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So...anybody want to have a thread where we talk about ways to finish guitar projects other than your "standard industry practices"?

I'm ok with the old standbys, but when it comes to my projects, I don't feel good about failure and there's no way I have the space/time/patience to make some of these perfect looking finishes that come on the commercial product. Plus, when it really gets down to it, I usually like finishes that don't look so...perfect, whether they're on guitars or what have you.

Also, I like the look of guitars that have been played/lived into a naturally beat-up appearance, but almost every time I look at an intentionally relic'd finish, I'm like so I don't really see this thread as being about that whole thing. But on the other hand - I am not against scheming a finish that will be...more susceptible...to relicing sooner (because, unlike our would-be dictator, I am not under any delusion that I have unlimited time to enjoy the straight-edge relicing process).

So, right now I'm researching milk paint, and liking the no-VOC lifestyle it affords.

Got me a cedar tele body with nice grain.



Thinking about darkening that grain, then dyeing that body a certain color (oh, say...purple), then splatter painting some alt colors like black, white, lavender, pink that would show up under dings and abrasions, then laying a streaky daphne-blueish milk paint over all o'that (gotta pay tribute to my patroness ). But I'm wondering if I'm way overthinking it. Definitely not putting any grain filler in, nor much of any kind of clear coat over the whole mess. Still thinking about stamping the whole thing with purple lizards after it's done

Anybody know anything about adding a patina over a finish?

Anybody care to share?

BRAMP guess someone farted?

Just remember pickled finishes.

Not sure what you’re after exactly but some “different” finishes I’ve seen:

Milk paint on the Schorr guitars.

Whitewash thin enough to see the grain through.

Sandblasted, no grain filler, or simply unsealed and stained. Wudtone is a rubbed finish you can do yourself. I had someone spray nitro for my body without sealer or grain filler and it also got the “baseball bat” grain texture, which I love.

Splatter paint, perhaps a bright color over dark stain.

Simply apply tung oil / some other tinted oil finish, like the stuff they use for gunstocks. It stains the wood in a more traditional way, makes me think of furniture.

yass --all of these are worthy ty

Missed this thread.

I think you're overthinkin'. That being said, I approve of the purple.

Nice lookin' body.

Thread needs some photographic examples of what you're goin' for.

I think there's a distinction between "distressed" and "relic" somewhere. Maybe it's in the intent. There's a difference between an "alt finish" and a guitar that looks like it's been gigged for decades but was produced last year. Don't worry about it.

Do use a blowtorch to blacken the wood grain.

Chankgeez wrote:Thread needs some photographic examples of what you're goin' for.

haha, yeah, sure enough, but I think I'm still searchin' for inspiration Likin' what I'm hearin' so far - I'ma do some additional reasearch. I guess I was just hopin' folks who have good experiences with a certain technique could pop in here and drop a word (not just for my sake, but as a revolvin' isea factory)

Achtane wrote:I think there's a distinction between "distressed" and "relic" somewhere. Maybe it's in the intent. There's a difference between an "alt finish" and a guitar that looks like it's been gigged for decades but was produced last year. Don't worry about it.

Do use a blowtorch to blacken the wood grain.

sound advice thx

So, yeah, this is s'posed to be "torched satin" - it's a start....


I'm assuming this was torched per-application of the paint, a la Achtane's suggestion....

This is fairly cool - advertised as "pickled"

I really like the galvanized-bucket-type pickguard with that....

I'm very sick of VOC stuff too, I'm currently experimenting with water based lacquer (General Finishes Pre-Cat), the odor is very, very low (smells faintly like windex) and it cleans up with water. Only problem is it sprays like shit and takes a long time to dry, I just get non-stop fisheyes with it....need to figure out how to use it.

I've had really good luck with Speedball screen printing ink. I diluted it with water and brushed it right on the wood with a foam brush, and then finished it with Tru Oil. Worked great.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGKiyZcvZq6/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFRPuF3vZkk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE_SuEOvZgR/

I did the top with Minwax white tint base, and also finished with Tru Oil:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGICn_0PZni/

This one I did with some raw pigments from Kremer Pigment. It's basically super saturated pigment dust. I mixed it with a little bit of pearl flake and water, applied with a foam brush, and then finished with Tru Oil. (Sorry I don't have any close-ups handy, but it's semi transparent and shows grain. That dark spot is a knot in the wood, for example.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0w2WjZnINP/

(Is there a way to embed IG images??)

ooh - thanks - really digging on these; some great ideas to try, and doesn't seem too fussy or smelly at all

Yeah exactly. Non-smelly, non-toxic ftw. I did both of those in my really small (and now slightly bigger) NYC apartments. The ink and the pigment are both water based, and the Tru Oil is fairly non-toxic and non-smelly. If you do go down the Tru Oil route, I've had great luck wiping it on in really thin coats with coffee filters. They're lint free and not very absorbent so it's hard to overload them and get too much finish on there at once. Thin coats cure faster as well.

These flexible polishing papers from Stew Mac are awesome for when you get past 800 grit sandpaper.

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-a ... apers.html

awesome tip on the coffee filters - just the kind of thing I'm looking for. I have a tendency to get heavy handed sometimes, and something like this is important to me because it fool-proofs it to an extent.... TY

Feelings on “pickled” finishes? On a guitar I might try that with primer tinted blue or pink or green, not just straight up whitewash.

I have a schecter hellcat VI with the white finish. it's a matte finish with no grain filler. it's badass, but not for purists

not my pics but you get the idea
https://reverb.com/item/12678462-schect ... 2018-ivory