Cool sparkle or metallic finishes?

[jimmywaleseswhale]

I have a guy who does refinishes and charges a flat fee regardless of how weird and intricate is the work. He seems quite keen on sparkle finishes and my first experience with him doing a holoburst strat was a delight. I'm ok with other options like regular metallics and just cool/unusual colours. Olympic White looks great but ultimately not too interesting for him and could be bought more cheaply from a factory.

I'm now thinking of sending in a tele body. It won't be a very traditionalist instrument. I'm ok with it being a bit loud and gaudy! It's a MIM body, likely to be used in a H-S setup (or a miniH-S?). Either or full rosewood or a very nice birdseye maple neck is available but could potentially source something else

Options that I keep thinking about: 3 (or maybe 2?) tone flake sunburst, surfburst, and maybe one of those Novo-like finishes where you can see a bit of the wood gain (though not sure alder has as much of a pattern). Any advice and cool options appreciated!

 

[IrishBread69]

I think the sparkleburst and surfburst are my favourite finishes I've seen come out of the custom shop over the last few years.

That Novo is great too. Looks like the coke bottle flake that Mike Adams had a Jaguar finished in.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those options really.

 

[jimmywaleseswhale]

I think the sparkleburst and surfburst are my favourite finishes I've seen come out of the custom shop over the last few years.

That Novo is great too. Looks like the coke bottle flake that Mike Adams had a Jaguar finished in.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those options really.

Thanks, I agree that all three look great. Just looking around if I'm missing any cool "out there" finishes. I actually really like the Texas Tea finish (black over gold) Fender has been doing on Ultras – might ask the guy if a black over sparkle burst would look cool or just hiding the beautiful finish

 

[jimmywaleseswhale]

Like this two tone burst too

 

[jimmywaleseswhale]

This emerald flake is really lovely, as long as it doesn't actually look Kermit green in person

This strat looks quite lovely too

 

[Ted Keane]

I have a guy who does refinishes and charges a flat fee regardless of how weird and intricate is the work. He seems quite keen on sparkle finishes and my first experience with him doing a holoburst strat was a delight. I'm ok with other options like regular metallics and just cool/unusual colours. Olympic White looks great but ultimately not too interesting for him and could be bought more cheaply from a factory.

I'm now thinking of sending in a tele body. It won't be a very traditionalist instrument. I'm ok with it being a bit loud and gaudy! It's a MIM body, likely to be used in a H-S setup (or a miniH-S?). Either or full rosewood or a very nice birdseye maple neck is available but could potentially source something else

Options that I keep thinking about: 3 (or maybe 2?) tone flake sunburst, surfburst, and maybe one of those Novo-like finishes where you can see a bit of the wood gain (though not sure alder has as much of a pattern). Any advice and cool options appreciated!

I think they are all cool.What is the difference between Surfburst and Sunburst?

 

[scelestus]

That Novo-burst is gorgeous.

 

[TeleBackelaer]

Thanks, I agree that all three look great. Just looking around if I'm missing any cool "out there" finishes. I actually really like the Texas Tea finish (black over gold) Fender has been doing on Ultras – might ask the guy if a black over sparkle burst would look cool or just hiding the beautiful finish

I'm not much of a fan of sparkle. But that novo finish looks great!
I also adore Texas Tea but it's too sparkly for my taste. If they'd make it in more of a metallic version I'd be all over that!

 

[Ted Keane]

Here's Dolly.Named after Dolly Parton.

 

[Freeman Keller]

 

[8bit]

I’m a sucker for a sparkle finish. Of the ones you’ve posted I like the sparkle burst best.

 

[GRAVITY-LHP]

Cowboy up… pink sparkle, gold anodized guard…

Be comfortable with your manhood!

And I had this for a hot minute… it was “a lot”

 

[ndcaster]

"if you wear glasses, make a POINT of wearing glasses"

Churchill

 

[jimmywaleseswhale]

Keep 'em coming!

This second one is an "Aged Sea Magenta Sparkle" and is quite intriguing

 

[telel6s]

View attachment 1088615 View attachment 1088616

If you're looking for "out there" finishes, this is the direction I'd go. But more sparkle and more 3D flames !!!!!!

I can't remember the name now, but there used to be a company that made sparkle finish guitar bodies with a whole lot of designs from flames to flags to bursts to fades and so on in just about any color combination you could think of. My meager search skills aren't bringing any results at the moment but maybe someone else will remember.

Another idea would be to do a fade instead of a burst. Bursts are classics and cool for good reason, but they are also all over the place from Walmart to high-end customs (albeit not in sparkle). Fades? Not so much. This pic just happened to also be a Novo. I could see this being kind of cool using the traditional three color burst but fading from dark by the upper bout to light by the input jack area. But on a bit of an angle. And maybe a bit of a curve to the fade.

 

[BobbyMac]

Some of my sparklecasters...

 

[CCK1]

Love the sparkle... Here's one...

And another...

And one to match my lovely wife's nails...

 

[jimmywaleseswhale]

Really like many of the ones posted here.

A few more from me

 

[brookdalebill]

Keep 'em coming!

This second one is an "Aged Sea Magenta Sparkle" and is quite intriguing

If you're looking for "out there" finishes, this is the direction I'd go. But more sparkle and more 3D flames !!!!!!

I can't remember the name now, but there used to be a company that made sparkle finish guitar bodies with a whole lot of designs from flames to flags to bursts to fades and so on in just about any color combination you could think of. My meager search skills aren't bringing any results at the moment but maybe someone else will remember.

Another idea would be to do a fade instead of a burst. Bursts are classics and cool for good reason, but they are also all over the place from Walmart to high-end customs (albeit not in sparkle). Fades? Not so much. This pic just happened to also be a Novo. I could see this being kind of cool using the traditional three color burst but fading from dark by the upper bout to light by the input jack area. But on a bit of an angle. And maybe a bit of a curve to the fade.

View attachment 1089149

Some of my sparklecasters... View attachment 1089170

Really like many of the ones posted here.

A few more from me

I love the purple/magenta guitars!

 

[Dan R]

Is there anything cooler than sparkles on an electric guitar? Of course not!