Fading a Guitar's Finish

[Pointbreakd]

So i have G&L Legacy and I love it but I hate the bright green finish. Before I decide to re-finish it, I'm going to try and relic it.

So far I have gone over the body with Micro-mesh (sandpaper) and it worked well, the color is not as shiny, its more dull and aged.

Now I want to fade the actual color if this is possible. Is there anything that will fade it? (other than playing it a lot, time, etc etc )

[John Phillips]

Leave it outside in the sun for a week or two.

If that doesn't do it, it's probably fade-proof.

Here's one that wasn't .

[Pointbreakd]

Is sun bad for the wood, because of the heat?


Any other quick fixes?

[John Phillips]

You could try a tanning bed .

I don't know if the heat would be all that bad a thing - it would help simulate the years of temperature cycling that cause checking etc and make a guitar look old. I'd maybe be inclined to take the neck off with a bolt-on though.

A funny thought struck me, which is that I dislike the concept of 'relicing' a guitar by deliberately damaging it, or even faking wear using tools (including sandpaper), but for some reason I have no problem with aging a finish using sunlight or even artificial UV - or deliberate temperature extremes. I suppose it's the difference between creating 'wear' as opposed to 'age'.

[cvansickle]

Originally posted by John Phillips
You could try a tanning bed .

I don't know if the heat would be all that bad a thing - it would help simulate the years of temperature cycling that cause checking etc and make a guitar look old. I'd maybe be inclined to take the neck off with a bolt-on though.

A funny thought struck me, which is that I dislike the concept of 'relicing' a guitar by deliberately damaging it, or even faking wear using tools (including sandpaper), but for some reason I have no problem with aging a finish using sunlight or even artificial UV - or deliberate temperature extremes. I suppose it's the difference between creating 'wear' as opposed to 'age'.

Ultra-violet light is non-invasive. It's like laser surgery instead of an ectomy.

[Pointbreakd]

Ya but where do I get UV light?

[tiptone]

Outside.

[Pointbreakd]

Originally posted by tiptone
Outside.

ha. ok fine. I meant like from a bulb. I'm worried that outside will cause heat and condensationa and ruin the wood.

Anyway I talked to the guy from Relicguitars.com and I guess my G&L legacy is probably a Poly finish. So it's not going to fade.

[John Phillips]

Originally posted by Pointbreakd
Anyway I talked to the guy from Relicguitars.com and I guess my G&L legacy is probably a Poly finish. So it's not going to fade.

That PRS is a poly finish. It depends on the stability of the chemical dyes in the finish, not the material itself.

You can get UV light from a tanning bed, like I said. You may have to hang around with a bunch of women in bikinis while getting your guitar tanned of course. The only problem is that they'll think you're weird .

[tiptone]

Sorry, natural-born-smart ass.

I've seen HID lights (metal halide, high pressure sodium, mercury vapor) do relic-type things to plastics. Gives them a really nice coloration, metal halide gave a mint greenish tint and high pressure sodium a more tea or coffee color.

I'm not sure if they would do the same for paint, but HPS and MH lights can be had cheap at Home Depot/Lowes if you wanna give it a try.

[paintguy]

UV light is the best source for fading a see-through color. It doesn't matter what type of finish it is, it still will fade. I Don't recommend putting your guitar in the sun as it can cause a whole of other damage with necks, fingerboards, etc...

Uv lights used in curing automotive paints are a small fortune. They start at about $1500.00 for a lamp that does about a foot of area.

Your best bet might be to get a refinish job(if you can afford) or just wait 20-25 years.(ha ha)

Larry

[Pointbreakd]

Originally posted by tiptone
Sorry, natural-born-smart ass.

I've seen HID lights (metal halide, high pressure sodium, mercury vapor) do relic-type things to plastics. Gives them a really nice coloration, metal halide gave a mint greenish tint and high pressure sodium a more tea or coffee color.

I'm not sure if they would do the same for paint, but HPS and MH lights can be had cheap at Home Depot/Lowes if you wanna give it a try.

Hmm interesting...Maybe I'll give that a try...

[Pointbreakd]

Originally posted by paintguy
UV light is the best source for fading a see-through color. It doesn't matter what type of finish it is, it still will fade. I Don't recommend putting your guitar in the sun as it can cause a whole of other damage with necks, fingerboards, etc...

Uv lights used in curing automotive paints are a small fortune. They start at about $1500.00 for a lamp that does about a foot of area.

Your best bet might be to get a refinish job(if you can afford) or just wait 20-25 years.(ha ha)

Larry

The guitar is totally gutted. So it's just the body we're talking about. It's not see-thru its a retro looking green.

[baald]

if you have a place in a cool building that has a window that gets sunlight, you can probably get some UV happening, though i think even plain glass absorbs quite a bit of UV. you could also put a fan on it if youre worried about it getting too hot in the sun; you can get a black light from home depot or a headshop for some UV action. possibly some flouroscent grow-lights. i'd stay away form HID lights inside if you're worroed about heat as they get VERY warm

baald

[tiptone]

The lights are easy to spot, they're the kind that light parking lots, really most outdoor places that aren't still fluorescent. Metal halide is the white/blue color and high pressure sodium is the orange tinted one. Those are the colors that they tend to turn white plastics so I would try a metal halide with that green body of yours.

Most Lowes-type stores carry smaller 70W HPS and MH lamps pretty cheap. I do notice more HPS than MH for some reason, you may have to look a bit.