Gold and Silver Guitar Holoflash Tutorial

G'day, it's time for a new tutorial showcasing the new Gold Holoflash on a '94 Jackson Dinky with a silver twist!
Holoflash material can be found on my Etsy and Reverb Stores
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/holoflash/
Reverb: reverb.com/au/shop/holoflash
Crafting Iron (non-affiliate): www.amazon.com.au/Corded-Trav...
Check out my band Stormtide!
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Background music used royalty free - License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Nihilore - Sparkwood & 21
• Nihilore - Sparkwood &...

[@chromeboy37000]

always asked myself ,how Kramer did that finish, now because of you i know thanks dude 🤘

[@rays2794]

Love it!

[@michaelhechler236]

that is awesome !! Thanks for the video :)

[@HowardFrischer]

That's beautiful

[@cudapaul957]

Looks totally fabulous and that is a great tutorial i am on the way to reverb to get four strips i want to hit the back as well.

[@monsterram6617]

Dude... THANK YOU!!!! I was considering paying $500 and waiting 4-6 months to have this done to one of my guitars and now I can do this myself. I've already ordered some too! You are fucking awesome! 👍👍👍

[@dropbearattack6152]

Glad to hear! Really keen to see what you make with it :D

[@cancelbubble6535]

Great video, great result. I always wondered how Kramer did this back in the day, I assume they did basically the same technique.

[@JoshuaC923]

That looks ace!

[@dropbearattack6152]

Cheers

[@DanBodnarr]

Oof very flashy, also very informative 🤘

[@BriarBeats]

God Bless you In Jesus Name ❤ Thank you for this very clear video bro, this by far the cleanest holloflash vid ive found, appreciate your work.

[@dropbearattack6152]

Thanks dude

[@vivien-emilieh3905]

Very cool, i've just ordered 4 silver stripes at your etsy 👍

[@dropbearattack6152]

Muchly appreciated! I've just packed it right now so you should see it soon!

[@vivien-emilieh3905]

@@dropbearattack6152 wonderful, it's for a nice project. Entire holoflash with black crackle pint over it, and a lot of 2k clear coat. But i still ask myself if i have to put clear coat between the holoflash and the crackle paint.

[@dropbearattack6152]

@@vivien-emilieh3905 Be wary that Oil-Based Polyurethane Clear Coats will disrupt the way that it flashes but I've had varied success with water based polyurethane clear coats! The oil based seems to melt the flash effect and turns it into a weird, ugly grey but the water based doesn't react with it. I believe the best course of action would be to apply a light water clear over the flash followed by the crackle over it just in case the paint itself reacts with the flash or doesn't adhere but experimentation is fun! I'm currently recovering from hand surgery which is making life a bit difficult but I've got a lot of experiments I'm still keen to try that if successul I'll be filming and uploading in the future!

[@vivien-emilieh3905]

Yeahhhh thanks a lot for the time you gave to me, i'm going to apply 3/4 coats of clear coat on the holoflash with duplicolor aqua then the crackle paint and after spraymax 2k, a lot of coats and a lot of leveling........ Or i will let the snake skin relief effect.... We will see

[@dropbearattack6152]

@@vivien-emilieh3905 Would really love to see how it all turns out! I absolutely love crackle finishes - seeing it done with holoflash would be absolutely amazing! I have an idea in mind with an experiment I'm planning soon that is going to be a bit time consuming but hoping it works out, kind of attempting a reverse crackle finish where I spray a black undercoat, cut the holoflash strips up into random small sized pieces and apply them with thin, purposeful cracks to give it the crackle effect in reverse without overlapping any of the flash pieces. Will it turn out good? Who knows but it's always fun to experiment!

[@louisstokes1898]

Beautiful. Thanks. I have a project guitar that I plan to do this on. It is supposedly a spalted top with what looks like a clear coat over it. Not sure exactly what it is. Very cheap IYV model tele which I'm replacing pickups on.

[@dropbearattack6152]

Awesome! Cant wait to see how it turns out!

[@luspiguitar]

heyy bro, thx for the tutorial!! your guitar looks insane after all the work! so... i have questions: After completing the entire process, is it necessary to apply a layer of varnish or other similar material so the holoflash remains on the painting? Over time, the holoflash will “crack” and come off? And... can I do the same process on pickguards?

[@dropbearattack6152]

Hey there! A clear coat is not required but is possible. If you do plan on using a clear coat it needs to be shot out of a paint gun. Solvents in rattle can clear coats WILL destroy it. As always test your products before application for compatibility. Over time the Holoflash won't crack or peel off. I wouldn't apply it to a pick guard, purely because the heat will warp and distort the guard.

[@nookie420]

thanks, I've been sitting on a Kramer F1000 and some holoflash for about 7 years, I need to get this done.

[@dropbearattack6152]

Do iiiiiiit right now hahahaha

[@laurielindquist3907]

Is there any way to do this using a pattern like a skull??? How long do you wait to clearcoat? Have you evwr tried Crystalac britetone? Its a water based poly? Thanks! This is awesome!

[@dropbearattack6152]

I haven't tried yet, but I've always wanted to experiment printing out a stencil using a cricut machine, laying it over the finish, holoflashing over that stencil, then removing the stencil to leave the design flashed underneath. I "think" it would be possible but due to how thin the actual flash is there's a chance the stencil may be too thick for the iron to properly contact the foil to the body, especially on the edges. If you were to clearcoat you can do so immediately. I've had a couple of customers get back to me using water based poly out of a gun (not a can). The aerosols in the cans seems to be the reason the flash melts. Unfortunately I don't have a compressor or room to set up a booth to test it out otherwise I'd be running a lot of tests to see exactly what makes it tick and what doesn't. At this point I'm just relying on what customer feedback and experimentation I get and relaying that back to everyone else!

[@scottbagley6659]

Is there a cleaning solution to use here in the US or if it's a brand new guitar is it necessary prior to applying the film? Great gonna give this a go!

[@dropbearattack6152]

Naptha would be perfectly fine, just dab some on a cloth, wipe it down, let it dry. The main thing is no grease/dirt/oils etc

[@scottbagley6659]

Super thank you for the response much appreciated : )

[@dominicluzzi]

Would a regular iron work? Is there somewhere u can get bigger peices of the foil....?

[@dropbearattack6152]

A regular iron does not work. A crafting iron is necessary. Regular irons run too hot that they will destroy the paint work underneath. The metal base of the iron will scratch and tear the hell out of everything when using it. The crafting iron has a teflon base that has a little bit of give and has the ideal temperature range for the holoflash. The foil I supply comes in 60cm x 10cm strips. I have a black foil that comes in 40cm x 20cm, there's a video on that being used on my channel as well. Unfortunately in manufacturing at this time it doesn't get sent out any larger in size.

[@danaaron5883]

May I know if it is possible to apply a layer of black crackle over the holoflash? How would one apply a clear coat afterwards?

[@dropbearattack6152]

It is possible! I've been sent photos of a person who did this. It was all done using a proper air compressor airbrush setup. I'm not sure how the crackle itself was done but it was done in a manner that didn't use solvents which can melt the flash. Clear coating is the same deal - water or oil based polyurethane should work but it cannot have any solvents in it - this rules out rattle can clear coats like Spraymax 2k which will melt the final finish. Like always, do test pieces first to test compatibility.

[@danaaron5883]

@@dropbearattack6152thanks for the reply man! I actually dm-ed you on ETSY. Btw, May I know how many sheets would I need to buy to entirely cover a strat styled guitar body? Thank you

[@dropbearattack6152]

@@danaaron5883 I’m sorry for the lack of response. Etsy hasn’t been giving me notifications for some reason so I’ll have to see what is going on there. 2 strips should cover a stray style body. Naturally if there is a pick guard there is no need to do underneath the pick guard because it’s going to be covered anyway, but two *should* get you all the way there

[@ryant3600]

Looks amazing can this be clear coated?

[@dropbearattack6152]

Initially I thought it couldn't. My testing using products like Spraymax 2k resulted in horrible melting and it turning into a goopy mess. More recently though I've had some customers with proper air compressor paint setups that have had success using polyurethane clear coats. The key is to use air as the propellant, not solvents. Basically rattle can clears are a no go but you *should* be ok with an air gun finish. As always, I highly recommend testing your products first to ensure compatability.

[@T0tenkampf]

I had a Holocrackle Nightswan in my younger days and I am pretty sure that it had a clear coat. Your advice is that they used a water based clear back then? I would love to recreate that guitar.

[@dropbearattack6152]

I've been getting some reports back in recent months from people in regards to their efforts to clear coat. Some have used oil-based poly 2k out of a gun with good results in clear coating. The main thing I THINK is the solvents used in rattle can clears (Like Spraymax 2k) completely melt the flash turning it into a goopy mess. Any proper 2 part oil based poly that uses air to propel instead of a solvent "should" be suitable! It's definitely worth testing - I just don't have the equipment nor the space to do the testing myself.

[@T0tenkampf]

@dropbearattack6152 That makes sense, I have heard that the additional propellants in the cans cause incompatibility issues with other media. I look forward to placing an order soonish...so many projects going rn lol.

[@dropbearattack6152]

I've got gold, silver and black all in stock when the time comes :)@@T0tenkampf

[@GtrMatt]

I had that same Nightswan.

[@clarkpetersoncda]

Have you ever tried to holoflash over a guitar that wasn't solid black on its face? Have you ever tried to get 100% coverage with the holoflash on the face of the guitar? Seems like all holo finishes leave open spots that show the paint beneath, even if small. Does it look bad to have 100% coverage? I'm asking because I've got an old charvel red burst that is really dark red to black edge and black back I was going to try this on. I never play it. Seemed like a good test guitar for this.

[@dropbearattack6152]

I’ve done the silver on orange and it has come up really good! If you look through my channel you’ll find an orange Guitar Hero controller (limited edition wooden body) that I’ve holoflashed! The small spots are generally due to imperfections in the finish. Since the material is so thin and the iron is solid even a mm of difference in the surface can cause those gaps to appear. With enough time and work you “could” cover it completely but traditionally the effect was done leaving the small gaps to break it apart. I won’t say whether or not it would or wouldn’t look bad because everyone has a different taste!

[@clarkpetersoncda]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[@cpfs936]

Could you do this with, say, all one color, and go over it until it was all covered, with no gaps? I like the look, but I'd like to eliminate the black bits.

[@dropbearattack6152]

Entirely possible to completely cover the entire guitar without any paint underneath showing. It just requires a LOT of prep work to ensure that the area you are holoflashing is entirely smooth. The gaps you see on this guitar are areas that have been dinged, scuffed and dented over years of use. The most troubling spots are areas where pot washers, screws, rings and bridges have mounted and pressed into the wood. Naturally any dings make the surface uneven which won’t allow the holoflash to adhere and bond.

[@cpfs936]

@Drop Bear Attack Thanks for the quick response! Do you think doing this with a new body might help in that regard?

[@dropbearattack6152]

@@cpfs936 I think it certainly wouldn't hurt. There's less chance of a new guitar having dings/imperfections in the body but it's never completely avoidable, especially in cheaper instruments. I noticed with a test scrap body I use to try new techniques on, the holoflash wouldn't adhere to the very slight imperfection where two seperate pieces of timber were glued and joined to make the body. Despite being sanded, planed and painted it was still visible as a thin line where the flash just didn't adhere. I did work out a technique - explained in the video - where I could use just the edge of the iron to push the flash into that line. It'll just come down to trial and error most likely! The best part is though that you can lay the holoflash directly onto itself with no ill effects so you can keep just trying to get it to cover the spots that didn't adhere the first time.

[@cpfs936]

@@dropbearattack6152 Thanks so much!