Quick question: can you use a burst finish on a walnut body?
- Thread starter cuthbert
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You can burst a mahogany body (Les Paul Jr), but that burst has a lot of pigment in it. So - should be possible, but it won't be a transparent burst. Might end up looking like... a Les Paul Jr!!
I am asking because as a matter of fact I like mahogany burst, but Warmoth refuses to ship that timber internationally (despite of other competitors not having issues with that) so I was looking for an alternative. However for walnut they just offer clear finish and I wonder if this wood is too dark for accepting a burst finish.
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We do our best to follow the law. Trust me, we would like nothing better than to be able to ship Mahogany wherever our customers are. But we're not going to fudge on things that could result in hefty fines. We have no idea or control over what other companies do or don't do, or what risks they are willing to take.
Another example: I could point you right now to a handful of musical instrument companies whose websites still aren't collecting sales tax on interstate or international orders as required by law. But Warmoth is (at great expense to us, I might ad).
Yep, only clear finish is available over Walnut. We've found it's too dark for pretty much anything else to look good. BUT, if you call in and request it we will probably do it. It would be a non-cancellable, non-refundable special order, for sure.
One darker wood that does look really great with bursts is Black Korina. It's got more "personality" than mahogany, but boy can it look good in Tobacco Burst!
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Hey.....just thought of one other thing I can add for context.
While some organic materials are not technically illegal to ship internationally, there is a crazy amount of paperwork, red tape, and fees that are required for each shipment. For companies sending shipments of large quantities, it's not prohibitive. They do the required paperwork, pay the fee one time, and ship 500 guitars, or whatever.
Warmoth ships things in very small quantities, usually one or two items per shipment. This makes it financially/functionally impossible for us to follow the law, so instead we just don't ship those organic materials internationally. This is true of certain woods, shells, etc.
And just as above, it's another case of Warmoth following the law, while other companies take the risk.
While some organic materials are not technically illegal to ship internationally, there is a crazy amount of paperwork, red tape, and fees that are required for each shipment. For companies sending shipments of large quantities, it's not prohibitive. They do the required paperwork, pay the fee one time, and ship 500 guitars, or whatever.
Warmoth ships things in very small quantities, usually one or two items per shipment. This makes it financially/functionally impossible for us to follow the law, so instead we just don't ship those organic materials internationally. This is true of certain woods, shells, etc.
And just as above, it's another case of Warmoth following the law, while other companies take the risk.
This is interesting : in the USA you paid sales taxes for international orders?
In my experience all international orders received in the EU or the UK (and I assume in other countries as well) come with VAT, import duties, handling fees and all other little BS the receiver needs to pay, otherwise they don' t deliver it...they might return the parcel to the seller or destroy if you don' t pay.
I didn' t know that in the US the sender was supposed to pay sales tax on international orders, if this is the case that would explain the discrepancy in your shipping charges.
Recently ebay has introduced a mailing service where the buyer pays the duties upfront, but in this case he or she is not charged again by the customs and the parcel has a "duty paid" sticker with the bar code so you don' t get charged twice. In my last order from Warmoth I am sure I paid 26% custom duties but it' s also true it was long time ago, not sure if now things have changed.
Tax and financial rant off...regarding black korina I take your advice, thank you for answering to the main point of the thread, that is walnut incompatibility with burst finishes.
It appears this body has escaped Aaron' s watch. Not a fan or satin finishes but I must admit it' s beautiful.
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It's the other way around. US businesses are required to collect sales tax on international orders to certain countries, Australia being the main one. And the collection rules for AU are very Byzantine. I don't remember them all of the top of my head, but it's like - if the order is under $1,000 then we must collect the tax. If it's over $1k then we just collect the tax on the first $1k, and the customer pays the remainder when they pay duties and fees. And there is more to it than that, but I can't remember it all now.
I think there is also a South American country that requires it as well. Brazil?
Yep, my pleasure. Usually when something is off-limits in the builders it's because we've discovered that most customers won't be happy with the results.
Sorry if I am curious and this is strictly a non guitar topic, but where this money goes? To the US government or to the Australian/Brazilian/wherever the buyer resides country?
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It's collected by us, and then remitted to the country imposing the tax. If we don't file the tax return and remit the money in a timely manner we are fined.
It works pretty much the same way all domestic tax collection works. In the US there are 50 states, and in each state are many taxing districts, all with different rates and different rules. For example, in some states shipping is taxable. In others it is not.
The rules for the collection and remittance of taxes are vast, wide, deep, and constantly changing. It's all much too complicated for most businesses to keep track of and adhere to. So we hire a third-party service whose job it is to monitor all these tax rules, add the correct amount of tax to each order that is placed, help us file the returns, and remit the collected sales tax to the correct agency.
Like I said earlier, this is done "at great cost to us".
And we should probably leave this topic right here, before it strays into politics.
PFDarkside
Senior Member
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I was about to post, I’ve definitely seen black to clear and it looks really cool! Seems like brown to clear would by nice too.
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@Wolff05 is the one to count on for this kind of stuff. She has a camera and uses it often! Every single body and neck bound for the showcase passes across her desk, plus lots of custom orders no one would ever see otherwise.
Pro tip: follow Warmoth's Instagram for a running feed of her desktop!
PFDarkside
Senior Member
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And for hints on future releases!
Spud
Master Member
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I think I like her better than you now Aaron.
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Join the club.
I'm a social pariah ever since the "10 Things Leo Got Wrong" video landed.
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Knock yourself out. (Animals at the top, plants start near the bottom.) If you find it hard to follow you're not alone. In the US, it's the US Fish & Wildlife Service that actually enforces it.
And FYI, there are certain animal species that effect Warmoth as well, mostly shell and abalone.
Spud
Master Member
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How bout potatoes?
Spud
Master Member
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Looks to be a fair bit-O-brown there too!
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