Opaque finish colors besides white & butterscotch

[Mike Simpson]

Has anyone done any opaque finishes in colors other than the "white blonde" or butterscotch?

I am not talking about clear over stain but one that has solids but not quite enough to cover the woodgrain completely with a clearcoat over that.... like blonde but in other colors.

[RodeoTex]

Do you mean transparent rather than opaque?

[Mike Simpson]

Hmmm... like the white blonde but some other color... like the 50's classic but done in surf green or sonic blue or one some other color...

I borrowed someones tele picture to show what I mean.
Like this but not white.

[martino]

I like this one!


http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...ound-clip.html

[Old Cane]

Sure.

[jimd]

Opaque means solid. I think the word you are looking for is translucent. The blondes are the classic finishes like that. But there is no reason you couldn't do any color you wanted. You would most likely have to mix it yourself or get someone to do it for you. If you really want to see the grain, you might want to just stain it.

[robt57]

Just a point, you could take a previously finished white blond body and spry a few tinted coats of nitro on the color range so desired. Lot of work already done, just sand off the shine a little, solvent wash, tack, and spray a few very lightly tinted coats. I will get darker the more coats you spray, so you can stop when you get to the desired hue.

[Old Cane]

Sorry all. I saw opaque and missed the part about NOT obscuring the grain. But yeah, this is done all the time.

[Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by RodeoTex

Do you mean transparent rather than opaque?

I think the correct term I should have used is "translucent"

[martino]

Originally Posted by Big Mike Simpson

I think the correct term I should have used is "translucent"

Look at the links see if it helps!

http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and...ds-Colors.html

http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and...g-Opacity.html

This photo shows opaque to transparent !

[Mike Simpson]

Reranch uses the term tanslucent....
http://reranch.com/solids.htm

Pigmented Translucents (e.g.; Blonde)

With a translucent color the grain should show through to a degree. With Blonde and Butterscotch Blonde the grain should be obscured about 50%. The steps for preparing the body for a translucent finish are the same as outlined above but without the primer coat. The color is sprayed directly over the clear Sand and Sealer coat.

The pigmented colors are an opaque paint thinned to appear translucent. It is possible with enough coats to apply an opaque finish with these paints. Because of this it is best to first spray a practice piece to judge the coverage. The color coat should be sprayed in light coats to avoid too quick of a build-up and to prevent streaking. The passes should be sprayed slightly dry. Do not sand the color coat before clear coating.

But the idea was colors other than white that you could see the grain through...

[RodeoTex]

Originally Posted by Big Mike Simpson

I think the correct term I should have used is "translucent"

Yes, you are right in correcting me while I was correcting you. touche.

[boris bubbanov]

Mike, there's a Creston guitar, the 5squier, that is semi-trans sonic blue. It is a fantastic look. I'm sure guys with all the fancy equipment like Ron Kirn could do a semi-trans pastel green, blue or coral but what is holding me back is I choose not to replace my lost spray equipment down here so I'm shackled to rattle cans pretty much.

[TELE_BLUES]

I think someone posted a pic of a creston trans pink tele here

[Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Mike, there's a Creston guitar, the 5squier, that is semi-trans sonic blue. It is a fantastic look. I'm sure guys with all the fancy equipment like Ron Kirn could do a semi-trans pastel green, blue or coral but what is holding me back is I choose not to replace my lost spray equipment down here so I'm shackled to rattle cans pretty much.

Boris,
That's what I'm talkin about ! .... Sonic Blonde !!

http://www.crestonguitars.com/galler...gid=79&id=1328

[Mike Simpson]

Well... Here is my first attempt at "translucent" blue in the $100 Tele challenge. It came out pretty good, I only wish I had spent a little more time prepping the wood but it is a rush job to get-R-done in 30 days.



http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home...letcaster.html

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by Big Mike Simpson

Well... Here is my first attempt at "translucent" blue in the $100 Tele challenge. It came out pretty good, I only wish I had spent a little more time prepping the wood but it is a rush job to get-R-done in 30 days.



http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home...letcaster.html

That really looks good.

I think this concept, for trans pastel blues, greens and corals has enormous potential. This look really works for me!

[Mike Simpson]

It should work for any non metallic pastel color. I mixed Mixol white (bout 20 or 30 drops) and some blue dye (bout 10 to 15 drops) with about 1/4 or 1/3 of a quart of clear nitro so that it took several coats to begin to show color and become slowly translucent. When I acheived the density I wanted I switched to clear for the remaining coats of nitro. As with almost everything, next time I could do a better job...

[Muddslide]

Originally Posted by martino

I like this one!


http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...ound-clip.html

Love it!

[ThaLowEndTheory]

I've been expirementing with it recently. I did a trans sonic strat, and I'm currently doing a trans surf jazz bass. I'm using reranch colors. On the strat I used a preval. I mixed it 1 part sonic blue, 1 part thinner and 2 parts clear. On the bass I'm using a gun. Similar mix. I hope this helps. I've done several blondes and Mary Kay finishes the idea is exactly the same.