Official Luthiers Forum!

hi all........im just finishing off a little tear drop flat top mandolin which i am going to sunburst....in i was hoping some of you guys have pics of sunburst necks that you could show me..............

joe

I don't but i would like to see your instrument when your done. Not enough mandolins on this forum...Mike

Here ya go...

fantastic Haans.......thats exactly what im after..........yes mike i will post my mando pics here when im done....ive bound it like the guitar in my avatar......joe

Haans, that first mandolin is stunning with the white purfling! love it

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Olivier Gauthier
Montreal, QC

Yeah I love the modern shape of that first one. Beautiful work.

Thanks folks! The instrument is a customer's request to meld the peghead, sound holes and color of this instrument...

With the body of this one...

The result was this instrument...

Hans great job on the design of those mandolins. Amazing

wonderfull instruments haans.........what finish and toners are you using......

Joe, the dyes used are Trans-tint, and the finish is violin varnish, spirit over oil. There are no toners other than the color of the varnish itself, and the finish is VERY thin. There are 4 thin coats of oil varnish, and 5 thin coats of spirit. Notice the lack of gloss...

Haans, thanks for posting these. I, for one, really enjoy learning how to get a finish that looks old and lacks gloss and smoothness from you

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I love that design evolution Hans!
And yeah, that finish will do for "amateur" work.

Joe

Thanks Arnt and Joe! Here's the back on that blackburst. It's was my favorite chunk of sugar maple. Sorry about the sophomoric finish...

Great looking Mandolins Haans! I have just recently seen some of the pictures of your fine looking guitars over at the 13th fret; Maybe consider posting some pictures here at the OLF;
Excellent looking finishes, in my opinion.
best regards,
jack

wow ........Haans.......that is a sexy beast.......

Jack I was going to put up some photos of my latest 12 string, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to do a truss rod replacement.
Maybe I'll take some photos before I tear it apart.
Thanks for the kind words!

Wow Haans! I was wondering what the back of that little black beauty would look like.
That is a great piece of wood you used and that is one killer look for it. You were saying you use trans tints. I'm trying to get a bit better handle on dyes/tints. Did you spray all of those? Do you mix them with alcohol?

Thanks,
Danny

Danny, here's a little pictorial on how I do the sunbursts. The dyes are water based and I use an Iwata airbrush for most of the work. The dyes are sprayed or rubbed on raw wood sanded to 400 grit.
First I will color the whole instrument the base color, in this case an antique yellow amber. I will spray it if the customer wants a perfect burst, or apply with a rag if they want the grain to show more...

When that is dry and I am satisfied that there are not glue spots or scratches, I will start applying the burst with the airbrush. Always best to start out light and add color as you go. Here we are at 2-3 coats...

Continuing on, it's getting a bit darker, and I start to go a little more toward the center...

Of course, you can quit and any stage, or go darker, but the thing to remember is that the final result is always lighter with the finish on.

I have it to where I want to go with this one, so I hang it up and finish spraying the neck...

Here is what it looks like with a wash coat of spirit varnish on it...

Hope that helps!

Thanks so much for taking the time to post this Haans. It is VERY helpful!
You do terrific work!

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Dave
Milton, ON

I'm with Dave! Thanks for taking the time. I really like your "not all Mandos have to look like a Gibson" approach to your designs. Not that I don't like Gibsons. It's just nice see to something fresh.

Cheers,
Danny