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I'm finishing a Pau Ferro/Cedar. Have several coats of EM6000 on it. The back looks great but I'm not really happy with the top. Color-wise it doesn't go as well with the back as I would have hoped.

So, I was thinking of doing a black top.

Any ideas of how to proceed? I can die the EM6000 with ebony color dye. But can I go over the EM6000 that's already on the top?

Thanks
Neil

I've never actually done it, but I'd recommend giving the top a real nice level sanding, probably with 320 then 400 grit both to level and to thin the toip coats. Once that's done, get some color tone opaque black pigment and put it directly in the em6000 and spray one or two coats of color. Follow with 10 to 20 coats kor whatever you need to get to your standard film. Just be sure to spray enough not to burn through when buffing.

Warning though: in all likelihood, you'll get the dreaded blue haze over the top which may go away over time or maybe not. I've sprayed a sunburst in USL (em6000's older brother) with opaque black and it looks good except in direct sun, better now than it did a year ago.

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I've done an electric with black back and sides in EM6000. Not sure how, but the neck looks great. Nice and black, no blue haze. The back however, the clear seems slightly cloudy on it. I did have problems level sanding the back, and put more clear over it, and I put it on pretty heavy the second go round. I think that's where the problem stems from. Just wanted to share my experience for what ever it's worth. Oh, and I don't spray, I brush, so your results will most likely be different.

Oh, I used Stew Mac black pigment for waterbased. Bear in mind, the pigment will reduce the viscosity of the EM6000...

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Rob

I used the same on my blacktop (in USL) with clear topcoats.

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Dave
Milton, ON

Wow Dave that is one nice looking guitar.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Neil

Outstanding.

The color tone I mentioned is the Stew Mac Black pigment. How many coats of clear did you do over the black. In my burst, I did around 18 coats (IIRC around .008" before leveling) over the black and there was definitely an extreme blue when I buffed it out but it's gotten better since then. So:

How many coats over the black?
How much time between coats?
Do you spray heavy or light (did you notice any milkiness in the film after spraying)?

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

My notes on this are not great, but I probably did 12 or so clearcoats over the black
Typically I do 3/day (1 hour apart) every 3 days.
Keep coats on the light side (heavy coats mean more "blueing"). But even so, if you stare at it you can tell it's acrylic.

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Dave
Milton, ON

your mileage may vary, but I'd recommend at least 16 coats over a color coat to prevent sanding thru..

I've finished a couple guitars with EM6000 and have not had any issues with the dreaded blue haze

Trev

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