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gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
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Author:  Heath Blair [ Fri May 07, 2010 10:24 pm ]
Post subject:  gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
i love tony vines work. one of my favorites, actually. this guitar is just a beauty and i had to share it. where in the world do you get gold paua abalone like this? wow! seriously gorgeous.

http://www.guitargal.com/content/tony-v ... ella-model
Author:  jmagill [ Sat May 08, 2010 7:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
Tony told me he has his own process for treating paua to make it 'gold.'
Author:  Heath Blair [ Sat May 08, 2010 11:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
jmagill wrote:
Tony told me he has his own process for treating paua to make it 'gold.'


REALLY! that is so cool. maybe i will try and contact tony. unless someone else knows how to do it. anyone?
Author:  Bob Garrish [ Sat May 08, 2010 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
If you heat abalone up it'll do that. I'd consider it ruining the abalone, but I didn't see relic guitars becoming a hit either...
Author:  Heath Blair [ Sat May 08, 2010 3:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
Bob Garrish wrote:
If you heat abalone up it'll do that. I'd consider it ruining the abalone, but I didn't see relic guitars becoming a hit either...



thanks for that info, bob. i have never heard that before. as to your opinion of the gold abalone... youre crazy! did you see the stuff? its beautiful. to each his own i suppose.
Author:  clavin [ Sat May 08, 2010 7:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Yeah BUT,
Heating it may turn it gold colored, and I agree it's a very cool effect, but how long does it stay that way? What type of abalone is he starting with? Does it make it more brittle? To what temperature does it need to go? What else about it may not be stable after heating it?
If that is all good then, what do all the other shells look like after heating them?

Anyone have lots of spare time on their hands?

This needs more experimentation.
Craig L
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Sat May 08, 2010 8:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: gold paua abalone! a la tony vines
I don't know but I've toned ablam with shellac by accident when sealing the top. I had to remove it since it made the blues look green which I didn't like. Just like toning any top. Maybe he's putting thin gold MOP veneer feathers over the ablam. Each to his own as to it.
Author:  Bob Garrish [ Sun May 09, 2010 10:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Yeah BUT,
clavin wrote:
Heating it may turn it gold colored, and I agree it's a very cool effect, but how long does it stay that way? What type of abalone is he starting with? Does it make it more brittle? To what temperature does it need to go? What else about it may not be stable after heating it?
If that is all good then, what do all the other shells look like after heating them?

Anyone have lots of spare time on their hands?

This needs more experimentation.
Craig L


It stays that way; it's chemically degrading the colours just like burning a piece of coloured plastic. I haven't done a lot of research but I believe I've seen it happen to paua as well as MOP at high temperatures. It does make it more brittle. No specific info on temp, though I'd say it was around 150-170 Celsius when I saw it happen...it would probably happen at a lower temp that was sustained. Why I decide to put things on a hot plate and see what happens is a separate tale :)
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