Gibson "Gun metal grey"

[Alex Fila]

Hi, I’m looking for formula, idea or advise how to mix “Gun metal grey” nitrocellulose lacquer that is used for Gibson Axcess guitars.

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

[Russell Vance]

Hello Alex,  I have not done this color.  But, nitro paint (pigmented, not dyed lacquer) which I have made is generally not "black" black - it is one shade off and to get deep black we add a touch of black dye to the paint and put on a black dyed shader before clear coating. We use a spirit based dye - dont use analines - and I suggest the usual MEK/Colortone blacks sold by Stewmac and others will also work.   That last stuff is for information only for those who have difficulty getting a good deep black. I digress.

If you wish to knock the black out of paint add a couple of drops of white paint to a litre (or quart as the case may be) and then paint a sample and finish with a couple of clear coats.  This will give you a shade of grey without looking grey.

Gibsons imagery of gunmetal grey looks pretty black to me anyway so I wouldn't go overboard and the number of successive color coats will also slightly change the color,as will the undercoat color if you are using a solid color undercoat.    Good luck with this, Rusty. 

[Alex Fila]

Thanks, Rusty.

The theory about black+white=grey is obvious.

The thing is that Gibson’s “gun metal grey” is not that simple.

I don’t know if you had a chance to look at one of those Axcess models closely or not, but there are definitely some metallic particles in the lacquer.

I’m not sure what it is - silver particles, or perhaps gold.

I need to find the answer.

Regards.

[Russell Vance]

No, I've never seen one closely, I only looked at the website photos: in that case an option  is go buy a commercial metallic flake additive -  We use "House of Color" - but there are a few suppliers out there. You may need to change your spray gun or nozzle size to get the mix out of the gun but that is standard requirement for the metallics. 

Bearing in mind Gibson have been doing gold tops with the addition of their own gold metallic powder additive for ions - they may well be using the same type of additive for this finish in a sparing way.   I've lost contact with the modern day suppliers of this type of stuff - maybe someone out there could kindly refresh the suppliers address.

Spraying metallics well can be challenging as there is a number of ways to apply the schedule to obtain different looks and variations on the metallic scheme.    There is also a "Pearl" finish which is similar to a metallic finish which you should look at.

If that's getting a bit complicated you may wish to chose an acrylic premixed automotive finish system which can be "mixed to match" to a color sample by you local auto spray paint supply shop.  Alternatively, ask Gibson for their paint schedule on the basis that you may need to repair one - let us know how you do.

[Paul Verticchio]

Perhaps a silver undercoat with a transparent black overcoat + clear-coats?

[Russell Vance]

Yeah, Paul, as I was saying, there are a whole bunch of schedules including the "candy apple" style you describe here - problem with this is each approach gives a different effect and without knowing exactly what Gibson did one is left dancing in the dark - so as to speak.