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A while back I found myself with a nice set of Indian Rosewood, but unfortunately it was covered with some ugly stains. I decided to build with it anyway and gild the resulting guitar with metal leaf as an excuse to explore different colors and textures not normally associated with guitars. The result was a 28" scale steel string baritone. I thought I would share my methods and results.

For those unfamiliar with gilding, it is simply the application of a very thin layer of metal to a surface. It has been practiced for centuries and in all those years the process hasn't changed much. The basic process for gilding wood goes something like this: first the surface is primed with a light coat of shellac. Next a coat of adhesive, or 'size', is painted on. Once the size is tacky a metal leaf is applied (leaf is just an extremely thin sheet of metal like gold, silver, copper, etc) and finally the leaf is burnished into the surface. Depending on how the leaf is applied one can get all kinds of different textural effects. Sometimes chemicals can be applied which react with the metal to mimic various patinas or tarnishes that metals take on as they age. Metals like gold and aluminum are non-reactive so patinas are not possible; however, metals like silver, copper, dutch metal, or pretty much anything that oxidizes or tarnishes, will react with a wide array of chemicals and can produce stunning colors and textures depending on how and how long they are applied. For this project I chose copper as the metal and a Barium Sulfide solution to produce the chemical patina.

Here's the guitar in question, it is sitka spruce with cocobolo bridge and fingerboard:



Applying the copper leaf: on this section I kind of swirled the leaf around while applying it to get a swirly texture. In this picture I have the purflings masked with tape and am tamping the leaf down into the edge with a very soft brush which is taped for support:



Here is another section, where I left the size somewhat softer than normal and applied the leaf by tapping it into the wood with my fingertip. The valleys you see are the pores of the wood; the other texture you see is the imprint left by my fingerprints:



The same section with Barium Sulfide solution added to get the chemical patina:



Some of the colors:




It was a pretty big pain to scrape away the excess leaf and size around the purfling with an exacto knife... next time I might wait until after gilding to rout the binding/purfling channels.



The finished back:



Here's a cool trick: I sprayed thin lines of shellac then very very lightly and carefully sanded the result with a very fine grit. The result looks uniform straight on and like a curly figure at certain angles:



There are other features the photos don't capture. I will be bringing this guitar to the GAL convention in June. Come check it out and say hello!

That is way too creative Lex. I am impressed, and wish I were going to the GAL convention to see it. What are you finishing it with?

John

That's wild....!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Way cool Ringo!

The GAL should give you a free lifetime membership since you are the only member with a truly gilded guitar....

Cool, I can't wait to see it at GAL. It sounds like you have done gilding in the past. Would you do this on a guitar again?

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

That is way cool. What an interesting process and look. Nice work.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

John, the finish is a light french polish over stripes of sprayed shellac rubbed out to a semi-gloss sheen. I think a high gloss would look very out of place with the very old look of the patina. I guess technically it's not a French polish since I didn't fill any pores or get it to a high gloss... maybe that makes it just a Fre polish?



Oh sure, but it really took a lot of time the way I did it. I will certainly change a few things next time.

That came out really nice.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

This is an inexpressively groovy thing. I had thought to try Metal Master paint, with an acid wash for patina, but chickened out. I CAN tell you that finishing before routing the binding channels was a nonstarter - I tried it! Wherever the 30k spinning bearing touched down, it melted and then grabbed the living bejeepers out of the topcoat, removing it down into the primer and creating a noticeable divot sideways into the top and bottom, which I had to fair out and rerout.

Dan

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

This is an inexpressively groovy thing. I had thought to try Metal Master paint, with an acid wash for patina, but chickened out. I CAN tell you that finishing before routing the binding channels was a nonstarter - I tried it! Wherever the 30k spinning bearing touched down, it melted and then grabbed the living bejeepers out of the topcoat, removing it down into the primer and creating a noticeable divot sideways into the top and bottom, which I had to fair out and rerout.

Dan

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

Very cool.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Ringo, I'm stoked you're bringing that to Tacoma.
Yet another reason to look forward to the trip.
Such a cool look... can't wait to see it up close.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Amazing!! Great job!! I bet it took some guts to pull that one off!

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

I like it. I like it a lot!

I also like how you pulled it off so that it doesn't come out stupid goofy, THAT takes skill!

OK, so it looks great, how is it just as a guitar? Pretty good I expect.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Ringo,

What a cool and unique finish! Yet another way to take ho-hum back and side sets and pump up the aesthetics. I do love wood, and I do like the restrained look of plain looking back & side sets sometimes, and highly figured wood at other times, but this is a really cool variant that really stands on its own.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

dang, that's cool!

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Ringo,
That is so cool!

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.