How hard would it be to make something that looked like this?

[dNA]

New line from Ibanez "Darkstone."

I love the the body shape and the headstock is what they have on their hollowbody's. Gunmetal hardware's awesome, minus the fact that it rubs off in a few months. I like the overall aesthetic it's dark but without being so  arty07: or  :guitarplayer2:. This is the kind of guitar I would use to play heavy music. But it's like an all-sapele body (more or less the same as mahogany) and neck and it's 24.75" scale which all adds up to not being my style.

anywho, the idea of (one day, a long long time from now) doing that kind of finish on a W like a split-jazzmaster or an iceman or something came to mind. I guess that's some kind of graphic under the finish, right? Anyone done anything like that? I'd probably end up going with a figured maple or zebrawood for the top if i wanted to do something like that but who knows.

this really is a terrible addiction. I'm like planning builds for the next 10 years.

 

[CrackedPepper]

The finished reminds me of this (in a blue of course): 

 

[bbl4ck]

Very cool  :headbang1:
But then I love most any purple guitar...

 

[dNA]

Very cool  :headbang1:
But then I love most any purple guitar...

funny thing is that i dont. The black burst edges somehow make it have the right subtlety that i like. I really usually don't like in your face kind of fancy looking guitars or finishes.
\the pattern actually looks a lot like ice crystals

 

[bagman67]

THat looks like a crumpled-plastic-bag glaze job, to me.  See, e.g., http://preview.tinyurl.com/yfqxw6b or http://preview.tinyurl.com/yzbaxlu
for instructions.  The first gives a good text description of the technique; the second is a link to an HGTV home improvement article that has some photos.

Not terribly difficult, by all appearances, but YMMV, as always.  Getting the high-contrast between the black and the purple might be more difficult than the latex wall techniques in the links.

 

[CrackedPepper]

Huh, you guys are right about the purple - the color is officially called "Dark Night Violet".  Commonly referred to as purple.  Looks blue on my monitor. 

I apologize for thinking all of you were wrong about the purple even though you didn't know that I thought you were wrong.  I will never doubt you again!

 

[dNA]

Huh, you guys are right about the purple - the color is officially called "Dark Night Violet".  Commonly referred to as purple.  Looks blue on my monitor. 

I apologize for thinking all of you were wrong about the purple even though you didn't know that I thought you were wrong.  I will never doubt you again!

hahaha. i get it. it´s not a super dark purple. i'd really call it more of a lavender-  just with a lot of black mixed in. then again, these photos tend to be deceiving.

those links don't work! or not how i think they should. it takes me to a site with another link, and then that link doesn't work

also, what's YMMV mean? i imagine it's something along hte lines of "it'll only come out as good as you're skill" or something.. ?

 

[CrackedPepper]

also, what's YMMV mean?

Your Mileage May Vary

 

[bagman67]

I apologize for thinking all of you were wrong about the purple even though you didn't know that I thought you were wrong.  I will never doubt you again!

those links don't work! or not how i think they should. it takes me to a site with another link, and then that link doesn't work

I didn't want to post long ugly links, but here they are in longhand (and cleaned up):

http://hubpages.com/hub/Faux-Painting-Techniques-Plastic-Bagging

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/decorative-paint-technique-leather/index.html

Enjoy! 

Bagman

 

[Tonar8352]

I have seen that finish done with House of Kolor paints on a Ducati race bike.  It was done by one of the most experienced painters I know and it was beautiful.

 

[dNA]

I have seen that finish done with House of Kolor paints on a Ducati race bike.   It was done by one of the most experienced painters I know and it was beautiful.

let me know when you feel like taking a shot at it. If my dad decides to make a solid body, i'm gonna try to convince him to duplicate that body shape.

 

[dmraco]

The photo Cracked pepper posted is from Alsa corp (www.alsacorp.com).  alsa makes paint call Crazers that come in different varieties.  Their stuff is very high quality but takes some patience to spray.  It is also very expensive.

check out this link
http://alsacorp.com/products/crazer/crazer_prodinfo.htm

 

[CrackedPepper]

Right Dmraco - Alsa used to paint guitars with their colors but no more.  :sad1:  I always imagined Knucklehead G's Lava P bass project with that paint job as it reminds me of molten lava.

 

[dNA]

$15 for 4 oz? that's painful. though i've never done any finishing work myself, so i don't actually know how far 4 oz gets you. I can't imagine very far... Still - it'd probably be cheaper than having W do any kind of finish for me.

i'm assuming nobody's actually worked w/ that stuff before?

 

[dmraco]

Actually that 4 oz goes far.  I have done motorcycles before and had to buy a whole quart from House of color.

Do not forget, that will have to go OVER a base coat and then be cleared.  I could be wrong but it seems it does not need to be mixed with a catalyst and reduced lik a lot of other paints.  Just spray on. 

The Killer cans offer an option too.  about $35...

 

[dNA]

Do not forget, that will have to go OVER a base coat and then be cleared.  I could be wrong but it seems it does not need to be mixed with a catalyst and reduced lik a lot of other paints.  Just spray on. 

forgive my infinite ignorance of the whole finishing process - but what does it mean to be "cleared" ? The concept of a base coat seems simple enough, though i don't actually know what I would use. But I'm learning. I'd probably go the spray route, because you get about 14 oz for for $40 and it sounds like it'd be easier to use.
Would it be possible/easy to do a black burst over this kind of finish then? This actually sounds like I might try it if that paint works pretty well. buy a cheapass poplar body if we can't build one ourselves.

 

[dmraco]

most finishes will need a basecoat color and clear.

The base coat privide the background color.  It looks like most of the Crazers are using black.
When you achieve the finish look you desire, it must be cleared.  This is the finish that privides the shine and protection and is the finish that will be buffed and polish smooth.  Using 10-12 coats of clear is not unusual.

Here is what alsa recomends for the crazer:
How To Apply Crazer 
Step 1.- Prep and basecoat your part as you would any other paintjob.
Step 2.- Apply 1 medium to wet coat of Crazer to the surface.

Step 3.- Immediately use cling wrap or your choice of texturing tool to produce the desired effect. ( Apply cling wrap to the entire part then rub the cling wrap down with your hand to insure contact with surface then remove the cling wrap leaving you with a marble like finish.)

Step 4.- Let dry (Usually 3-5 mins.)

Step 5.- Topcoat with poly-urethane clear or your choice of topcoats.


Now you could simply pick up a can of Krylon and pain a guitar but it would look like hell and not be very professional looking.  I have used rattle cans successfully with guitars but have always layed down a primer, color and clear to be polished. 

If you are looking for easy...some wipe on stain and poly or tounge oil is about as easy as it gets.

 

[dNA]

thanks man. that clarifies quite a bit. still a few questions...
By cling wrap you mean like generic plastic wrap you use to cover your leftovers? And do you know why this particular paint is needed if I'm using that kind of a texturing technique? I THOUGHT it was too good to be true implying you could get that kind of texture with a spray. haha. One layer of paint is all it takes, too?

For easy my first build is gonna be a walnut body and maple neck (in the mail now!) that I'll be doing in all tung oil or something similar. but i would definitely like to graduate to a more complex job. and base, paint, clear sounds pretty simple to me. I might just test this out on scrap wood to see how it looks some time. if the paint was cheaper, i'd try to mess around with a couple different combinations of base color and top color. Like a metallic undercoat might be neato.

oh. and how 'bout bursting over top of it? I'm assuming that's just (insert black spray product here) over the crazer before the clearcoat?

 

[dmraco]

not sure of the reason for the plastic wrap...but you are correct..just generic food wrap.  I think this paint is specialy forumated to gather and repel in certain areas and the plastic assists that function.  It is a cool effect.  

To burst is a technique I have not master yet...TONAR is the king here.

here is some work I have done with Multi step process.

the 1st is a white base, then candy red was sprayed with gold metal flake, then clear
the second is a black base, then gold metal flaked clear...then clear.  The photos are not that great but give you am idea of how the multi step processes work...

 

[Soylent]

I'm really wanting to buy a can of that and give it a go... that's tempting.  :headbang: