# Best Custom shop Guitar finishes EVER.



## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

Hey guys,

I have a Waghorn FF7 on order and I am quite tied up with the finish...well not really...

The current finish on the spec list is:

_'Clear ocean light blue to electric dark blue to rich, velvety royal dark purple to very thin solid black edge'
_

I Was kind of thinking that it would be like this Skervesen Nebelung, but with the purple and the blue reversed into the given order above and the absolutely incredible light blue on the PRS right in the middle. It will be a trans stain over a 7a master grade piece of tight bubble/popcorn quilt and a high gloss finish on the top of the guitar. What say you on this?












Anyways, I am getting off topic. What are the absolute best custom guitar trans finishes/stains on top of figured wood that you have ever seen? There are only 2 rules: They have to be metal as F*** and you must post pics!

If anybody is interested, the rest of the specs for the guitar are here:

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showthread.php?t=321798

Cheers!


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## Blytheryn (May 19, 2017)

This. Blows my mind.


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## Masoo2 (May 19, 2017)

Chris Kim's (The New Low, ex-Slaves) JP12-7






his new matching Albert Lee HH






And Fletch Howell's (The New Low) matching Stingray 5HH






edit: dang just read that you wanted stained finishes, here are two Skervesens to make up for those sparkles











That finish is sooooo nice, almost looks like a watercolor painting.


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## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

I love all of those, although I am not to big on the green raptor!

The Dæmoness Skeletor burst is insane. I, in fact, told Tom Waghorn to make it in that ballpark, but with a light blue instead of the pink. I really like Dæmoness, and Tom Waghorn taught him how to make guitars too, but if you observe closely, the stains are not very blended in my opinion, everything else is perfect. He has a really cool reputation and novelty factor, but even Tom commented that he kind of tells you what you can have, and he doesn't like to step out of his comfort zone too much. He is a great luthier, but he still has a while to go before he reaches perfection, in my opinion


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## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

How do you guys feel on my current finish?


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## Blytheryn (May 19, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> How do you guys feel on my current finish?



It's hard to really visualize, but based on the pics it sounds mental! I definitely dig.


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## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

Awesome! It is great to have a second opinion!


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## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

More finishes, please!


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## Arshu123 (May 19, 2017)

Subscribe to this thread if you want to be updated on pics!

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sho...d.php?t=321798


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## feraledge (May 19, 2017)

With a Waghorn, almost any finish is guaranteed to be sick.


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## Arshu123 (May 20, 2017)

> With a Waghorn, almost any finish is guaranteed to be sick.



One has never spoken a truer word...


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## GraemeH (May 20, 2017)

Washburn custom shop N4 Authentic.

Y'all are like "I like my tops with at least ten 'A's and quiltspaltflameburls and I'm over here just like "give me a piece of wood that _looks and feels like wood_.


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## marcwormjim (May 21, 2017)

Guys, we already have a Kiesel thread.


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## narad (May 21, 2017)

marcwormjim said:


> Guys, we already have a Kiesel thread.


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## Blytheryn (May 21, 2017)

marcwormjim said:


> Guys, we already have a Kiesel thread.



Best comment of the day...


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## Arshu123 (May 21, 2017)

We may have a kiesel thread, but part of this thread is that the finishes are actually 'good'.


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## Blytheryn (May 21, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> We may have a kiesel thread, but part of this thread is that the finishes are actually 'good'.



It was a joke...


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## Arshu123 (May 21, 2017)

I know...


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## Arshu123 (May 25, 2017)

MORE PICS, PLEASE!


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## Alberto7 (May 25, 2017)

Pretty much anything coming out of the Aristides Guitars shop.


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## Arshu123 (May 27, 2017)

MORE!


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## KnightBrolaire (May 29, 2017)

^this one is my favorite besides the PRS


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## cwhitey2 (May 29, 2017)

^that PRS!


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## Arshu123 (May 30, 2017)

That PRS Is blowing my mind! Not as good as the blue one at the start of the thread though...

The Skervesen is cool, but a dark blue and a purple before the black edge would look SICK! Plus, I'm not too big on poplar burl, quilt is kinda my thing

I don't know what it is about the green Dimebag/Gus G guitar, but I can never get along with neonic bright greens and yellows, they are too blinding and kind of make me feel sick!

Ziricote is incredible

That PRS is really inspiring me to do a V-burst/V-fade finish with my colours. That might turn out incredible! Bursts still have a special place in my heart though!


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## Arshu123 (Jun 11, 2017)

Any more incredible finishes?


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## oracles (Jun 11, 2017)




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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 11, 2017)

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## shadscbr (Jun 12, 2017)

Lava/Fire


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## BangandBreach (Jun 12, 2017)

GraemeH said:


> Washburn custom shop N4 Authentic.
> 
> Y'all are like "I like my tops with at least ten 'A's and quiltspaltflameburls and I'm over here just like "give me a piece of wood that _looks and feels like wood_.


Hell Yeah, I dig this.


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## Arshu123 (Jun 13, 2017)

Stunning. Just. Simply. Stunning. All of them.


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## CrazyDean (Jun 13, 2017)

While not a guitar I would personally order, gold leaf certainly stands out.












\


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## electriceye (Jun 13, 2017)

I gotta find out how PRS does that's multi-color flame. Just insane!! But, man, that lava finish.... whoa. Is that your doing or you just found it online?


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## Arshu123 (Jun 14, 2017)

I think PRS first dyes the guitar 1 colour then sands it off and puts a very contrasting colour on top and sands it off so that when the two mix you get 3 tones on 1 piece of flame. For example, purple and mint green work really well to produce a nice blue as well. If you get 2 colours, such as black and dark blue, you will pop the grain with the black, but the effect will not be as dramatic. Hope that helps


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## shadscbr (Jun 14, 2017)

electriceye said:


> But, man, that lava finish.... whoa. Is that your doing or you just found it online?



Thanks! That was a builder provided progress pic from my 1st custom build


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 14, 2017)

shadscbr said:


> Lava/Fire


that orange is so hot.
also, the prs northern lights finish starts with a purple base which is sanded back, and then they fill the low spots with turquoise dye afaik.


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## electriceye (Jun 15, 2017)

But it looks as thought they do it to each flame. Is it that extraordinarily tedious, or is the stain one color, sand, stain another really it?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jun 15, 2017)

electriceye said:


> But it looks as thought they do it to each flame. Is it that extraordinarily tedious, or is the stain one color, sand, stain another really it?


there's no real videos showing how to do it except for a 15 second one from PRS. They start with purple (which is sanded back a bit as far as I can tell) and then apply the turquoise.


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## USMarine75 (Jun 15, 2017)

I need me a Northern Lights PRS... somebody buy the $11k one for sale on ebay and then sell it to me used for 1/2 price. Thanks in advance! lol


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## electriceye (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm gonna have to try this. Thanks for the video! Confirms it's not as tedious as I feared!


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## sezna (Jun 15, 2017)

skervesen finishes do something to me deep down...that shoggie oh my gosh


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## Samark (Jun 15, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> there's no real videos showing how to do it except for a 15 second one from PRS. They start with purple (which is sanded back a bit as far as I can tell) and then apply the turquoise. 10154032046160639[/MEDIA]



Thanks for posting, that is gorgeous


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## Alberto7 (Jun 23, 2017)

This Waghorn Sauria 6 has been making the rounds on Instagram, and it just gives me a profound sense of satisfaction every time I see it reposted... or every time I see it, period.


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## Arshu123 (Jun 23, 2017)

Alberto7 said:


> This Waghorn Sauria 6 has been making the rounds on Instagram, and it just gives me a profound sense of satisfaction every time I see it reposted... or every time I see it, period.


Well then wait till you see mine, mate!


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## Samark (Jun 23, 2017)

Sometimes, all you need is a little clear coat


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## MoonJelly (Jun 23, 2017)

Carillion guitars has some 'stellar' finishes...


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## Alberto7 (Jun 24, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> Well then wait till you see mine, mate!



I hope you show it off properly! Would love to see it.



Samark said:


> Sometimes, all you need is a little clear coat



I wouldn't call that a pretty finish, but a gorgeous guitar it is.


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## rifftrauma (Jun 24, 2017)

I am a little biased...


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## Arshu123 (Jun 24, 2017)

Omg carrilion rock! If only if chris delia was a little more respectful, i would totally rock an axe! We already know how great daemoness is though...


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## narad (Jun 24, 2017)

Samark said:


> Sometimes, all you need is a little clear coat



Yours?


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## ikarus (Jun 25, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> If only if chris delia was a little more respectful, i would totally rock an axe!



Can you elaborate that?


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## Blytheryn (Jun 25, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> Omg carrilion rock! If only if chris delia was a little more respectful, i would totally rock an axe! We already know how great daemoness is though...


I think that kind of greatness doesn't hurt to be repeated once, or twice... Or like five times...


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## Arshu123 (Jun 25, 2017)

ikarus said:


> Can you elaborate that?


Basically, I submitted 1 quote and he replied with a lot of changes, which is great in my book, and was very helpful. However, as I submitted the second one, to get a feel for his pricing as it is not listed on his website, he immediately wrote me off as a time waster and didn't reply to any more emails for months. This drove me completely away from Carrilion and into the hands of Tom Waghorn, who is respectful, helpful, organised, proffessional and, most importantly, an equally good luthier, if not better.


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## narad (Jun 25, 2017)

Arshu123 said:


> Basically, I submitted 1 quote and he replied with a lot of changes, which is great in my book, and was very helpful. However, as I submitted the second one, to get a feel for his pricing as it is not listed on his website, he immediately wrote me off as a time waster and didn't reply to any more emails for months. This drove me completely away from Carrilion and into the hands of Tom Waghorn, who is respectful, helpful, organised, proffessional and, most importantly, an equally good luthier, if not better.



To be fair, you've waffled on a million specs on that build. I think Chris identified "oh, one of those guys" and just didn't want to deal with it, whereas other builders are just more open to long back-and-forths. At the end of the day, guitar builders have to build guitars, and can't do that if they are one-man-operations spending all day going through email.


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## Arshu123 (Jun 26, 2017)

narad said:


> To be fair, you've waffled on a million specs on that build. I think Chris identified "oh, one of those guys" and just didn't want to deal with it, whereas other builders are just more open to long back-and-forths. At the end of the day, guitar builders have to build guitars, and can't do that if they are one-man-operations spending all day going through email.


I completely agree mate. He is totally not atoumd to talk about specs that 'might' eventually make money for him. He is a great luthier and i dont think respectful word the correct word choice at all. If your watching chris, keep it up man! I suppose i should have said that he was just not the luthier i was looking for and was a little too expensive.


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## narad (Jun 26, 2017)

^^ his shapes aren't my thing -- I'm actually more keen on a Waghorn AH6. However, I don't trust the opinion of many people without reservation, but some that I do have nothing but great things to say about Chris and his work.


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