Hobbayne Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Sitting here with my sunburst P Bass and was wondering how the sunburst finishes were done. I imagine there are three different colours blended together. Anyone know how they doit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 You start with the yellow all over, then a big line of red, then a thinner line of black. All my basses are sunburst. This colour scheme with RW and tort just makes me happy to pick up my basses. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 9 minutes ago, Hobbayne said: Sitting here with my sunburst P Bass and was wondering how the sunburst finishes were done. I imagine there are three different colours blended together. Anyone know how they doit? There will be a Tutorial on YouTube, should you wish to view it..! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 It's done with a spray gun and then 2 or 3 different colours, with the lightest colour overall and the darkest colour at the extreme edge, and IMO most mass produced sunbursts are appallingly done, with nasty hard edges and no sense of subtlety. A good airbrush artist could create a wonderfully blended sunburst with a smooth graduation from the lightest to the darkest colour, but they are highly skilled people and the time and wage they would demand would probably double the cost of a MIM Fender! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 50 minutes ago, chris_b said: You start with the yellow all over, then a big line of red, then a thinner line of black. All my basses are sunburst. This colour scheme with RW and tort just makes me happy to pick up my basses. red is last 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 46 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said: There will be a Tutorial on YouTube, should you wish to view it..! about 1.2 million at the latest count 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 54 minutes ago, chris_b said: You start with the yellow all over, then a big line of red, then a thinner line of black. All my basses are sunburst. This colour scheme with RW and tort just makes me happy to pick up my basses. actually you start with grain filler to make the grain stand out through the amber, then the amber all over, then the black then finally the red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBH Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 The correct order is yellow/Amber, red then brown. Some people use a black, but a traditional fender style should be brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 First, you start with a tree of your chosen type... ... then the Bass Pixies do magic. That's it. Technical, I know! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) Vintage style 3 colour Fender bursts were done in the following manner: 1 - Yellow stain in bare wood 2 - tobacco brown burst on the edges 3 - red transparent colour on top of tobacco brown (this also gave the impression that the tobacco brown colour was nearer to black, but retains a warmer hue than using black) The reason finder used this order, was to. Allow for possible "rub through" of the finish when flatting the lacquer prior to buffing. If you have the black on last, it's very easy to rub through the tracing-paper thin layers. Rubbing through a final dark layer before applying the clear topcoat, would result in a light patch in the colour, which would then require further touching up. Rubbing though a red layer would still leave the dark finish below, so wouldn't be noticeable on the final finish. Fender also used a "target burst" finish where the yellow stain onto the bare wood was replaced by using a transparent white base coat, then transparent yellow on top, followed by the tobacco brown / red layers. Here's a three tone "target burst" I did on the Andy Summers Tele I made a whole back : Edited January 3, 2019 by kevin_lindsay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollie 55 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 AGG ITS A GUITAR. quick someone pass me a bass😦. PHEW THAT WAS CLOSE 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 (edited) Sorry bud, my bass finishing pics only have Shell Pink, Olympic White, or 2 tone vintage burst! Hahaha. Incidentally here's the 2 tone Burst I'm currently working on: Yellow stain on bare alder (which was bleached prior to applying the yellow stain - the same way Fender did with their original bursts), nitrocellulose clear sealer coat, then tobacco brown burst, then clear topcoat. I also crazed the lacquer for a slightly aged feel. Edited January 3, 2019 by kevin_lindsay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollie 55 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, kevin_lindsay said: Sorry bud, my bass finishing pics only have Shell Pink, Olympic White, or 2 tone vintage burst! Hahaha. Incidentally here's the 2 tone Burst I'm currently working on: Yellow stain on bare alder (which was bleached prior to applying the yellow stain - the same way Fender did with their original bursts), nitrocellulose clear sealer coat, then tobacco brown burst, then clear topcoat. I also crazed the lacquer for a slightly aged feel. better feeling a lot better now 😋 that was close Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 9 hours ago, Hobbayne said: Sitting here with my sunburst P Bass and was wondering how WHY the sunburst finishes were done. Fixed. I'm kidding. I owned a sunburst fretless J once and sent it back because of the dead spot on the neck. Nowt to do with the burst nor the huge headstock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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