clear finish vs vintage tint?...

[hachikid]

hey guys. does anyone know the difference between a clear finish and a vintage tint finish? I'm thinking up another idea for a bass, but I can't really find any decent comparison photos between the two. any help is appreciated.

 

[Rick]

One is clear, and the other imitates aging, which is like the ambering or yellowing you get from an old clear finish.  I've got a 15 year-old tele that's yellowing / ambering nicely.  In 25 more years it'll be vintage.

 

[BigSteve22]

Clear is just like it says: Clear finish, no color.

Vintage tint, on the other hand, is clear finish with an added colored tint to approximate the yellowing that occurs on a lacquer finish over time. The actual color on any piece is a function of the tint combined with the color of the underlying wood. Darker the wood, darker the resultant finish.

On maple, vintage tint tends to look somewhat yellow.

This is my current project body, vintage tint on maple.

Here's the back, vintage tint on mahogany....

While clear looks uncolored.

This is my Jazzmaster body, clear on maple.

Note that Warmoth bodies are poly finished, not lacquered, and therefor do not yellow anywhere near that much on their own.

 

[exaN]

Here's my all vintage tint Warmoth (front, back and neck). If you're going vintage tint, I think you should stick to light color woods like alder, swamp ash, maple for best results. Clear finish tends to just bring out the natural grain rather than drastically altering the color.