Crackle Finish - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, luthier Robbie O’Brien and fellow craftsman Marcio Zaganin chat about how to give an electric guitar a crackle-type finish.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: Can you offer some advice on how to do a crackle finish on my electric guitar?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from Boston, Massachusetts. "Robert, I just finished building an electric guitar and I want to do a crackle type finish on it. Can you offer advice on how this is done? Thanks for your videos, Dan in Boston."
Dan, I must admit, this is not a finish that I apply often in my own shop on my own guitars. However, recently I was in São Paulo, Brazil, where I visited the Tagima Guitar Factory, and they have a very popular model that uses this type of finish. I spoke with Marcio Zaganin, he has his own line of electric guitars that he builds in Brazil. He's also product development specialist at the factory. Come along, I'll let you listen in on what we talked about.
Interview with Marcio Zaganin
Okay, I'm here in São Bernardo de Campo, Brazil with Marcio Zaganin. He's product development specialist here at the Tagima Guitar Factory. One of the models of their guitars that they do is a red painted guitar that has the crackle-type finish. It's a very interesting process and I'll show you how to do it. First of all, let's talk to Marcio and let him explain. Now, the problem is I'm going to have to interview Marcio in Portuguese.
Robert: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: Marcio, it is a pleasure and thank you for being with us.]
Marcio Zaganin: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: The pleasure is mine.]
Robert: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: How is this finish done?]
Marcio: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: It started as a mistake. We start with a white base coat and the red crackle coat, as you will see, is a catalyzing error, which today is no longer an error but done on purpose. For each type finish you use a specific catalyst. In this case we use a catalyst that accelerates the curing process. As soon as it is applied it begins to shrink and form cracks.]
Robert: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: Let me translate this for the folks.]
Marcio is telling me that actually this process started as a mistake. Somebody added too much catalyst to the process and it started drying very quickly. And when it does that, it shrinks and it cracks. And if you paint a base color, and in this case, white, blue, red, whatever, and then you go over the top with the color that you want, you put the wrong cut or too much catalyst in there and this is what happens.
Robert: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: Great! Let's go to the paint booth to see the process?]
Marcio: [Portuguese] [on-screen text reads: Let's go!]
Robert: All right, so now we're going to go over to the paint booth area and we're going to see how this is done.
[on-screen text reads: Thank you very much Marcio. It was a pleasure.]
Marcio: Thank you.
Crackle finish demonstration
[Hard electric guitar music playing]
[Man paints an electric guitar body in a factory spray booth using the crackle finish method. Holds up the finished red crackle finish guitar body.]
[on-screen text reads: After clear topcoats leveling and buffing.]
Robert: So Dan, as you can see, it's not a very difficult finish to execute. However, you definitely want to do some sample boards before it's time to do this on your guitar, so happy finishing.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
