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Here are the steps I use to do a sunburst on an F5 mandolin.

The binding is taped off. There is usually a lot of bleed through, but it saves some work in scraping so it's worth doing.



The instrument is dyed antique yellow/amber.



Three airbrushings of the brown. I do another 3 to darken further.





Eight to ten drops of black dye are added to the brown left in the bottle and I darken the edges.





I'll shoot a coat of spirit varnish on and tomorrow I'll peel the tape and scrape the binding.

Haans, thanks for that. I never realized it could be that simple. So I take it that you don't actually spray the sides, they just catch the over spray when you shoot the top and back, correct?

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Tim

Thanks, Haans...nice process...I love your KISS practical approach.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I tried to do it with rags and brushes ! Man Your way is soooooooo simple . Thanks BTW what type airbrush u using ? Is an expensive one necess , or are the cheaper ones sufficent ?

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Tim88, I do spray the sides...there is a definite pattern to F5 ribs and sections are very dark. So, here's the rest of it. I use utility knife blades and grind a bit off the point on one to get the scroll.



Xacto knife blades are used to get to the side of the binding. The non-sharp edge is ground to a square edge to scrape with.



The scroll is finished on the top.



A steel rule is taped to the fingerboard to use as a guide for scraping the F/B binding.



One coat of oil varnish.



The airbrush is an Iwata, but you can get by with a Paasche. The important part is to keep the brush extremely clean.

Hans,
thanks for the great information. Is that a big chunk of binding material in the background of the next to last picture? What is that? Did you make it?
Walter

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Walter Lay
"It's taken me so long, but now that I know
I can see. All that I do or say, is all I ever will be"
- Billy Joe Shaver

Walter, that is a block of purling for a new style I'm working on. You can see more in the first couple of photos. A slice is cut off that block and that slice is cut into tiny pieces to form the purfling. See my website for the process. Here is a fairly final look...

Hans,
Nice website. Thanks again for the great info. I really admire the clever methods you have come up with (neck joints etc.)
Walter

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Walter Lay
"It's taken me so long, but now that I know
I can see. All that I do or say, is all I ever will be"
- Billy Joe Shaver

Well done - love it!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

nice - thanks for posting!

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

excellent.... bursts are an art form.