Jackson trick finish

Exo-metal

Exo-metal

Well-known member
Anyone know if Jackson made anything with this finish? This is a Charvel and any knowledge how this was done would be great. A well known painter has a project and I'm trying to decide on a finish. This was interesting but he has no idea how it was done.

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Charvel Desert Crackle finish

Apply a fairly thin and fragile finish and allow it to fully cure. Keep the body someplace quite warm, then quickly transfer into a freezer for a while, then move back into the warm place, then the freezer again. It's the expansion and contraction of the wood under the finish that causes those kinds of cracks.

Once its cracked to your satisfaction you put something of a contrasting colour into the cracks, i.e. a water based dye applied with a cloth and wiped off the surface, or a thin dark wood filler.

Then you can either leave it as is, or apply a clear coat over the top.
 
Yes Arch is on the right page you can use dry ice also but do you want to do it on a couple practice pieces of wood because it's not easy done right
 
I love Charvel's Desert Crackle finish! Back in the day Paul Chandler showed me a trick: they used (I think freon) spray that came out of the spray can very cold. That would crack the finish. I don't think I've seen that particular type of finish cracking by anyone but Charvel, though. If your paint guy doesn't work out, Pat Wilkins in L.A. might be able to handle it.
 
Brings back memories of my playing out days. With virtually no money, you save every dime to buy the very best gear you can afford and live off ramen noodles and the charity of strippers. Anyway - the guitars I played out with were way too nice for the road: neck through body Soloist style builds by Mauro Liberatore with killer finishes. Today, I'd leave something with gorgeous paint at home and slap together a couple of oil finish parts-casters to pound around on stage with and bounce around in the gear trailer. Playing out in the dead of winter - zub-zero temps. Gear comes in the (warm) club and I wait, and wait, and wait to even LOOK at my guitar cases - let alone open them. Finally gotta' go cause first set starts in 10 min. Carefully lifted the lid on the guitar case and literally watched the whole paintjob fog over and visually crackle before my very eyes - like dropping a heavy rock in the middle of a thin sheet of ice on a frozen pond. I felt sick to my stomach for about one day then it was like 'oh well...'

P.S. - one of my all time favorite finishes was the rainbow crackle on the BC Rich Tony MacAlpine was holding on the back of Maximum Security.
 
shar-vell Dan said:
For $4k id rather Gibson Custom Shopp.
Only thing i didn't like about the 3DR was volume knob placement. Too close to my picking hand.
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That's the 'tell' for any model series Charvel....vol knob placement. If it's close to the bridge pup, Japan. If it's halfway between the pickup and edge of the guitar, USA. I've seen a few USA necks on Jap bodies over the years....Mutts being passed of as vintage USA.
 
JohnnyGtar said:
I love Charvel's Desert Crackle finish! Back in the day Paul Chandler showed me a trick: they used (I think freon) spray that came out of the spray can very cold. That would crack the finish. I don't think I've seen that particular type of finish cracking by anyone but Charvel, though. If your paint guy doesn't work out, Pat Wilkins in L.A. might be able to handle it.
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That's where my guitar is already lol. This finish is not available through Patman. He said it was a method not shared or that he knows personally. I'll talk to him about the freon🙏
 
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