I love the final look on the scratch plate. I think leave everything else as is, with the exception of applying this same effect to the truss rod cover. An understated way to unify the body and headstock visually.
As a long time milliput user my advice is to do everything with wet fingers and use a wet brush for the surface. Wet as in water. IPA works but water gives you more control. This was superb. What a finish!!
That looks awesome Really has changed the look of the guitar and made it more unique than the other goldtops around. You really inspire me Ben to try out some new finish ideas Love your content m8
I love it! I've had a box of lace ribbons, etc. in the drawer for years but never really figured out how to put them to use on an instrument - this has rekindled the think-tank.
That's really beautiful, Ben. Kind of a vintage leather/snakeskin that looks like it has belonged to someone for a long time. I love the adventure of knowing what you want and approximately the direction to get there, but having to redraw the map sometimes along the way to find the path through.
You should go down the wargaming/ttrpg rabbit hole for milliput or green stuff inspiration. There's a large knowledge base for materials and techniques including roller templates that don't stick and impress a pattern
this one turned out perfect so if you do it again, I do like the idea of continuing the lines of the fret markers down to the plate would look cool and give it all a flowing look.
I use miliputt a lot on my wood turnings. I use an electric pasta roller to mix it. Works like a treat and when you're using a lot of it, the roller saves your hand and fingers from fatigue. And it's pretty forgiving, you don't need a scale. I just lay the 2 sticks side by side and cut them with a knife, never had any issues. And if you want to take a mold imprint or to get it not to stick, just use a light sprinkling of baby powder, kind of like they do in metal casting.
I dont know if anyone else has suggested, but why not use block printing ink, roll it onto the pick guard and then burnish as you did with the milliput version, admittedly the pick guard would need to be keyed and possibly a clearcoat over the top to protect. Or apply the ink to the lace and press onto the pick guard may also work.
I'd love to see you experiment with truck bed liner. It's an incredibly tough material with a lot of texture and I'm sure you'd find crazy ways of using it.
I feel like a six year old playing in the dirt. Tell me about it! I just screwed four yes FOUR guitar wall hangers to my office wall and it feels sooooooooooo GOOD.
Ben, very pretty design of lace. Left a first impression that looked fantastic. The word you are looking for is “kaizen”, Japanese for “good change” that now is known as “continual improvement.” It’s the process the Japanese use in all their production processes. Tiny little adjustments, changes to one item after another to eventually create a perfect item to create a perfect whole. Cars, martial arts, guitars anyone? Nice work, BTW, my man.
I loved you showing the process WITH mistakes because thats how we ALL learn. The pick guard looks awesome, like it was made by a human. The only critque, that phillips screw just screams at me.
I can't help feel that the surface of that pick guard is going to look a lot worse once it has done what it is designed to do - protecting the top of the body from being scratched by the pick. Maybe that's just me. Would it be feasible to protect the surface with a clear covering/coating?
I've used Milliput for years on guitars. For things like filling in pot/switch holes under a refinish, reshaping chipped/sanded flat headstock "open book" designs etc. beware it does shrink after a few months, and water is your friend for smoothing/thinning Milliput.
Be interesting on any of the fender designs scratchplates. Only downside is milliput gets brittle with age. Greenstuff is a little more elastic so it doesn't get as brittle as it ages
My thoughts were exactly what you said about delamination but not ever working with the stuff or knowing whether it shrinks , cracks etc. 80 grit key plus a degrease wipe before applying ( is there a bonding primer for the putty?) a release agent)/ oil on the rolling pin may help 🤷. I did like the final look a lot better than the straight up black. Could you achieve a similar result bonding carved/laser etched leather onto a pick guard?
having the fret markers the same way as the scratch plate would maybe take it from a really cool looking highlight into a more integrated style decision
Dear Cris... if you mix aluminum with yellow and a little bit of red, you will get the exact gold of the guitar, plus a bonus of having that mysterious almost iridescent gold shine, typical of guitar pickguards
While I like this technique and think it'll be amazing once perfected - what it has done for me is show a new possibility for a project I'm working on now. While many have seen/ done wallpaper or material on a guitar body - I have a large, black/white/black, tri-layer pickguard on an Ibanez that I have been struggling to make interesting. (The guitar body is to be swirled) I had thought of a decal or carving a pattern into it - but I may now epoxy some wallpaper or material onto it that contrasts with the swirl. Thanks for the (constant, numerous and over several years) inspiration Ben.
How about constructing parts, scratchplate, P.U. rings etc. from clear acrylic and spraying from behind, then you end up with a smooth top finish which cannot be damaged.
Didn’t Fender do something similar with their Paisley guitars a long time ago?? I know snakeskin was done in the 80s by Matsumoku… Hiwever, this is an interesting project, shown warts and all; kudos, Ben!
Next week on Crimson - Ben makes gold lacy inlays, pick-up surrounds, and a switch tip and poker chip. Then he debates whether to do the truss rod cover and headstock to match the following week…
I like the look of the gold filler that you used but it would be fun to see what some Antique Gold Rub 'N Buff or maybe the European Gold Rub 'N Buff would do. Rub 'N Buff is a wax and if you hit the high spots with it, I think that would be a pretty cool look
This has enspired me to scan some lace patterns and 3D print a textured plate to stick on a pickguard, I might also print a stamp using semi flexible TPU filament so that it can be used to make the impression in Milliput, I think brushing some IPA on to the Milliput before stamping the texture will help to stop any sticking issues. Some protective self adhesive film might be a good thing on the back of the pickguard while working with the Milliput. I think the 3D printed version will be better as I can make all the other plastic parts with the same texture, or even print them smooth with the same lace pattern. I think a clear coat, whether gloss or matte would be a good thing on top of the Milliput.
The scratchplate looks great, and fretboard inlays would look good, but I think pickup surrounds etc would be a step too far. I'd want the screws to be gold as well, but that could lead to even further changes!
super awesome, it went better than you give yourself credit for. How about a snakeskin pattern...dragon scales...entire body and headstock, knobs are taxidermy eyes modified with more miliput...
Custom car and motorcyle builders have been spraying paint over lace since forever to create some stunning finishes. Never seen in done on a guitar yet.
Was that a North of the Border shoutout? Awesome! By the way: people who sculpt green stuff or milliput wet their tools in solvent to prevent them sticking
this is me watching and stopping at 16:34, jumping to the keyboard and stating that I m thinking of the gold-flake wax finish that he can apply - let;s see where he goes with this...
Ben, someone once said “less is more.” Please don’t do further to this guitar. Too much is too much and just enough is nice and fine and just what was needed. As The War Doctor wrote: No More.
Turned out awesome (I was surprised). I think that pattern is too big for it to make sense for the fretboard inlays in this case. Why dont more people do unusual stuff with guitars = fear. Most people are very conservative and fear being ridiculed for painting a guitar in surf green when "its not even a surf guitar man".
I'm of the opinion that more is usually not better. As it sits, the scratchplate is a center of attention, a focal point. Do all the other plastic bits and, well, it just becomes yet another thing amongst other similar things. Let it shine as the focus of attention. Fretboard inlays? Oh, my sweet God, no! They'd look great at first, but over time the recesses will become packed with dirt, skin oil, and other guitar-playing related schmutz that the owner will never be able to satisfactorily clean off. Unless, of course, you are building a guitar to hang on a wall in a box behind glass that nobody will ever touch.
"Tone this down by making it gold" is the most Ben thing that's ever been said.
Ha! It's one of the reasons we love him and keep coming back!
I love the final look on the scratch plate. I think leave everything else as is, with the exception of applying this same effect to the truss rod cover. An understated way to unify the body and headstock visually.
On kustom cars they lay the lace over the base coat of paint an dust paint over the top remove lace an apply top coat
As much as I love that process, that guitar is now perfect. No need to do Pup surrounds or inlays. Class
As a long time milliput user my advice is to do everything with wet fingers and use a wet brush for the surface. Wet as in water. IPA works but water gives you more control.
This was superb. What a finish!!
I was coming here to say just that. Basically I treat it like clay, and it seems to work just fine...
That was fun to watch. Thanks 👍
classic ... I was so questioning this process .... end result ... Beautiful!!
That looks awesome
Really has changed the look of the guitar and made it more unique than the other goldtops around. You really inspire me Ben to try out some new finish ideas
Love your content m8
Imagine instead of a burl or flame maple top you did this as a top and then cleared over it!
This looks so good with the color of the guitar. Great in fact.
I love it! I've had a box of lace ribbons, etc. in the drawer for years but never really figured out how to put them to use on an instrument - this has rekindled the think-tank.
Should make a veneer for the headstock to match the scratch plate
Im thinking you should do the whole top ( lace gold / black ) in a similar fashion, probably easier to just pain though
That's really beautiful, Ben. Kind of a vintage leather/snakeskin that looks like it has belonged to someone for a long time. I love the adventure of knowing what you want and approximately the direction to get there, but having to redraw the map sometimes along the way to find the path through.
You should go down the wargaming/ttrpg rabbit hole for milliput or green stuff inspiration. There's a large knowledge base for materials and techniques including roller templates that don't stick and impress a pattern
Love these experimental tech videos! I need more!
this one turned out perfect so if you do it again, I do like the idea of continuing the lines of the fret markers down to the plate would look cool and give it all a flowing look.
That looks so cool! 🤘
Definitely go for the inlays as well! That is awesome!!!👍✌️💯💪🎼🎵🎵☕️😎
I use miliputt a lot on my wood turnings. I use an electric pasta roller to mix it. Works like a treat and when you're using a lot of it, the roller saves your hand and fingers from fatigue. And it's pretty forgiving, you don't need a scale. I just lay the 2 sticks side by side and cut them with a knife, never had any issues. And if you want to take a mold imprint or to get it not to stick, just use a light sprinkling of baby powder, kind of like they do in metal casting.
So much win here 🎉
You should definitely do the jack plate to match the scratch guard along with the pick up surrounds and switch cover
I dont know if anyone else has suggested, but why not use block printing ink, roll it onto the pick guard and then burnish as you did with the milliput version, admittedly the pick guard would need to be keyed and possibly a clearcoat over the top to protect.
Or apply the ink to the lace and press onto the pick guard may also work.
I'd love to see you experiment with truck bed liner. It's an incredibly tough material with a lot of texture and I'm sure you'd find crazy ways of using it.
Yes go for the inlays too. Very impressed
Would the texture not feel weird on the hands if it was used for fretboard inlays??
My guess would be he'd epoxy over the top so it's flush to the touch
This is amazing. You should do block inlays matching this pickguard. That would look incredible 👍
I might try this on some Furnature. Cool
that looks great Ben
I feel like a six year old playing in the dirt. Tell me about it! I just screwed four yes FOUR guitar wall hangers to my office wall and it feels sooooooooooo GOOD.
Looks great.
Ben, very pretty design of lace. Left a first impression that looked fantastic.
The word you are looking for is “kaizen”, Japanese for “good change” that now is known as “continual improvement.” It’s the process the Japanese use in all their production processes. Tiny little adjustments, changes to one item after another to eventually create a perfect item to create a perfect whole. Cars, martial arts, guitars anyone?
Nice work, BTW, my man.
I loved you showing the process WITH mistakes because thats how we ALL learn. The pick guard looks awesome, like it was made by a human. The only critque, that phillips screw just screams at me.
I can't help feel that the surface of that pick guard is going to look a lot worse once it has done what it is designed to do - protecting the top of the body from being scratched by the pick. Maybe that's just me. Would it be feasible to protect the surface with a clear covering/coating?
I thin sheet of silicone, like the mats used in some crafts, sprayed with a little mould release, would do the job for rolling out the Milliput.
The inlays would be a lot of work, but the poker chip and truss rod cover would be cool!
OMG the Inlay idea!
Awesome idea!
Me! 🖐️ I knew.
A strop is excellent for the final finish on high-end guitar picks.
I've used Milliput for years on guitars.
For things like filling in pot/switch holes under a refinish, reshaping chipped/sanded flat headstock "open book" designs etc.
beware it does shrink after a few months, and water is your friend for smoothing/thinning Milliput.
The pickup surrounds, switch tip and ring would be cool. What about the truss rod cover as well? Oh hell... would the tuning pegs be too much?
“Is this a good idea or am I insane?” …Two things can be true 😂
Be interesting on any of the fender designs scratchplates. Only downside is milliput gets brittle with age. Greenstuff is a little more elastic so it doesn't get as brittle as it ages
Well now I want to do this on my two guitars
My thoughts were exactly what you said about delamination but not ever working with the stuff or knowing whether it shrinks , cracks etc. 80 grit key plus a degrease wipe before applying ( is there a bonding primer for the putty?) a release agent)/ oil on the rolling pin may help 🤷.
I did like the final look a lot better than the straight up black.
Could you achieve a similar result bonding carved/laser etched leather onto a pick guard?
Do the rest definitely!! ❤
having the fret markers the same way as the scratch plate would maybe take it from a really cool looking highlight into a more integrated style decision
Dear Cris... if you mix aluminum with yellow and a little bit of red, you will get the exact gold of the guitar, plus a bonus of having that mysterious almost iridescent gold shine, typical of guitar pickguards
I like subtle, truss rod cover with the same effect would be just the right amount i think.
While I like this technique and think it'll be amazing once perfected - what it has done for me is show a new possibility for a project I'm working on now.
While many have seen/ done wallpaper or material on a guitar body - I have a large, black/white/black, tri-layer pickguard on an Ibanez that I have been struggling to make interesting. (The guitar body is to be swirled) I had thought of a decal or carving a pattern into it - but I may now epoxy some wallpaper or material onto it that contrasts with the swirl.
Thanks for the (constant, numerous and over several years) inspiration Ben.
What about applying the texture to the pickup covers?
Looks great !
Please continue to experiment on camera, it's fun :)
Definitely do the pickup surrounds and switch surround in the same fashion
How about constructing parts, scratchplate, P.U. rings etc. from clear acrylic and spraying from behind, then you end up with a smooth top finish which cannot be damaged.
Didn’t Fender do something similar with their Paisley guitars a long time ago?? I know snakeskin was done in the 80s by Matsumoku…
Hiwever, this is an interesting project, shown warts and all; kudos, Ben!
@15:00 amen 🙏
Have you tried one of those Cricut craft printers with a foil printing head? Another though would be whether you can etch with your laser cutter.
I know what I'd rather see the missus wearing. Definitely a gold top.
I really do think you are going through a midlife crisis😂😂😂.....keep up the good work! Love it !
I wonder if some thin epoxy could be used as a primer
Says I need to tone this down.....then paints it gold!
Next week on Crimson - Ben makes gold lacy inlays, pick-up surrounds, and a switch tip and poker chip. Then he debates whether to do the truss rod cover and headstock to match the following week…
Was hoping you’d slap that pick guard on the pewter guitar instead at the end
He of course has a hammer for every occasion 😂. We need a video tour of all your hammers.
I like the look of the gold filler that you used but it would be fun to see what some Antique Gold Rub 'N Buff or maybe the European Gold Rub 'N Buff would do. Rub 'N Buff is a wax and if you hit the high spots with it, I think that would be a pretty cool look
This is lace paul?
Noice 🤘
This has enspired me to scan some lace patterns and 3D print a textured plate to stick on a pickguard, I might also print a stamp using semi flexible TPU filament so that it can be used to make the impression in Milliput, I think brushing some IPA on to the Milliput before stamping the texture will help to stop any sticking issues.
Some protective self adhesive film might be a good thing on the back of the pickguard while working with the Milliput.
I think the 3D printed version will be better as I can make all the other plastic parts with the same texture, or even print them smooth with the same lace pattern.
I think a clear coat, whether gloss or matte would be a good thing on top of the Milliput.
The scratchplate looks great, and fretboard inlays would look good, but I think pickup surrounds etc would be a step too far. I'd want the screws to be gold as well, but that could lead to even further changes!
super awesome, it went better than you give yourself credit for. How about a snakeskin pattern...dragon scales...entire body and headstock, knobs are taxidermy eyes modified with more miliput...
Custom car and motorcyle builders have been spraying paint over lace since forever to create some stunning finishes. Never seen in done on a guitar yet.
I will have to change that then :)
You could do a cool snake skin pattern. That would be sick.
Looks like grandma’s guitar now :)
Was that a North of the Border shoutout? Awesome! By the way: people who sculpt green stuff or milliput wet their tools in solvent to prevent them sticking
I love his stuff :)
Don't forget the tuner buttons.
Could possibly get a similar thing going with pattern rollers…
Being Belgian, I can relate to your love of lace (but please not blue lace...)
It looks gorgeous (Brass screws?)
22:30 It definitively would
Wow
A little bit of water will help smooth out milliput, and let a roller glide over it 😉
this is me watching and stopping at 16:34, jumping to the keyboard and stating that I m thinking of the gold-flake wax finish that he can apply - let;s see where he goes with this...
go wild and build the entire guitar body out of that putty!
I'd go for some roller guides to ensure an even thickness.
good call! I also need to find out what the roller needs to be made from :)
"Oh no, I got distracted..."
Me taking 6 months to build a guitar....
That technique would be awesome to make a snakeskin effect on the scratch plate
oh hell yes!!!
Be careful when you burnish the snakes though - they're bound to get upset.
Not sure what your gonna wear tonight now Ben:-)
Not that there's anything wrong with that :)
Yah make a headstock veneer to match it
Yes to the switch surround, for balance, but stop there. Less is more.
Some automotive painters use lace to get that effect in a paint job.
Ben, someone once said “less is more.”
Please don’t do further to this guitar. Too much is too much and just enough is nice and fine and just what was needed. As The War Doctor wrote:
No More.
The Lace Paul
Breaks out the "drug dealer " weighing scales.😂😂😂😂
Do the headstock to match
Turned out awesome (I was surprised). I think that pattern is too big for it to make sense for the fretboard inlays in this case. Why dont more people do unusual stuff with guitars = fear. Most people are very conservative and fear being ridiculed for painting a guitar in surf green when "its not even a surf guitar man".
Ooh yeah you gotta do the inlays, that'd be sexy
Too much is always better!
Please don't stop experimenting on camera 🙂
Put the lacy down and spray paint over it and you will have the pattern. Not very Ben I know but I think the result would be similar.
I'm of the opinion that more is usually not better. As it sits, the scratchplate is a center of attention, a focal point. Do all the other plastic bits and, well, it just becomes yet another thing amongst other similar things. Let it shine as the focus of attention. Fretboard inlays? Oh, my sweet God, no! They'd look great at first, but over time the recesses will become packed with dirt, skin oil, and other guitar-playing related schmutz that the owner will never be able to satisfactorily clean off. Unless, of course, you are building a guitar to hang on a wall in a box behind glass that nobody will ever touch.
silkscreen?!?
Try running it through a pasta roller first?
Please, video with audio translate in brazilian portuguese
leave as you have it....