Official Luthiers Forum!

Do you have any preference for sunbursts?

Thanks,
Steve

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Same product, different label.

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

The Color Tone vintage amber is more yellow than I thought it would be, I think it is closer to Trans Tint's Amber as opposed to Trans Tint's honey amber.

I wasn't attempting a sunburst but was trying to achieve a mellow vintage amber. I had to add some brown mahogany to the Color Tone vintage amber to make it look not so lemon yellow.

I haven't tried the Trans Tint honey amber but judging from the sample at my Woodcraft, I think it is closer to what I wanted.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Don't use either. I like Behlins Solar-lux.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Brian,
Have you used the Solar-lux for a sunburst? What colors do you like to use?

Kevin,
Thanks for the comment on the amber. Sounds like it needs to be toned down a little...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I have a decent selection of solar-lux here. By using varying combinations of Lemon Yellow and Med Red Mahogany you can achieve a range of tones from the orange of a Taylor burst to the nice cherry red of a 60's les paul. A blend of Hickory and Black can produce tones like old Gibson L-00 or other tobacco bursts, add a touch of Med Red Mahogany and you should be able to match the outer color of a Fender tri-tone burst. Dark Walnut can make a real nice tobacco burst as well. I like the Solar-Lux for it's versatility. In addition to making a wonderful shading toner for all types of solvent borne finishes ( works great in shellac too) it is a great fast dry dye stain as well. It is non grain raising , very light fast and can be sealed and finished in as little as 15 minutes.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I used trans tint mixed with Em1000, then followed by Em 6000, a while back on my first try at a burst....not really having a clue, I just added dye till I got what appeared to be the right color, and if I remember correctly I was putting in drops ,problem was that when I started spraying, the tint it was so faint I had to add a lot of coats to get the desired effect, which in turn caused way too much of a build up....

I am wanting to do one soon and my question is , how much too mix and how many coats should it take to get the desired tint??

and another question , how do you deal with bindings????? I tried taping and that's where the buildup became a problem..

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MK5acoustics.com

Brian,

When mixing Solar Lux with lacquer, how much does it take?

I've just started mixing Trans Tint with lacquer & it takes "drop" quantities. With Solar Lux, is it mL?

Thanks,

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

hoping for some mixing suggestions...

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MK5acoustics.com

Well that depends on how much you are looking to make....to make a quart would definitely be ML's, to make enough to fill my air brush cup it's on the order of 20-30 drops for most toners figuring on 3-4 coats of tone to achieve what I am looking to do. I don't actually measure it, I have an idea of where I am going and just add a bit of what I think I need to adjust the tone to that. I am constantly checking the mix by spraying on a test panel until I got what I want and then I shoot it. From what I remember trans tint is more concentrated and a bit harder to make small shifts in color with in small quantities. That is most likely another reason I started using solar-lux. Not to mention Woodcraft has it in stock and is less than 5 miles away.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

TransTint is easy enough to fine-tune, but you do need to dilute it in solvent first and then add said mixture, drop-wise, to whatever you're shooting. That's been my experience for shader/toner coats anyway. I've used powdered stuff as well, just as good, but like the ease of use (no pre-mixing required) of the TransTint stuff.

you may want to try shooting your tint with shellac followed by a vinyl sealer. The sealer not really necessary. You can shoot the shellac very dry so there is little build up, it goes on more like a power coat, then shoot one wet coat at the end to lock it in place. Since there is little build you can make your tint mix light and keep over-coating and fading till you get it as dark as you like for each shade. You need to be very careful with this method to not touch it at all or it can smudge.

I've been using the trans tints for a long time in various ways. No complaints.

Alan D.