ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

previous: Doc Re: Sparkle Finish -- 9/2/1999 12:45 PM

Re: Sparkle Finish - Why not?

9/2/1999 6:55 PM
Mike Burgundy	Re: Sparkle Finish - Why not? Hmm... Ever mucked with that sparkly glitter stuff at parties?(Hey, look at me, I´m Mark Bolan!) Can´t get the stuff out of anything, and you´ll be glittering for days... But we can use that, maybe? What if we spray basecoats and colour like Doc said, the a few clear coats as a buffer. Directly after the last bufferlayer, sprinkle the guitar to taste with the glitterthingies. Because the paint isn´t completely dry (don´t use the ultra-fast curing kind, regular nitrocellulose should do it) the glitters will stick. Wait for the paint to dry, and carefully spray a coat to fixate the tiny metal flakes. Use a rich mixture with low pressure, to avoid blowing them off. Don´t worry about the finish not being perfectly smooth; Nitro dissolves itself, so the next couple of coats (regular mixture) will cure that. Should you muck up and have a spot that has just too much, wait for the laquer to dry, and sand some off untill it´s either gone (start over on that spot after sealing the rest), or you have it just right (seal everything, done). Once again, don´t worry about scratches in the surface, the next layer(s) will (dis-)solve all that. These glittery thingamajigs are available from toystores to decoration and advertising specialists for no money at all (well...), and in some quite crazy colours and sizes too. If you don´t mind a LOT of laquer on your guitar, you could even have a spactacular 3D effect by using a LOT of layers (maybe separated by a couple off clear ones) with very few glitters a piece. Anyone up for this?

9/2/1999 6:55 PM

Mike Burgundy

Re: Sparkle Finish - Why not?

Hmm...

Ever mucked with that sparkly glitter stuff at parties?(Hey, look at me, I´m Mark Bolan!)

Can´t get the stuff out of anything, and you´ll be glittering for days...

But we can use that, maybe?

What if we spray basecoats and colour like Doc said, the a few clear coats as a buffer.

Directly after the last bufferlayer, sprinkle the guitar to taste with the glitterthingies. Because the paint isn´t completely dry (don´t use the ultra-fast curing kind, regular nitrocellulose should do it) the glitters will stick. Wait for the paint to dry, and carefully spray a coat to fixate the tiny metal flakes. Use a rich mixture with low pressure, to avoid blowing them off. Don´t worry about the finish not being perfectly smooth; Nitro dissolves itself, so the next couple of coats (regular mixture) will cure that.

Should you muck up and have a spot that has just too much, wait for the laquer to dry, and sand some off untill it´s either gone (start over on that spot after sealing the rest), or you have it just right (seal everything, done). Once again, don´t worry about scratches in the surface, the next layer(s) will (dis-)solve all that.

These glittery thingamajigs are available from toystores to decoration and advertising specialists for no money at all (well...), and in some quite crazy colours and sizes too.

If you don´t mind a LOT of laquer on your guitar, you could even have a spactacular 3D effect by using a LOT of layers (maybe separated by a couple off clear ones) with very few glitters a piece.

Anyone up for this?

Replies:

Farrow Here's an idea - take the Gretsch way! -- 9/6/1999 12:16 AM