Airbrushed Ibanez involving gold & silver leaf work

arjunmenon

One for the Ibanez lovers on the forum.

http://www.jimfogarty.co.uk/Luna%20Guita%20Airbrushing%20Stages.htm

Cheers,
Arjun

P.S. - Norio, more visuals for your Ibanez wet dream..he he ?

Riaan

How does artwork like this affect the tone of a guitar? Are specific paints used?

arjunmenon

Hi Riaan,

I'm not sure but from what i've read and heard, the higher the number of coats of paint/finish etc used, the less the body is allowed to breathe, thereby, probably affecting resonance. I think, it also depends on the paints and the finishes that are used to a certain extent. I've read about people who swear by tung oil etc finishes and some who swear by clear/nitrocel coating.
IMO, the best bet would be to approach Alan for his take on this.

Cheers,
Arjun

AlanRatcliffe

Done properly, it's not an issue. Airbrushing uses thin paints that don't add much. A coat of sealer, grain filler (if it's an open pore wood like ash or mahogany), base colour coat then the airbrushing and clear over the top. Often these things are done over existing finishes, which adds a little, but not much.

Thick, hard finishes do tend to strangle the resonance of a wood and raise the resonant frequency. You also get a surface effect, where the vibration tends to run through the finish, rather than the core wood. Strip off almost any finish and the guitar will become more resonant and warmer sounding.

Almost all factory finishes are too thick, because it's much easier to manufacture them that way. I usually find anywhere from 1.5mm to 3mm thick finishes on factory painted guitars. Some may even be painted twice before they leave the factory (they'll do a burst and then decide it's not good looking enough and redo a solid colour over the top). The Fernandes I did late last year was done that way and now the owner wants to go for brighter pickups as the Kinman Woodstocks are a bit too warm for the guitar now (although some of it was probably because we also changed the neck from a maple board one to a rosewood).

arjunmenon

I told you Alan was the man... 8) ?