This is going to be another short one, since we will be skipping over our regularly scheduled gruel and diving straight into dessert.
Which means that the primary focus will be on executing a hand-applied sunburst over an ash top.
The sunburst will be yellow-to-red, with a lot of in-between hues along the way, as the two colors get blended together using nothing more than some analine dye powder, denatured alcohol as a solvent, minimal elbow grease, and maximal patience.
While there are two main techniques for applying sunbursts, I prefer the look of the less-common hand-applied analine dye, over the more-common spray-burst look.
While the sprayed sunburst is easier, faster, and generally more consistent to do, it lacks a certain depth, uniqueness/character and artistry that is required to produce such burst.
Not to mention the fact that spray-bursts require pigment for their color, which obscures the natural grain of the wood versus analine dye, which augments the wood’s organic character.
Let’s get started!
The Process:
The unfinished body blank starts out as a pine body, with a bookmatched ash top.
First we start by laying down some canary yellow over the entire face, save for a 1" band of red that resides just inside the outer perimeter.
Inside the cups are a few different colors: canary yellow, dark red, bright red, and another can containing pure denatured alcohol.
The plain solvent is used for blending and diluting color that has been already applied.
Once the two colors are applied, a clean paper towel is loaded up with alcohol and the blending process begins.
I try to stay away from the center, so that it stays bright yellow in the middle, until the rest of the body is blended.
Blending the colors with the (alcohol) solvent can be a tedious and somewhat nerve-racking process, but very rewarding to see the finished product come together in real-time.
Especially while the solvent is still wet, it gives one a glimpse into how rich the colored top will look with finish applied to it.
Also notice the woodgrain really starting to stand out.
Once the top burst is worked to a suitable point, the darker red color is used for the back and sides of the body.
The decision was made to make the back and sides slightly darker, since the pine can look rather blotchy without a heavy application of color on it.
Also, it just looks better.
After hanging the body for a couple of hours for the solvent to completely evaporate, the vinyl sealer is applied, and the color becomes richer, more vivid looking.
This was hard to capture with the camera, but this was a pretty cool – yet unexpected consequence of applying analine dye to a particularly sappy species of wood.
Another shot of the back, after a couple of coats of finish were applied.
It is now several coats later, and the body is left hanging up for a week so that the finish can properly cure.
This allows the finish time to harden before it can be sanded and buffed to a glossy shine.
Here’s what it looks like after assembling.
The oddly shaped pickup ring is a byproduct of an effort to leave as much of the wood exposed as possible.
Unconventional, but it does the job.
The back came out with clean delineation between vividly contrasting grain lines.
With a color this dark, this would be impossible to attain via the spray-burst route.
