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Hi,

I'm making a Scratch Plate for my Stratocaster.

So far I have the burr sanded and ready for finishing. I'd really like to get the finish they have here.

I've tried a few samples with water based stains but it's not giving god results.

I'm thinking that this is done with translucent cellulose spray, would I be correct?

Would anybody know a way of creating that effect in a home workshop. I've experimented sealing with tru oil, getting to a reasonable finish, then making a translucent mix with tru oil and oil paint and putting layers over this. It gives reasonable results. But I'm really looking for something heavy duty and pro, like this. could I perhaps do what I have done and pay to have it professionally lacquered?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Nick

That looks like dye was used, Nick, not stain. That's about as much help as I can give you, but there's a bunch of guys here who can give some real advice!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Yeah, I think that wood was colored first before a finish was applied.

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

By no means an expert but it looks like he died over the natural color in the curly areas with blue, sanded off to reveal the natural reddish color of the birdseye figure and then did a transparent white dye over the blue in the tips. Then finished it- that's my best guess.

That is a process called double dye stabilization and it is done with a vacuum pump and bag. Any other methods will not have the depth, variation of color and clarity of that. Here is a link to a decent description of the process.http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Double-Dye-Stabilize-Wood-for-Pen-Blanks-Kn/

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

^^^^ Another reason why Brian is THE MAN! ^^^^

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

Hi, Thanks for the replies.

Brian, I had a quick look at the double die stabilisation, It doesn't look accurate enough for that finish, it looks sprayed in the corners? What do you think

I think these may be layers of transparent lacquer?

Thanks,

Nick

Nick - there is nothing accurate about that finish....

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

If you look in the corners it looks like an airbrush has been used.

the double dye, although impressive, doesn't look possible to achieve that.

While the process in the link shows the stabilization process that is all it shows. That is all they want in order to carve knife scales and pens.....Guitars get a finish over that yet of course. Sometimes a toner is used in that process to further enhance the colorization.

Here is one I did a few months ago. I skipped the first dye and stabilized it with a med red resin then shot a purple toner over that. The more toner you use over the burl the more clarity you give up. Sanding the surface after dye and stabilization can create burst effects too.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Some example of what guys who really know this process can do.....

http://stores.californiawoods.com/stabi ... itar-wood/

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thanks, impressive!

So you stabilised it, then sprayed over the top with coloured lacquer? - is that what you mean by "shot toner"?

Well not lacquer....but yes a tinted basecoat clear. that is followed by actual clear coats and buffed out.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thanks Brian, and everyone else.

I got a reply from Skeversson who make the guitars, I asked them if they would be kind enough to share their secret.. I asked how they achieved the green colour.

"Green is often the effect of giving color through the wood itself, with the addition of blue color. It's all i can tell you, the rest is our little secret;)"

I think they have used the same method.

Thanks again, making a guitar out of one of those blanks Brian would be something else!

nice one!

Could the secret be that adding blue to yellow gives green? If that is it, it's not a very big secret.

I see it as more of a water coloring using dye. Looks like the dark red/brown is applied directly to the birdseye mahogany with a dark heavy coat. Then it is sanded leaving it dark in the heaviest birdseye and a whitewash is applied. It is again sanded in areas and blue dye is flooded in the areas where blue is desired, heavier more in darker areas and finally more red/brown is added to make the "green" areas, again heavier in a watercoloring sort of way. I would say that the blue is fairly dry when the red/brown is added at the end. More sanding is done carefully and selectively and there may have been a little airbrushing at the end.
Looks pretty surface to me as the whole works is routed off (hilariously destroying the binding) and then sanded in that area to blend it in.
It just has an airbrushed, whitewashed, watercolor, sanding look to it to me...