Towards the end of last year I got an order featuring a custom shape (not for everyone but my customer loved it and that's the point right?) to be finished in black crackle over red/yellow burst. This was to be my first one in this finish, and not being one to shy away from a challenge I naturally jumped at the chance.
So here's the shape, Maple and Walnut through neck, Mahogany wings
Oh yeah, it also has a bottle opener on the back haha
Once everything was nicely sanded to 240 and grain filled, it was time to tackle the beast that was the spraying.
For those not familiar with crackle, it's a 2 part paint system that consists of a base coat available in almost any colour you can imagine, and a top coat that is designed to react with the base to create the cracks. I'm not sure if top colours are more limited but the usual tends to be black or white. I know the system I use is available in clear too.
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The thicker the apply the top, the bigger the cracks. So the trick is getting a nice heavy coat on a full guitar body without causing runs. Easy, ha. And you have to do it all in one as you cant go back and ad to it, and the thinner the coat the quicker it dries so you have to be quick so as not to end up with hazey micro cracks (which I did in areas)
Banana base coat on
Then the red burst. At this point, though, I didn't realise that the top coat would also pull some of this out and I'd end up with a much smaller red part. Noted for next time.
Matching headstock
I got the box covered in velour before he collected, I just don't have pic after this strangely.
So there we have it, my first crackle finish guitar. Was a great project, I always like trying new things, whether they work out or not.
I've got loads left so I really want to do a few more in this finish and experiment with top coat thickness and colours.
flanging_fed “
I reckon @Nightswan & @imalrightjack just might have a view too
My band, Red For Dissent
That blue one is great, I love how you have the horizontal rows of cracks, great effect.