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I am almost ready to try my first sunburst on spruce. I am hesitant to start on the spruce top. Any tips or cautions will be appreciated. Transtint cut with water.

Water will make the grain stand up. To reduce the sanding after the stain, lightly wipe the area with water, let dry and sand smooth. Repeat once or twice and the grain will stop standing up.

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

Spruce takes hand applied dye in a very uneven fashion. I call this a case of the blotchies. I think it is better to apply a coat of sealer first.

I think it depends on what you are after. I personally love the look of the hand rubbed Gibson sunbursts of the ‘20’s. That’s how I wanted mine to look, and yes, they do have a bit of a blotchy look. I tried on scrap first a quickly realized each piece of wood is different.. so I just went for it.

Glenn

Maybe it's just me, but I have never seen what I understood to be a hand rubbed sunburst finish, that didn't look blotchy..

Roger Siminoff has a really good description of hand applying stained finishes in his mandolin book. Here is my attempt - Colortone in DA. Finish did have some stain added to it too





I would seriously recommend practicing (a lot) on scrap. You really don't get a second chance.

I still have nightmares about trying to apply a hand-rubbed burst on a carved maple top...
Never did get it right....painted it black....

John Condino wrote an article in either the GAL or ASIA publication, it was several issues ago. He used water-based colors and kept the surface pretty wet to apply the colors.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

GAL, American Lutherie #125

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Correct name is James Condino. I had the opportunity to take his class. During the class I worked right next to him but, not surprisingly, his results were awesome and mine were not very good. Be prepared to practice. If you Google his name you can find some other articles and online videos.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Note that in the referenced article I believe Mr. Condino was applying over a flat piece of hard maple.
Applying over raw spruce will be much different....

YouTube has a few really good vids on hand rubbed sunburst. I watched all I could find before i tackled mine. WRT practice, I agree! However, be prepared for when you start on your “real” top, it will take the dyes differently than in practice .. just be prepared to improvise. I did a Nick Lucas guitar, and my fall back was, well, if I screw up, a black top would look great too lol.

Glenn

I too did an early Nick Lucas. Still my only one and the look of the dyes before you apply any finish is deceiving. This one is a little bright in the amber, but I love the rest of it. I bought a section of spruce 2X8 and cut out the shape including the hole and tried perhaps 6 times before attempting the guitar. Even then, I applied some finish and did not like what I saw so started over. I used water in the dye instead of alcohol (very easy), but remember that once the dyes are on, either will re-dissolve it. I rattle-canned a couple of light coats of shellac on before I brush coated with varnish, being careful to NOT sand through when leveling.

The shot below is mine on a couch in my daughter's shop next to another recent NL and I have forgotten who made that one. His is 13 fret where mine is 12, mine has the small soundhole and the more typical NL inlays. My next one will be more subtle, like his, but not as dark. Mine is not very blotchy at all:

Here are the pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/9541192444/in/album-72157635130471994/

Scroll left and right, text below, click to enlarge

Ed