Turquoise color

[dmraco]

I want to mix some turquoise for a guitar finish.  I know it is a combo of green and blue.  My question is should I mix the two to try to get the right shade in one shot or should I spray some green and then layer on a light blue?

Obviously I am going to spray a test, I am am just interested in a starting point.

Thanks

 

[bagman67]

This guy made up a nice seafoam green/turquoise using Mixol pigments:


http://www.tdpri.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-452911.html


Looks pretty good to me - there are links to his photos.  All he used were Mixol Green and White pigments in nitrocellulose lacquer, no blue.


Let's see if Imageshack will let me snag his image here.  The poster says he stopped shy of full opacity but additional color coats would have gotten him there.

 

[stubhead]

Green itself is a mix of yellow and blue, so, if you're looking for some layering or bursting or contrast.... yikes. I've gotten as far as laying in jugs of yellow and blue liquid dyes from LMII and some of the powders, and now I look at at the cool teals and greenbursts and mermaidbursts and wish I wanted a black guitar.

ADD: the middle of the middle one, here... after all these years I still....
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=3928.0;nowap

a mildly amber-tint maple neck.... w/ a BLOODWOOD board, real turquoise dots, oh be still... :cool01:

 

[dmraco]

I think I am going to mix some blue and green dyes and test on some scrap

This is the color I am after...

 

[anorakDan]

Are you trying to replicate that finish? That looks a lot like a turquoise dye to my admittedly inexperienced eye, rather than a painted finish. Looks like a black grain fill, sanded back, then turquoise dye, then a clear finish over that.

If you're after a painted finish, you might try visiting a local paint jobber to see what can be mixed to your specifications. Colors like turquoise, teal, etc can be very subjective and don't necessarily reproduce well in pictures.

 

[dmraco]

Are you trying to replicate that finish? That looks a lot like a turquoise dye to my admittedly inexperienced eye, rather than a painted finish. Looks like a black grain fill, sanded back, then turquoise dye, then a clear finish over that.

If you're after a painted finish, you might try visiting a local paint jobber to see what can be mixed to your specifications. Colors like turquoise, teal, etc can be very subjective and don't necessarily reproduce well in pictures.

Dye.  That's is it.  Already stained the grain black and sanded back.  I still need to purchase some green so I can start mixing up some different combos.  I am going to start with a 50/50 blend of blue and green and see where that takes me.

 

[Kuro Uma]

Are you trying to replicate that finish? That looks a lot like a turquoise dye to my admittedly inexperienced eye, rather than a painted finish. Looks like a black grain fill, sanded back, then turquoise dye, then a clear finish over that.

If you're after a painted finish, you might try visiting a local paint jobber to see what can be mixed to your specifications. Colors like turquoise, teal, etc can be very subjective and don't necessarily reproduce well in pictures.

Dye.  That's is it.  Already stained the grain black and sanded back.  I still need to purchase some green so I can start mixing up some different combos.  I am going to start with a 50/50 blend of blue and green and see where that takes me.

That's what I did here
http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=21521.0

The color was "Greenish Peacock Blue" from this site and sure many others
http://woodworker.com/alcohol-soluble-brt-yellow-golden-oak-aniline-dye-mssu-845-541.asp?search=alcohol%20dye&searchmode=2
item number 846-255.

I hope this helps.

 

[dmraco]

Kuro....THANKS

Can those be mixed and sprayed in lacquer?

 

[Kuro Uma]

Kuro....THANKS

Can those be mixed and sprayed in lacquer?

Good question, I honestly am not sure. I did read that they can reduced with lacquer thinner. So I imagine so. I just wiped it on so I'm not 100% sure. sorry.

 

[anorakDan]

Kuro....THANKS

Can those be mixed and sprayed in lacquer?

Stains are not paint. Stains are designed to be wiped or brushed on the surface and wiped off before they dry. You build up the desired color this way rather than applying coats, like paint. You're not doing yourself a favor by spraying on the stain, as it goes on in lighter coats and dries faster.

If you want that finish, I think you have to resign yourself to wiping or brushing on the stain, wiping it off before it dries, and repeating the process until you achieve the desired color depth. Then, you can spray on your gloss coats on top, sand 'em smooth, apply more clear, etc.

Quality finishes require effort and time. When you try to cut corners, all you end up with is an ugly finish.

 

[stubhead]

OK, this isn't a far drift like normal (fo' me) - if I wanted to do THIS:



obviously that turquoise-to-blue burst - those are dyes, right? But even though the blues and greens are intense, they're not DARK midnighty blue and teal. Can you only get that with your lovely vicious/cancerous MEK kinda dyes, or will waterbased dyes possibly do it to it too? The wood has to start pretty light in color, doesn't it? Alder, not swamp ash?  :help:

 

[dmraco]

Kuro....THANKS

Can those be mixed and sprayed in lacquer?

Stains are not paint. Stains are designed to be wiped or brushed on the surface and wiped off before they dry. You build up the desired color this way rather than applying coats, like paint. You're not doing yourself a favor by spraying on the stain, as it goes on in lighter coats and dries faster.

If you want that finish, I think you have to resign yourself to wiping or brushing on the stain, wiping it off before it dries, and repeating the process until you achieve the desired color depth. Then, you can spray on your gloss coats on top, sand 'em smooth, apply more clear, etc.

Quality finishes require effort and time. When you try to cut corners, all you end up with is an ugly finish.

I will be working with dyes.  These are soluble in water, alcohol, and thinner.  The can be sprayed or wiped on.  I already wiped on the black.  I will be spraying the rest.

 

[Cagey]

obviously that turquoise-to-blue burst - those are dyes, right? But even though the blues and greens are intense, they're not DARK midnighty blue and teal. Can you only get that with your lovely vicious/cancerous MEK kinda dyes, or will waterbased dyes possibly do it to it too? The wood has to start pretty light in color, doesn't it? Alder, not swamp ash?  :help:

Any dye will do, using any base. The secret is in the dilution. For a given amount of vehicle ("base", usually water or alcohol), the more dye you put in the darker the color gets. Also, for a given dilution, increasing the number of coats will darken it. Reason being, you're essentially distilling the mixture by applying it and letting the vehicle boil off. If you put two coats on, you've effectively doubled the amount of dye in the vehicle, and so on.

The substrate you put it on (Maple, Alder, Swamp Ash, etc. will affect it, as its own color is going to show through. So, for a given dye mixture it's going to be ligher/darker and reflect a different color if you put it on Maple (which is almost white) vs. Mahogany (which is a reddish-brown).