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sllca

Established Member
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2 Feb 2021
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Location
south Wales
Hello sawdust lovers !
Anybody know how i can get this effect please. My son is getting a guitar made by a friend and he would love it to look similar to this. Thank you all in advance
 

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As the listing says, that guitar is made of ash- hence the distinctive big grain pattern, and the sandblasting further enhances the effect. Never seen ash anything like that colour, so presumably that is a stain.
The appearance is entirely down to the material. If the luthier is using another timber for the body, you are going to get what you get. Unless you can find someone to paint the guitar to get this effect- it is tricky, but can certainly be done. Whether it lasts is another thing
 
Guessing here... The lumber looks like Ash as mentioned earlier. First of all, that particular guitar is made from 2 book-matched pieces to get that symmetrical look (but you probably knew that). Here's where the guesswork comes in. I would sand to maybe 120 grit and thoroughly clean the surface making sure to get the sawdust out of the more porous areas. Next I would seal the body with clear Aqua Coat (don't know if that's available in the UK) water based sealer and then sand the body to 150 or so to get rid of the sealer on the high spots of the lumber, leaving it on the more porous areas and then apply whatever dark stain/dye that suits your taste. The dye should soak into the high spots on the wood but not penetrate the places where the clear sealer still lurks. Do all this on a scrap piece before you hose up the guitar taking advice from me though!
 
Similar to @AutoDoc Williams says, but I think I would put some shellac or other quick sealant on the higher parts and trying not to get it into the open grain where a red colour is wanted, you will be able to feel which direction you should be going in, very like which direction to plane in. Then you can use a red dye which shouldn’t affect the treated parts but should go into the open pores.
Then apply more shellac this time trying to get it into the pores to seal the red from the next stage which will be sanding the areas to be dyed black, and then doing so.
BUT please as was said, try it on scrap Ash first as this is just based on intuition.
Ian
 
Usually it's done by black stain or paint first. Then a thinned & tinted grain filler put on. With oil-based ones you wait till it's just starting to haze over and wipe with pieces of hessian, Scotchbrite or similar - it takes it off the high areas (black) leaving the grain coloured. Leave it too long and it can be hard to wipe off. Water-based fillers are less fussy. Let dry, lacquer over it all.
Some people wire brush to help it along - like this vid that shows most of the process - www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCH0sAczZEA

There's a couple of subtler finishes done in a similar way, the Gibson 'TV' yellow and Epiphone's doghair finish (black base with silver filler). Les Pauls also used similar as one of the stages on the backs, it's part of how the old ones got the depth of colour they had.
 
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