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Looking for ideas, suggestions on burst recipes...i.e. tints used, order of spraying colors, ...gun setting for toning...etc
I have done a couple and never seem to be quite satisfied .....
I will be using em 1000 for mixing and spraying the colors followed of course by em 6000

Currently I use a small .06mm gun for sraying bursts which gives me good control over settings and patterns


Happy 4th!!!!!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

I use solar-Lux to tint my shaders. The base color is a custom mix of yellow and red mahogany, the outer is typically either hickory or red mahogany, depending. You would need to check that these are compatible with your finish as I use nitro.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

what size gun are you using for the to shoot the tint,,,,what kind of pressures????

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MK5acoustics.com

good point...I have done a couple of practice tops...using amber , red and brown...both using em 1000....
one shot amber followed by the outer brown then shaded with the red....worked good but the brown came out a little too reddish for the bubinga back and sides
the next one I shot amber then red then brown ...
pressures have been between 22 and 40 using a small harbor freight touch up gun with a .6mm nozzle...I like this little gun, it shoots a very good spray pattern that is easy to control...

I am just looking for some advise on colors, spray control, tint mixing, expecially with em 1000 as the color vehicle..... etc.
here a a couple of pics the om style top has the red over brown , the other brown over red...plus I added a couple drops of black to darken the red..
please critique and don't hold back!!!!

fyiu both of these are tops that got screwed up for one reason or another...

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MK5acoustics.com

Both look a little fender tri tone for my taste on an acoustic. When fender did the tri tones they dyed the wood yellow, sealed, shot the red and then the dark brown and then clear. I generally only put down a background color and then shoot the burst with one toner. One key to a good burst is level sanding between colors. The sealer should be perfectly level before the first toner and then each toner should be level sanded before the next. Otherwise the surface texture will tend to make your colors look a bit uneven and can lead to problems sanding through to the toners when you buff. My gun set up will not be much use to you as I use a gun with pattern control so I can tighten up the pattern and choke the air and fluid as needed to match. I do everything with that gun, I believe it is set up with either a 1.2 or a 1.4 needle and tip but I would need to take it down and look to be sure. What you want is very good flow out when you lay down the toners. It takes a bit of practice and like so many other things there are a lot of ways it can be done, finding the one that works for you and your material/equipment will take some experimentation and practice.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Good looking bursts. I'll bet they look even better in person. I was not confident in my ability to keep the pattern even without one, so I made a wheel.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

You might also pic up Stewmac's sunburst DVD by Don McRostie. Got mine many moons ago on VHS....it's pretty good on mixing/matching/spraying & I see they've got it on "closeout" special (.....lots of other deals there as well)
http://www.stewmac.com/closeouts.html?u ... B_20130705

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Dave
Milton, ON

Looks great..what are you approx. mixing proportions???

I have also decided to invest in a new gun and trash all the cheap stuff I have collected over the years... I recently upgraded to a newer compressor..

any reccomendations on guns....HVLP for compressor obviously....

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MK5acoustics.com

I've never tried a burst, but if I did I'd watch this excellent tutorial a few times first:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQY1yMzdQC4

I'm a little confused as to why HVLP seems to be the standard gun for most people around here. For lacquers that will be cut back after being sprayed I understand, you can get a lot of material on the body and don't need to worry about how well it lays out, but one of the big knocks on HVLP has always been coarser atomization. There are things you can do to compensate for this and no doubt they are efficient for getting the most material onto the surface as possible as long as you use the right pressure

I think in order to get the better atomization with an HVLP though you have to boost the air pressure on a siphon feed or gravity feed, or increase the air and cup pressure on an air assist, siphon feed which defeats the efficiency of the HVLP. For doing bursts and toning I much prefer a conventional gun or what's called a compliant, which is somewhere in between an hvlp and a conventional. I use a compliant devilbiss at work and I love that thing. It gives me beautiful atomization with a 1.4 mm needle and also allows me to turn the pressure way down to get into tricky areas and spray piss coats of light material without worrying about runs.

If I were spending my money on a gun I would look at the CA technologies compliant gravity feed. They have 3 needle nozzle sets, are compatible with PPS and are about the same price as the gun I use at work by devilbiss. Here's a link http://www.spraycat.com/compliant.html

as far as your other questions I would say if you don't like the red you can add more black which will cut the brightness or you can just get rid of it all together. If you are spraying amber first and then red you will actually have the red turn orange slightly which could easily clash with the bubinga if the colors are off from one another. I think transtint makes a red brown that you could try instead of the straight red which may help, although you should be able to make that yourself out of red and brown. As far as concentrations go I like to mix my colors so they will spray out to final color in two passes and then add twice as much medium (lacquer, lacquer thinner, etc) to the mix as what I made the original color with. That way it will take about 6 passes to get to the color you want. This helps with blending color because if it's too concentrated you'll end up just spraying hard stripes. One other thing is I like to spray the dark edge first and then the lighter colors. It's easier to see how far in you want to bring the lighter colors from the edge that way and by doing that you also give yourself an easier reference point by essentially bringing the outside edge in closer the subsequent lighter colors.

I don't think anyone can offer advice on pressures without having their hands on the exact gun you're using, how much volume you are trying to spray and what your fan size is. Narrower fans and thinner material require less air to atomize so it's very subjective. Just run some test pieces and adjust it until it looks right.

I also find it easier to spray with my parts on a horizontal turntable than an upright wheel. It's more natural for me to hold the gun over the middle of the body and turn the body underneath moving the gun in an arc to follow the curves than it is for me to try and do that upright. The only caveat though is you do not want to do that with cheaper guns that might leak. One drop and your toast, which I learned very much the hard way with a cheap harbor freight airbrush.

Hi Wes,

I've done quite a few bursts using Target products. In fact, three of my last four commissions were all bursts. I like the transtint dyes, laying down a couple of coats of EM6000 tinted with honey amber. Note at this point, my tops look very yellow. But under 10 to 12 coats of clear, the yellow edge is gone and the top takes on a wicked yellow/amber glow that goes off like a bomb in good lighting. When I shoot my bursts, I add browns, typically dark mission brown to EM1000 then shoot it so it goes on almost dry. I have my piece laying flat and slowly work my way around the perimeter, adding color to get the transition I want. I then add black to the same mixture and work from the perimeter edge in until I have a nice transition.

Note that my process results in visible speckling in my bursts. My customers have said they prefer that look, so I have made no attempt to minimize them. Below are a few pictures of one of my typical bursts, the last one actually on a ziricote OM.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Todd you mentioned a fx1000 in a previous thread, did that gun work good for you??

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MK5acoustics.com

Thanks Todd. The key for me is not so much the gun but the technique. I am shooting those bursts with a very nice Asturo Eco S HVLP, the same one I lay down lacquer top coats with. I drop the pressure so the atomization is a little rough, and I shoot the finish so it goes on practically dry. There is no film flow on the surface. I also dial in a somewhat narrow spray pattern, and I hold the gun away from the permeter and up, so the color is hitting the top at an angle. In other words, as I am spraying the top, I am also spraying tinted lacquer along the masked rims of the guitar. This difusses the lacquer a bit more around the center while keeping the perimeter dark.

I'm sure there are a lot of successfull ways to shoot a burst, with each style being unique. I shoot what appeals to me, and though I could get a much finer transition if I wanted, the vintage vibe has been very popular, and specifically requested on my last two bursts.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Ken what size tip are you using ?

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MK5acoustics.com

Thanks for the response Todd, I don't have any experience with turbine systems so I guess this stuff is a bit over my head. I have been scratching and clawing my way into this century with the equipment at my shop and have been pretty impressed with the advancements just in the last ten years.

Out of curiosity is there a big advantage to using turbines vs air? I've mostly seen turbines for use in portable situations, but it sounds like a lot of people around here prefer them. Is it simply a matter of space or does it help with efficiency? I've looked at the Fuji systems but because I have access to a full spray booth at my shop I haven't been too concerned with setting up my own spray system/setup. Would be good to know for future reference.

Thank you for the specific answer, out of curiosity do you have any experience with or opinion of the CA Tech guns? I've heard good things but mostly from people who are trying to sell them...

Is it necessary to level sand between color coats? ...or spray each color coat, then coats of clear before level sanding...?

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

I do not sand until after the top coats.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

1.3mm

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http://www.casperguitar.com

Thanks , I ordered a sharpe fx 1000 with a 1.4 mm tip...

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MK5acoustics.com

On recommendation from my supplier, I forgo the use of EM1000 sealer and shoot all my colour coats with tinted EM6000. That has been successful for me...

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David Radlin
http://www.facebook.com/radlin.guitars

Using a quality gun makes all the difference..here is a good video for those who haven't seen it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJNnAw-rXng

I followed this sequence using very light coats gradually building the brown first followed by amber then red....lightly scuffing the center between the brown coats to remove over spray...not the best of pictures though..

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MK5acoustics.com

Looking good, Wes! Glad you found a process that works! One of my current commissions just signed up for a burst, so looks like I will be shooting another later this year.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

The two cutaways are commission builds, and he wanted bursts..the L-00 is one I built a couple of years ago, I didn't like the finish so I sanded it down to the wood and used it for practice...

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MK5acoustics.com