Graffiti Yellow, as the name suggests, is an opaque, vibrate hi-viz yellow, almost florescent or daylong.
TV Yellow, like Butterscotch Blonde, wasn't a real finish, but the side-effect of age on a white finish. There are at least a dozen different finishes Gibson calls TV yellow, with various degrees of transparency.
Real "TV yellow" was a "limed" finish. In the '50s, ash and birch were popular furniture finishes, and to furniture manufacturers used liming to make dark woods like Mahogany appear as light wood. The wood is white-washed first, then grain filled with a grain filler to bring forward the grain. They only turned yellow because the clear coat would yellow with age.
This is what a Les Paul Special would have looked like new in the '50s.
The Custom Shop creates TV Yellow by starting with the above and then spraying a yellow-tinted clear coat. The production models just get a yellow color coat of varying degrees of thickness. It's the same with Fender, the CS creates Butterscotch Blonde by spraying a white blonde, then yellow clear coat, where-as the production models like the AVRI just get a transparent yellow color coat.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.