Martin-style Ambertone

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

Hey, we saw this on council of elders and everyone wasn’t sure what color you meant. Might just be a different nomenclature etc. Do you have a pic of a guitar that represents the color you’re shooting for ?

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

Apologies for not being on here as often as I should, lots of projects and sound gigs, but attached are a few examples of “ambertone” im after…..Norman Blakes 1933 D-28, a Custom SHop 00-42 John Mayer and a standard D28 “ambertone”…….Ive done Bursts before, 2-tones on strats with results I liked, simply mix transtint amber for the base, and some Tobacco Brown for the edge…..the “ambertone” seems to have a darker, and more redish hue to the initial base color coat, then a very light, almost transparent edge color with a warm almost mahogany brown maybe? If anyone has any tips about how to go about mixing up that initial color I think thats what I need help with most of all.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

I think you could produce that with Vintage Amber dye and Medium Brown from either TransTint or Color Tone (same stuff). I would hit the whole top with the vintage amber and then band with the medium brown.

If the Vintage Amber is either too red or not red enough, you could do a light coat of either red or green to get it where you want it. By light, I mean super duper light.

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

Im working with a mix of transtint and stewmac “colortone” pigments although I think stewmac is just transtint rebranded. When you say Vintage Amber I presume you mean colortone from stewamac?….that being said im also using Crystalac products for my finishing. attached is my first attempt, but I think my base coat is too yellow, and band is to think and dark…I think this is mostly transtint standard amber, maybe with a touch of dark vintage maple, with a drop or two of the crystlac red pigment for the base coat, and dark walnut for the outer band….when I get my spray booth back together, ill try again with some testers and post results

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

They are rebranded. The Dark Walnut has almost no red in it. You look you produced a fairly red neutral color. Which I like better, but isn’t as red as what you were shooting for.

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Ian Davlin The Looth Group.

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

do you think the “transtint” Dark Vintage Maple could get there to that center color?

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

Im not familiar with that color. You could shoot some tests.

[Jeff Jewitt Jewitt Guitars/Homestead Finishing]

Dark Vintage Maple in TransTint is just a stronger version (more concentrated) of ColorTone “Straw”. I don’t like amber or Vintage Amber for the center color. I find a better center color with 1 part Vintage Amber to 1 part Golden Brown works best. Alternatively Dark Vintage Maple is pretty close.

To me – to match the Martin, Id start with one of those approaches for the center color and then do your outside perimeter in Tobacco brown (Dark Mission Brown Transtint). Then come back and do the transition color with Reddish Brown Transtint with maybe a bit of Medium Brown in it.

The Following is a Cross Reference Chart for ColorTone to TransTint

ColorTone – TransTint

Vintage Amber – Honey Amber

Red Mahogany – Reddish Brown

Tobacco Brown – Dark Mission Brown

Cherry Red – Bright Red

Bright Green – Green

Coral Reef Blue – Aqua

Electric Violet – Violet

All the others are named the same in both ColorTone and TransTint

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

It should be noted that Jeff is the producer of Transtint.

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

is the golden brown anywhere close to the nazareth mahogany?

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

So conclusion….good news bad news…….with the help and advice provided, I did get much closer to the color scheme I was after, one more wide dusting of medium brown and I think I would have nailed it……now to the problem….Im having trouble keeping my binding and rosette clean. my first attempt I tried to scrape after all color was applied, and this time I tried to tape off the areas, and the rosette turned out ok, but the binding tore away finish with it in some spots.

I think my issue is two fold, or maybe one fold, maybe no fold…..im using Crystalac Brite-tone as my finish. The colortone/trans-tint seems to need quite a hearty dose to result in much color application at all with this top-coat, meaning that I think I may be continuously under applying color, which results in lots and lots of coats to get the color I want, and that builds up to much finish on the tape, thus resulting in the tape pulling finish away….it probably also didnt help that I didnt allow the finish to cure fully before I pulled the tape, but I still think im applying too much top coat for the color application I want…

Anyone have much experience with water-based products and transtint/colortone, specifically Brite-tone?

Should I maybe consider another inert method of color application, IE: maybe the zinsser Sealcoat product to mix my color into?

Any thoughts <font color=”#dd9933″>@patreon_29456951 </font> @ianhatesguitars

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

What was your prep before the color layer ? No matter what, with catalyzed finishes, you need a robust abrasion layer before spray. It’s tempting to skip this on the color coat, due to it feeling like it will lead to a less smooth color coat, but it can lead to adhesion issues.

Bonus tip. For a smoother sunburst, never shoot a color layer on a still wet color layer. Always let the color layer you just shot off gas to the point of being dry to the touch before shooting a subsequent layer. When you shoot onto wet lacquer, your over spray has something to stick to. When it sticks it creates a little bump that your next passes will stick to making dark little rocks in the fade.

Yours looks pretty clean btw. Nice fade.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  Ian Davlin The Looth Group.

[Jonathan Stewart JM Stewart Guitars]

Prep was essentially the recommended britetone method, sand wood to 220, spray 2-3 coats of their wood sealer to get a smooth surface sanded to 320ish , I thin apply color mixed into the clear brite-tone product, always waiting for a completely dry surface before spraying more color coats.

Thanks for the fade props, I was pretty happy with it until my tape on the binding ripped the color away