Episode 126 Spraying a Two Color Burst and a New Clear Coat Product From Solarez

In this episode, I explain how I used Crystalac CraftNique pigments to spray a 2 color burst finish on a guitar body. I also describe a new UV curable clear coating product from Solarez called I Can't Believe It's Not Lacquer.
CraftNique Pigments: thecrystalacst...
Solarex I Can't Believe It's Not Lacquer: www.solarez.co...

[@leesbassment6393]

I can't believe it's not out yet!! 😎

[@HighlineGuitars]

www.solarez.com/product/i-cant-believe-its-not-lacquer-quart-only/

[@leesbassment6393]

Highline Guitars, ordered!! Thank you

[@kommi1974]

Right after I get done finishing my new build. Haha. Ordering this next. Looks great. Can you literally apply new coats that quick? You could finish a guitar in an hour or less. Crazy.

[@ChinJazz]

Thanks for continuing to push the envelope with these new products. I tried the Solarez UV cure poly after seeing your video a few years ago. I wonder how it would fare spraying and buffing to a high gloss? It is a bit pricy for a quart.

[@truetech4158]

Dude, you ARE the Bob Ross of heavy metal.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Is that a good thing? I don't know, but I'll take it as a compliment.

[@truetech4158]

@@HighlineGuitars Yes, your narration as you go through the paint process reminds of that, and specific to that of the guitar as your canvas, in your own way. Keep the rock rolling!

[@Okla_Soft]

Best use of products and best looking finish I’ve seen in these DIY home guitar finishing tutorials.

[@scottcollins88]

Really liked that shade of green. Very nice. I hope I too will have as good of results.

[@drydreams8513]

I make wooden pedal boards for a little side money and honestly a little fun too, nothing serious though I only get 2 requests a month max if I’m lucky and that a busy month for me lol. Anyway I have been really tempted to sand down my bass guitar and redo the finish completely, I haven’t managed to get the nerve up to tackle the project yet but you video is very inspiring when I finally get the guts to do it I’ll be back here reviewing your video

[@fostertiersky1716]

Thank you so much man. I'm a complete amateur Luthier and this really helped me out with some things. Thanks

[@HighlineGuitars]

Happy to help!

[@gerrygonzalezmusic8429]

Thank you so much for the knowledge you share! Always in detail!

[@HighlineGuitars]

My pleasure!

[@jayp6990]

Love green guitars!

[@randyparker7870]

I like the two tone burst

[@mspguitars6740]

OMG, I need this NOW! Thanks Chris!

[@Marc76tub]

So nice color! Very, very cool! Great job!

[@Jim-qc4nb]

Great info! I have a gallon of the polyester stuff and I'm liking it although it doesn't really accentuate the figuring not like Tung Oil... I like solarez because it polishes out like crazy! Glass!

[@dantahoua]

This Solarex product looks very nice!

[@ccchicken8889]

Thanks for another great vid Chris!

[@jorgecontreras7631]

Good green 👍

[@bytebandit6858]

This is probably my favorite bevel on a guitar ever. The natural binding isnt super deep and obnoxious like on a couple ibanez and kiesel models. It's just the perfect amount of a natural wood binding, seriously thinking about commissioning one of these if possible

[@74dartman13]

Looks nice!👍😎🎸🎶

[@FoxMcCloud94]

This might be a silly question but do you have to clean the gun out before switching the colors?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Yes.

[@dalgguitars]

thank you Chris!

[@EmtonGuitars]

Hey Highline! I have been trying to find a way to get the chamfer on the lower cutaway. Yours looks super well done. Care to explain your process on that?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I create a concave bowl shape in Rhino and size it to fit into the cutaway. I then use the top and sides of the body model to trim away what I don't need.

[@petreauchristophe7589]

fantastique

[@robertwatkins8220]

Can you show me how to paint a top like the Cincinnati Bengals helmets. Orange with black tiger stripes. Thanks, Bob

[@HighlineGuitars]

Spray the orange first. Then mask for the stripes and spray the black with a high quality airbrush. Finish with a few coats of clear. Level sand, polish sand, and buff.

[@robertwatkins8220]

@@HighlineGuitars thanks so much!

[@tstutsman4930]

I have watched this video 10x and after the blue stain is applied and is dried, the next step chris says is to sand just the center of the guitar leaving the outside of the guitar blue. But when the green dye is sprayed on I don't see any blue border. My question is do you sand the complete top not just the center? Then apply green to the complete top then the blue?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I may have misspoke when I said I sand off the blue dye from just the center. Actually, I sand off the excess blue dye from the entire surface leaving it in the open pores of the flamed figure. Then I sprayed the green followed by the blue burst. Sorry about the confusion.

[@AMusicalPsychosis]

How did these pigments hold up? Did they fade with time and exposure to sunlight? Also, any tips for tinting brite tone opaque?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Not that I know of. I sold that guitar years ago. If you want to tint Cystalac Brite Tone opaque, I would suggest you use Crystalac pigments.

[@edadpops1709]

Hey Chris Greg at Redtail Guitars here, Ive sampled the poly solar ez and its a buggar to sand for sure. Wanted to thank you for all your R & D work on finishes. Im working thru a 9 piece run of my beetle kill pine guitars and really didn't want to spray lacquer,for many reasons. Ill get a can of this new product, I'm only looking for a hand buffed ,semi gloss finish. Do you think on its own it would work? I do see that the regular solarez will be great on many wood projects, one offs etc. but even though application is a snap the endless sanding just isnt fun.

[@RickRuggiero]

On an unrelated finish question, what are your thoughts on finishing the fret board with a couple of coats of bees wax only?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I prefer pure carnauba wax. It's harder and lasts longer.

[@xtrife57]

wow that intro sounded really good. Where can I hear more?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I think it came from KZbin's audio library.

[@anthonyallard3156]

How would you compare this solarez product to 2k clear, is it as hard and durable?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I don’t know. I’ve never done a comparison test with these two products before.

[@likeakite]

That appears to have potential as a product

[@xenod1066]

Having used both for a while now, which gives a harder more durable top coat, the solarez can't believe it's not lacquer, or the crystallac brite tone?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Solarez ICBINL is harder, but Crystalac Brite Tone buffs out nicer.

[@xenod1066]

@@HighlineGuitars Thank you. So which would you choose?

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@xenod1066 Crystalac Brite Tone if I have the time to let it cure and Solarez if I'm in a hurry.

[@xenod1066]

@@HighlineGuitars Thank you so much. And thanks for the great videos! 😊

[@beaglebagel1773]

How did you prime the guitar before you painted it?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I don't use primer when spraying a transparent finish.

[@maxt4803]

Can you use the i cant believe its not lacquer over the paint?

[@BigEdWo]

hey chris. i wonder how you can achieve such a nice transition between the green color and the back. don't know if transition is the right word. i mean the color change must have a very sharp edge in order to look good. i did this once and it really looked super ugly. tape and leather die. the die crawled underneath the tape and it even was not a straight line anymore. i would try it again if i had a good idea how to do it better. your guitar looks stunning.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I use a mini detail spray gun or my airbrush.

[@andrewfr7552]

Chris, do you think this product can theoretically cure under a UV lamp? For instance, if it were raining, or a cloudy day, and there was no actual sunlight available. Thanks for all you do!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Yes, it will. I believe you need a 385nm UV light to get the fastest cure. Solarez sells them, but I know they are available elsewhere.

[@thetreblerebel]

Cool work

[@chrisashenberg5188]

So I'm new to this whole clear coat thing, pardon if it's a dumb question. Can you just keep putting on layers with the Solarez to get a decent thickness and not apply anything else? Besides being new to this process I don't have spray equipment either. Thanks

[@HighlineGuitars]

Yes, you can.

[@sdantonio]

Hi Chris. From this video it looks like the solarez lacquer and crystalac are pretty well compatible. can you elaborate on this further and how is it holding up over the long term. Is crystalac a totally compatible topcoat for the solarez lacquer. Do you have any data on the opposite, i.e. solarez lacquer as a topcoat over crystalac. Any data (or feelings) on the compatibility of the solarez over solvent based nitrocellulose? Thanks, Steven

[@HighlineGuitars]

Solarez I Can't Believe It's Not Lacquer is formulated to be a high gloss top coat. Over the last couple of weeks, I've tested it's compatibility over a variety of other products and I haven't run into any issues. However, I haven't tested it over nitrocellulose since I don't use that stuff. If you want more info, you'll have to contact Solarez since my testing has been limited.

[@1777DK]

Anyone Know, if and where, the Solarez is available in Europe?

[@JamesKruseArtist]

I would love to try this product to finish a guitar but it’s only available as a pint? Is that enough to actually spray a guitar finish ?

[@Stewart_John]

That lacquer Solares is same of what sanding sealer do?

[@HighlineGuitars]

It can be. But it’s mainly a top coat.

[@APoxyR8]

Am I missing something here? You applied the blue first and sanded the middle down a bit. But when you applied the green, it looked like you sanded all the blue off or it was a completely different guitar body. What was the point of the blue?

[@HighlineGuitars]

It's the angle of the shot. The blue is sanded off the surface, but it remains in the figure. Unfortunately, when water-based dyes are used this way, they can be very hard to see when dry. Applying the green makes blue-dyed figure "pop."

[@APoxyR8]

Highline Guitars thanks for the clarification.

[@tommybyrne8092]

Can you put the solar clear coat on top of Nitrocellulose paint ?

[@DTaylorGuitars]

Looks great! What air compressor are you using and are you using a oil/water separator?

[@HighlineGuitars]

10 gallon, 2hp with an oil/water separator. All from Harbor Freight.

[@glazer850]

Man you sound like Steve-O

[@matthewbanda816]

Humm...looks like a Manson Guitar

[@shubhamkotwal6118]

You sound like a calmer Jordan peterson