translucent finishes

[wilkinsi]

Has anyone repainted their solid finish jackson with a translucent finish? what was involved/how'd you do it?

[kelly user]

most people would not refinish their guitar in a trans finish, if it was a solid color to begin with. guitar manufacturs won't paint over nice wood. they use crappy cuts and a lot of piece and scraps to make guitar bodies.

now to do it, some people just generally like natural wood, so they can care less about the condition under the paint.

from what i collected about trans finishes, they use a stain to bring out the grain detail in the wood and seal in clear, they they follow with tinted clear in your color of choice, followed by a few clear coats.

my two cents, though

[Bengal65]

kelly is right. The manufacturers use "paint grade" pieces of wood in most cases for solid colors. These pieces may have deformities not condusive to a nice trans finish. Also, the older guitars maybe poplar, basswood or 3rd grade Alder. These do not look well in a trans finish. I say in most cases as you never know what underneath until it's stripped. Some recent examples that have come up on the forum have shown nice figured wood underneath. You could always veneer the top with a nice flame or quilt maple though, then go about the staining and clear coating process.

[j-wilco]

good points on the condition of woods underneath.if you strippit & find you do like the grain.the paint your looking for is called candy its sold for custom car paints.hose of collor is the bnrand found at any paint supplie store for cars.we used to do a trick called bowling ball.if you practice a couple of runs you get a pretty nice wood grain efect if done right.takes some practice & experimenting though.if intrested just post il check for it & give you details

[kelly user]

candy colors....... hmmm i was under the impression they went over a light colored soild coat of paint.like for candy apple red you would shot a light pink base and follow with lots of candy color. i may be wrong

[toejam]

candy colors....... hmmm i was under the impression they went over a light colored soild coat of paint.like for candy apple red you would shot a light pink base and follow with lots of candy color. i may be wrong

Candy colors are usually metallics. Sometimes bigger metal flakes, but mostly smaller.

[krimson]

Actually, Candy paint is translucent. Basically, it is clear with a pigment added to to but not enough to make it opaque. Think of a Jolly Rancher Candy or a Candy Apple.

The metallic color you get is from the base coat. Depending on the base you use the the results will vary. If you use silver the color will be bright if your use black the color with be very near black.

For a translucent finished guitar in which the wood is showing through, it is more likely that a stain was used as opposed to the Candy paint used on cars.