumright:

 

[Tonar8352]

This guitar looks really great in person, I have been really please with the reaction it is getting from people that have seen it up close. It almost changes colors as it is viewed from different angles. It goes for black, to silver to gray and the wood shimmers as the light hits it. I highly recommend some of you DIY finishers give it a shot. As far as the neck goes Black Dog is going to have to chime in, I don't know what his plans are. I don’t even know what his plans are for a pickguard; I only threw the white on because I had one lying around.

What do you all think would dress this out for the Oscars?  I think a quarter sawn maple neck with dark brazilin board, a matching finished headstock and a black pickguard would be perfect for some guy named Black Dog. What are your thoughts?

 

[Mor Paul]

single ply white guard, bound rosewood fingerboard.

 

[OzziePete]

single ply white guard, bound rosewood fingerboard.

White 5 ply guard instead, gives the edging around the pickguard some class..... :icon_thumright:

Bound rosewood board would look great on this.

 

[Mor Paul]

I've always felt that teles and strats are almost always classed up by a light single ply guard. Dunno why.

 

[Nando Vallart]

Might end awesome!!!!

 

[bbl4ck]

That is an interesting finish. What kind of neck will be mated up with it?

Wow, this entire post just slipped right on by me.  This is the first I have seen of my black tele with the lacquer on.  I like it...

The neck that I have for this tele is Canary with Macassar Ebony FB.  The FB is the closest to black that I could find and has those long streaks running the length of the neck. 
However, I am really diggin' the suggestion by Tonar for the quarter sawn maple with matching headstock.  Hmmmmm; I might be having a Canary neck with Macassar Ebony FB up for sale???

I was originally planning on using a pickguard similar to the one pictured here.  It is made out of coconut; however, I am having some challenges with the vendor and may not be able to get one.
My second thought was a black bakelite pickguard from Callaham.  I love black on black and that matching black headstock would be nice...

This is going to be my attempt at a Stealth Squire with the two top pickups under the pickguard.  Ken over at Roadhouse made me some special pickups for this use.  So, we will see how it works.
I figure worst case scenario, I will just have the pickguard routed and put the pups on top. 

 

 

[Cagey]

That ebony over canary neck is probably a Tele neck, yes?

 

[bbl4ck]

That ebony over canary neck is probably a Tele neck, yes?

Yep...

 

[rapfohl09]

Dang Black Dog you have been busy lately. Your are going to have some amazing looking guitars! I can't wait to see a group shot of them :icon_thumright:

 

[bbl4ck]

Dang Black Dog you have been busy lately. Your are going to have some amazing looking guitars! I can't wait to see a group shot of them :icon_thumright:

Thanks rapfohl09! 
I will do a post when I get these last two tonars finished...
:rock-on:

 

[DangerousR6]

That is an interesting finish. What kind of neck will be mated up with it?

Wow, this entire post just slipped right on by me.  This is the first I have seen of my black tele with the lacquer on.  I like it...

The neck that I have for this tele is Canary with Macassar Ebony FB.  The FB is the closest to black that I could find and has those long streaks running the length of the neck. 
However, I am really diggin' the suggestion by Tonar for the quarter sawn maple with matching headstock.  Hmmmmm; I might be having a Canary neck with Macassar Ebony FB up for sale???

I was originally planning on using a pickguard similar to the one pictured here.  It is made out of coconut; however, I am having some challenges with the vendor and may not be able to get one.
My second thought was a black bakelite pickguard from Callaham.  I love black on black and that matching black headstock would be nice...

This is going to be my attempt at a Stealth Squire with the two top pickups under the pickguard.  Ken over at Roadhouse made me some special pickups for this use.  So, we will see how it works.
I figure worst case scenario, I will just have the pickguard routed and put the pups on top. 

   

Nah, keep the canary, I think it'll kick ass. Your tone between maple and canary would be very similar.... :icon_thumright:

 

[Tonar8352]

This finish turned out really nice.  The interesting thing about it is that from one angle it looks like a black lacquer, at a different angle the grain becomes apparent and you can see it is a transparent black, at another angle it looks almost silver.  I could not help taking a picture with a Brazilian Rosewood neck I have laying around.

 

[DangerousR6]

:headbang1:

 

[Corey P.]

My mouth literally fell open when I saw the finish - absolutely gorgeous, kudos!

 

[Cagey]

Hmm... black doesn't photograph worth a tinker's damn, does it? You need to get outside and see if the sun ever shines in your neighborhood. No better light in the world. Still, you can tell that's a beautiful finish on a good base. I'd love to see it in real life. I'll bet it's awesome.