Interesting (noob) finishing idea

[Mugician]

I had the idea out of the blue last night. And forgive me because I have absolutely no knowledge about finishing guitars.

I was thinking about the rainbow-y sheen of gasoline.

Can you see where I'm going with this? I realize it's a little uh.... nuts to think about dousing a piece of wood in gasoline, but...

I would imagine some kind of layer would go on first, then the gas, then another layer like a simple clear gloss. I'm imagining this over the natural color of a wood (light like maple or ash or a similar warm looking wood) for the record.

The effect would be a rainbow-y sheen at certain angles of light, and would make for a KILLER stage guitar  :icon_biggrin: :icon_biggrin:. Would the gasoline influence the overall finish of the guitar? Here, try and imagine that rainbow-y look with this guitar looking exactly as it does in the picture:

This is just an idea, as I'm far from building my first Warmoth, and at this point I'm just working out some of the details, as well as toying with some of the crazier ideas I have  :headbang1: .

Thanks!

 

[Mor Paul]

Neat idea, but I doubt it'll work. I'm sure there's a better way to get what you are looking for 

 

[dbw]

Sorry, that's not gonna work.  There may be some shimmery holographic clear paint you can find, but you can't "paint" with gasoline any more than you can paint with water or rubbing alcohol or paint thinner.

 

[GoDrex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyh5v_GizaY

yep

 

[Mor Paul]

Oh, btw, if you did that to that quilt maple body, there would be a brazilian guy after your head.  :icon_thumright:

 

[guitlouie]

THis sounds exceedingly dangerous.  You do know that gasoline is rather volatile, right.  Well, so are laquer, stains, polys, well, anything you would be finishing a guitar with.  Probably best not to mix these things.  Some of these things can literally spontaneously combust.  Ploease don't set yourself on fire.

 

[Mor Paul]

Oh, yeah, Guitlouie's right.

Lacquers and all have been known to set on fire while drying on rags.

And crap, I just forgot your name, Guitlouie...  :doh:

 

[line6man]

Is this serious?
No offense, but this is actually the stupidest idea i have ever heard in my life.
And its stupid on several different levels.

First off, it probably wouldnt work the way you expected.
Second, its a liquid, so its just going to soak down into the wood.
Third, I don't want to be close to something thats soaked in gasoline, especially if something in your rig malfunctions and sends a live current into the guitar, which can spark a fire. :sad:
Fourth, I LOVE the smell of gasoline actually, but if i smell it anywhere other than a gas station or garage or whatever, i would start freaking out that something is going to catch fire nearby. I am sure that other people are going to be uneasy if they smell gasoline as well.
Fifth, why gasoline? There are probably a few other things you could try before resorting to extremely flammable liquids, hell, hand soap will give you a rainbow if you do it right.

 

[Mor Paul]

Is this serious?
No offense, but this is actually the stupidest idea i have ever heard in my life.
And its stupid on several different levels.

First off, it probably wouldnt work the way you expected.
Second, its a liquid, so its just going to soak down into the wood.
Third, I don't want to be close to something thats soaked in gasoline, especially if something in your rig malfunctions and sends a live current into the guitar, which can spark a fire. :sad:
Fourth, I LOVE the smell of gasoline actually, but if i smell it anywhere other than a gas station or garage or whatever, i would start freaking out that something is going to catch fire nearby. I am sure that other people are going to be uneasy if they smell gasoline as well.
Fifth, why gasoline? There are probably a few other things you could try before resorting to extremely flammable liquids, hell, hand soap will give you a rainbow if you do it right.

All I've got to add is...

 

[line6man]

"Slow dulcimer, gavotte and bow, in autumn,
Basho and his friends go out to view the moon;
In summer, gasoline rainbow in the gutter,"

...

 

[Mugician]

Well. As I indicated in the original post, I was just thinking out loud. Also, when I said to put a finish on the guitar, wait for it to dry, do the gas thing, then seal over that with more finish, I would think that the gas wouldn't have anywhere to go - just be trapped between two layers of finish. I wouldn't think you'd be able to smell it. AND I mentioned that I don't know anything about finishing wood, and again I was thinking out loud.

Personally, if it was doable, I would think it would be pretty freaking sweet! And I also recommended gasoline only to try and get people to understand the look I was going for, to try and get people to easier picture the rainbow effect I was talking about. I think that a clear finish that reflected the colors of the rainbow in a subtle way but wasn't detectable on the surface of the guitar would be WAY cool!

I also realize that gasoline is a sketchy substance in the first place.

I ALSO posted this to see if anyone knew of any finishing products that would make this effect, because I really would never want gasoline to have anything to do with the finish on my guitar, once again, just thinking out loud here.

:rock-on:

 

[Mugician]

Also: I couldn't think of any other substances off hand that would create the effect. I mentioned gasoline as a hypothetical device to obtain the effect, it was merely there for reference.


Once again:  :rock-on:

 

[NonsenseTele]

Oh yes, why don't throw Napalm on it?
Of course it would be needed a special Ride of the Valkyries theme rolling on speakers  :toothy12:




Serious, would work pretty much like Naphta if I'm not wrong... So it would pop the figure for a minute and then desappear...


What do you want it to look?

And Max is right, if you damage this body you'll see that the guy of Chainsaw Massacre is a nice guy comparing what would happen with you  :laughing7:

 

[Mor Paul]

Hey, Mugician, you seem like a pretty cool guy  :icon_thumright: There's tons of folks who would have exploded right there, but you seem pretty level headed.

 

[ocguy106]

soapy bubbles have the same effect you are looking for and are much safer...but again wouldn't work.

 

[line6man]

BTW, i am not sure how you would apply a clear gloss over a liquid. They would probably mix together, and eventually the gasoline would evaporate.
I am not sure how you would keep the liquid on the guitar to begin with. It would probably run off the sides and be uneven.

Of course, if you trap a layer of gasoline under the finish, if you ding your guitar, you are going to be leaking gasoline. :sad:

 

[DangerousR6]

About all I see you're going to get out of it is a top that has dark burns in the softer portions of the wood. And the smell of gasoline .. :dontknow:

 

[Mugician]

Hmmm. I'll do some research, because the more I think about it, the cooler it would be to pull it off  :icon_biggrin: . I've never been a fan of super rainbow-y stuff, I'm into minimalism, but something this subtle would just be so cool. Any ideas and suggestions and links are appreciated.

Always:  :rock-on:

PS - yeah. I like to think I'm pretty cool   :cool01: . Patience is also appreciated!

 

[Soylent]

I'd try it on a random piece of scrap first for sure, and let it sit for like.. 12 years... heh  :laughing7:

 

[Mugician]

Yeah, I'll probably do a LOT of test runs, seeing as how it's gonna be a while before I have funds for my Warmoth.