Hi everybody,
Anyone seen the fender custom shop closet classics, I have seem a few in either candy apple or metal flake red with the crackled finish as if it was put away for years. Its to die for.
I am in the process of refinishing an old p-bass, and I am trying to figure out how to get that finish. I will be painting it in a metallic orange color, and went with poly to get that color. I have read that that sort of finish is obtained by combining a first coat of slow drying clear, and when it is not yet fully dry applying a faster drying clear (water-based ?). Perhaps also using a hairdryer to help dry the outside clear coat quicker might help the inner coat cause the crackling when it dries.

I also heard of someone else who apparently used the electronics cooling spray on nitro a few months after having done the finish.

Does anyone have experience with this, can any one provide advice ? I'm keen on trying this but I'm also afraid to have gone to all the trouble to sand, prime, paint, clear, etc and end up wrecking my paint job...

Thanks, Dan.

I've seen a tokai identicaly faked to a 58 les paul. The guy who did it done the lacquer cracks with a scalpel, not for the faint of heart. He made a great job of it. Thats the only way I can thing to get it onto a polyurethane finish.

With cellulose you simply keep warming (with a hairdryer) then freezing (with a aerosol can of air). Or winter is coming, you can simply take the guitar out one night with no case. Leave it out for awhile, bring it in and put it near the heater.

Gotta say I loved the closset classic look too. Shame they dont do it anymore. Its relic or NOS now.

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No no and no

Hi nikininja, thanks for your reply. I'm disppointed you can't do with poly, scalpel is definitely not for me !

I only found one place on the web for nitro lacker (reranch), but would not definitely find the color I am looking for (metallic orange or candy tangerine). Know of any other place I might be able to find that ?

Thanks,

Dan

Shooting for something like this:

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Here's something I got in my goodies-bag with my G.E. Smith Telecaster because it has the nirto finish. It talks about AVOIDING crackles, but ought to be handy in producing them, too:

Thanks guys, that was exactly the information I was looking for, and the pictures describes well what I was shooting for...

Dan

Flooding can do it too ... this guitars spend some time submerged 10 years ago.

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hmm,

musicmaster I presume that was underwater, you're not afreaid to get a shock playing it !

Cool

Dan

It had a lot of time to dry out LOL. I hadn't touched it for 10 years after it was submerged until last week! It was sitting in my friends garage in it's case. I had pulled the neck as a wall decoration, but then I was like what the hell, lets see if it plays. It needed a pickup and now it plays freakin great! I'm changing the pots later this week. Stupid thing will probably end up my favorite to play.

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