Want to achieve this finish

[phred]

I have a Swamp Ash tele that I want to look like this when complete. I have been looking all over this forum and others and I think I have the order needed, but please correct me if I'm wrong. First I need to dye red, sanding seal, black grain fill, seal again then probably satin poly over that. Is that correct?

Thanks for your help,
Scott

 

[dmraco]

I saw that on Facebook yesterday.  I love it.  I would love to know.  I was thinking the same  DYE red and then sand and seal.  Then sand to expose the non grain area and dye black.  There is so much contract between the colors that has to be more to it.

 

[bbl4ck]

Yea, I love that finish as well. 
I am tagging here just to see what falls out!
:rock-on:

 

[dmraco]

Where is Tonar when you need him. 

 

[phred]

No one else weighing in?

 

[Tonar8352]

This is how I would attempt the finish based on what I see in the picture.

1. I would burn the soft grain with a fine torch to define the areas I want the red to go.
2. I would wire brush the burned grain to make it deeper like it appears in the photo.
3. I would shoot the entire body with a clear wash coat to get some material to suck into the deep grain.
4. I would shoot an opaque red over the entire body. It appears to me that the deep grain is solid and not a dye which would be more transparent than what I'm seeing on the guitar.
5. I'd give it one more coat of clear over the entire body to seal the red.
6. I'd sand the high spots back to the raw wood. I still see some red showing through the black so it makes sense that some of the red will still be in the deep grain on the high spots.
7. Dye the high spots black.
8. Shoot the final coats of satin finish.

I have never done a finish like this so I'm just guessing but I think that could work.

PS I have no desire to attempt it, one torched guitar was enough for me.     

 

[phred]

Thanks Tonar.

 

[phred]

OK pardon my ignorance, what is a wash coat? and how would I dye the high spots only?

Thanks

 

[Tonar8352]

A wash coat is just thinned down finish that really sucks into the surface.

 

[rgand]

This is similar to cabinet finishes I've seen. That is done by wiping paint on and then wiping as much off as possible before it dries. That exposes the harder grain areas. If you did that with black paint then followed with red dye, that might give the desired effect.

A friend of mine wanted an antique finish on a gun stock, kind of like what would happen after years and years of gun oil soaking into, and darkening the wood. He painted the stock black and after it dried he stripped it with paint stripper. The softer grain remained black. True oil on top of that gave him that look.

It seems to me that paint might be the correct way to approach this finish. I also like this guitar and will see what comes from this thread.

 

[dmraco]

I am going to try it here

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=24644.0

 

[phred]

Look at what Fender is doing now. I guess this finish type is trending.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

That's pretty cool looking, almost looks sandblasted, like those GFS Slick models.

 

[phred]

Here is what I have to work with. The body is pine with a thick swamp ash top and a roasted maple Warhead neck. Here is what I'm planning, paint pine black, the top will be dyed red sealed then black grain filled. I will take a wire brush to the top to get the Ceruse look.

 

[phred]

Here are a few more pics. Also the neck was drilled for Schaller tuners and I remembered I have a set of Sperzels, so there is a 1/16th shelf I need to remove. How should I do that?

 

[Cagey]

Ultimately, a proper reamer is the thing to use, but unless you're going to use one a lot, they're kinda pricey. Next best bet is probably a rat tail file...

File from face of the headstock toward the back, so you don't pull up a tear-out.

Failing that, you might be able to wrap some 220 grit sandpaper around a pencil or screwdriver shaft to create a "poor man's rat tail".

 

[phred]

The weather has started to cooperate here in Indiana and I'm about to start this project. Using the finishing schedule Tonar laid out. First question is what do I thin sanding sealer with? I have a can of Minwax Sanding Sealer and it says it is water based, so distilled water to thin it? Second after the first stain, seal and sandback, how do I apply the next color and keep it out of the grain? I watched a video of the Ceruse finish and they used thinned latex paint that was wiped on then wiped off after 10 minutes or so. What I don't understand is how to keep the second layer of paint out of the grain and only on the high spots. Will the sealer keep it from sticking? Show I use shellac with wax instead of sanding sealer? I have scoured the web on this technique and there are really no concrete methods only educated guesses as to how this finish is done. Thanks for your help.

 

[stratamania]

If you do a search on YouTube for Fender sandblasted strat or Tele, there are some videos from NAMM describing how they stained the Ash black, then sandblasted it and afterward applied the colour. They look similar to the picture at the beginning of this thread.

 

[rgand]

Those sandblasted ones look great. Fender now has them on their site as limited editions.

 

[phred]

How do I thin sanding sealer? I'm about to stain the top then seal it to grain fill later. Do I need to thin the sealer? I'm using mixwax sanding sealer and a preval sprayer.

Thanks