iLuthier

Here’s a basic rundown on how to go about it…

1:- Spray a couple of coats on the bare wood to seal or wash-coat.

2:- Fill the grain with a natural paste-wood filler (Fender uses a butterscotch colored filler). Wipe the dried filler coat clean with naptha and then add another 1-2 coats of clear lacquer to seal the filler.

3:- Cut back and spray a coat or two of yellow tinted lacquer that’s been tinted with aniline powders. Most yellows have also been tinted with a fraction of reddish brown which is perfect as it adds to the vintage look.

4:- Spray 6-8 coats of clear lacquer over the yellow to seal it. Cut back until it’s perfectly smooth as you won’t have the opportunity to do this later. trying to cut back after the sunburst is sprayed will only get you into trouble quickly so make sure everything is nice and smooth first.

5:- You need two colors for the sunburst – black and a very dark brown (some luthiers also use a hint of red to still achieve a two-tone effect but it’s not necessary. It just depends on how you want your finished sunburst to look). You can also use a mixture of brown and black to take the edge off the pure black.

6:- Tape off the back and front of the body with masking tape and paper so that you don’t have any problems with overspray. Leave about an inch or less along the edge and then spray the edges with the black (or brown/black if you prefer that). Once the edges have dried remove the tape and paper and cut back the feathered edge until it is smooth.

7:- Finish the sunburst by spraying the top and back of the guitar with the dark brown, taking care to spray from the center outwards towards the edges. Make sure that your coats are very light and that there’s not too much color in your mixture. It’s always much easier to add tone by successive coats than to take it away by sanding, so proceed carefully.

8:- Once the sunburst is to your satisfaction don’t wait for it to dry. Proceed straight away to adding your clear coats. 6 to 8 of them should do it but you can add more if you like. It depends on how heavy you make them (always safer to go light) and what you want the finished look to be.

9:- Cut the finish back and then polish and you’re done!

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