Rothko & Frost - Nitro Paints, Dyes, Inlays, Pickguard Sheets etc (lots of pics)

SimonRF

@hobbio Awesome, thanks.. please can I put in an early request for pictures?

XWulfhere

@TTony I've just used @RothkoAndFrost spray cans to do my Jazz Bass and P90 strats and with no prior experience I've got good results just by following their online guides. I haven't wet sanded the neck on the P90 strat yet, but I did on the Jazz bass neck and it's come up wondefully and glossy. I just did it all in my garage. You don't have to commit to a proper spray booth or anything.

hobbio

SimonRF said:

@hobbio Awesome, thanks.. please can I put in an early request for pictures?

Absolutely, I've got quite a lot to do with it before it's ready for paint though

TTony

Wulfhere said:

@TTony I've just used @RothkoAndFrost spray cans to do my Jazz Bass and P90 strats and with no prior experience I've got good results just by following their online guides. I haven't wet sanded the neck on the P90 strat yet, but I did on the Jazz bass neck and it's come up wondefully and glossy. I just did it all in my garage. You don't have to commit to a proper spray booth or anything.

Thanks @Wulhere - I guess I'll take the plunge sometime, just need to get the time to do some more guitar buildery.

SimonRF

Filler charts done.

Thixotropic Grain Filler is smelly, dries very hard, and only takes one or two applications. Messy and a little awkward to apply but gives great results. It is particularly splendid when using a contrasting colour on a light wood such as ash, whether that's red, blue, or even just a dark brown. This brings out the pattern of the grain, and you can then go over it all with your choice of dye or tinted lacquer.

The Waterborne Grain Filler is much easier to handle, far less pungent and nicer to live with but takes a little more work to build up.

Both varieties can be dyed over with our spirit lightfast dyes, and coated with our nitro, waterborne, pre-cat and 1k lacquers.

SimonRF

Water Based Wood Dye chart below. This water wood dye is intended for use on softwoods such as pine. The black water dye can be used on figured woods such as flame and quilted maple to enhance the grain depth/effect. Put it on the bare wood, it'll penetrate deep in, then sand it back, then go over with a Spirit Lightfast Dye or tinted lacquer.

SimonRF

Our clear Waterborne Lacquer is suitable for hand application as well as spraying. It is suitable for use over our Grain Fillers and wood dyes, so if you start with a Swamp Ash body you can go Waterborne Grain Filler > Lightfast Dye > Waterborne Sealer > Waterborne Top Coat > Polish without having to spray anything, without the fumes of nitro and end up with a glorious see-through coloured swamp ash finish. The whole process would take a few days, and the result is a thin, shiny, hard wearing and stable finish. Here's how the waterborne lacquer polishes up:

ThePrettyDamned

Wulfhere;739020" said:

@TTony I've just used @RothkoAndFrost spray cans to do my Jazz Bass and P90 strats and with no prior experience I've got good results just by following their online guides. I haven't wet sanded the neck on the P90 strat yet, but I did on the Jazz bass neck and it's come up wondefully and glossy. I just did it all in my garage. You don't have to commit to a proper spray booth or anything.

My next finish is going to be a rothko and frost canned job, so that's reassuring

ThePrettyDamned

SimonRF;740978" said:

Our clear Waterborne Lacquer is suitable for hand application as well as spraying. It is suitable for use over our Grain Fillers and wood dyes, so if you start with a Swamp Ash body you can go Waterborne Grain Filler > Lightfast Dye > Waterborne Sealer > Waterborne Top Coat > Polish without having to spray anything, without the fumes of nitro and end up with a glorious see-through coloured swamp ash finish. The whole process would take a few days, and the result is a thin, shiny, hard wearing and stable finish. Here's how the waterborne lacquer polishes up:

Oh my god, or this.

Will there be videos showing the process? I'll have a look at your site now!

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, just looked. A couple of dyes and waterborne lacquer can all be hand rubbed on, so...

I could get a swamp ash or pine (I love my pine strat) body, sand back to 400 grit, grain fill, sand back again, dye, and lacquer coat a burst finish?

If it gives a harder finish than wudtone, this could be my method of choice. Wudtone ages great though.

I also saw solid waterborne lacquer - can that be hand rubbed, or is it spray only?

SimonRF

ThePrettyDamned said:

Okay, just looked. A couple of dyes and waterborne lacquer can all be hand rubbed on, so...

I could get a swamp ash or pine (I love my pine strat) body, sand back to 400 grit, grain fill, sand back again, dye, and lacquer coat a burst finish?

If it gives a harder finish than wudtone, this could be my method of choice. Wudtone ages great though.

I also saw solid waterborne lacquer - can that be hand rubbed, or is it spray only?

@ThePrettyDamned Yes, basically. You would go:

• Sand 320 grit
• Grain fill
• Sand 320 grit
• Create sunburst with dyes
• Waterborne sealer (apply by hand)
• Sand 600 grit
• Waterborne clear top coat
• Polish

I can't offer a comparison to Wudtone, but can say that this will give a high gloss, hard wearing finish and doesn't take much work. This waterborne lacquer doesn't really age - with enough use it will eventually wear, but doesn't crack or yellow like nitro.

We recommend spraying the coloured waterborne paints and lacquers.

ThePrettyDamned

SimonRF;745266" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Okay, just looked. A couple of dyes and waterborne lacquer can all be hand rubbed on, so...



I could get a swamp ash or pine (I love my pine strat) body, sand back to 400 grit, grain fill, sand back again, dye, and lacquer coat a burst finish?



If it gives a harder finish than wudtone, this could be my method of choice. Wudtone ages great though.



I also saw solid waterborne lacquer - can that be hand rubbed, or is it spray only?





@ThePrettyDamned Yes, basically. You would go:Sand 320 gritGrain fillSand 320 gritCreate sunburst with dyesWaterborne sealer (apply by hand)Sand 600 gritWaterborne clear top coatPolish

I can't offer a comparison to Wudtone, but can say that this will give a high gloss, hard wearing finish and doesn't take much work. This waterborne lacquer doesn't really age - with enough use it will eventually wear, but doesn't crack or yellow like nitro.



We recommend spraying the coloured waterborne paints and lacquers.

Wow. Consider me sold on that. Definitely trying it out on the next project (Christmas time).

SimonRF

ThePrettyDamned said:

Wow. Consider me sold on that. Definitely trying it out on the next project (Christmas time).

Cool, thanks. We should have a little guide done by then, watch this space!

SimonRF

We've made a finishing guide to go with our Nitro Lacquer Finishing Kit, and it's available for download from the listing itself. Check it out here http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/complete-nitrocellulose-guitar-body-lacquer-kit-natural-clear-gloss/ (scroll down a bit to the instructions part for the link).

This guide is for a natural clear finish, we'll be doing some modified versions covering tinted and painted finishes shortly. Any questions, please get in touch!

SimonRF

Howdy folks,

We've recently relaunched our website. It's got a new design and is much easier to manage so there will be far more frequent updates with new products and info.

You can get 10% off with the code FRETBOARD10, and it's free shipping for orders over £75.

We've also launched our Luthier Club for the pro makers, more info and easy signup here: https://rothkoandfrost.com/pages/luthier-club

Cheers,
Si