Has anyone ever used Reranch tinted blue?

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:59 pm

Okay, so for my Sonicstang project I am now thinking of doing a darker LPB, but can't seem to find any color that matches. I basically want the more navy blue color of LPB and not the medium blue.

So I was thinking of shooting it with LPB, then using a tinted clear over it like I did to get Hunter's green on my Musicmaster, and found this at Reranch

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/blutran.html

Has anyone ever shot this stuff before? Is it more like a clear coat with a blue tint? I just want to darken up the LPB, would this work?

Suggestions?

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 2:49 am

Trans blue is a pigment in an alcohol base, so it goes on very lightly. It also starts out looking a bit teal, and gradually gets darker. I don't think it would ever look like your photo. It might improve LPB though.

The heavy grain on the late 70s MM was ideal for it.

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:53 am

Heh, the photo I posted was from Reranch where they list the stuff, so I hope for their sake it does eventually turn that color

If it'll darken up LPB, that's all I really need to know. Thanks for the info!

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:18 am

Pens wrote:Heh, the photo I posted was from Reranch where they list the stuff, so I hope for their sake it does eventually turn that color

Shooting trans finishes over different woods/grains can bring out different hues though; hard to say what colour it will be over flamed or quilted maple vs. poplar vs. mahogany, etc... and certainly slightly different each time.
Only weird thing there is I would think it'd be much brighter over maple, rather than darker as yours and D's photos would suggest... but grain and angles can pull a lot of tricks with the photography of nitro finishes.

kdanie · Post by **kdanie** » Tue Jan 22, 2013 3:18 am

The only way to know for sure if it will do what you want is to try it on a test piece.

There are other ways to get a darker metallic blue than using "guitar specific" paint. Duplicolor has several metallic blues in acrylic lacquer that works well and can be top coated with nitro clear.

Here's some test pieces I did:

This is how it ended up:

I ended up using duplicolor blue metallic with some blue tint in clear lacquer over that for a couple coats followed by straight clear. I used a spray gun for the tinted clear and straight clear.

ken

Pens · Post by **Pens** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:26 am

That's a nice color. I hear you on using auto paint, actually that is my plan when I get the body. Last build I just went up to my local auto parts store and picked out a color from the car color options there. GM Bahama Blue is the same thing as LPB, but I'm going to do some more browsing when I get to that stage.