Guitar Finishes & Custom Elements

Part 2 - Custom Looks, Inlay, Engravings & Other Accoutrements

Fancy finishes and custom accoutrements are a staple on electric guitars. Unique finishes, stickers, inlays, engravings, hardware and accents have allowed electric guitar players to express themselves not only through their music, but also through their guitar’s look and vibe. The look of your electric guitar can be everything from a subdued solid body workhorse to a hollowbody dripping in custom details like handmade binding, custom inlays, and candy pearl finishes.

At Born Guitars® we do our best to accommodate any idea, vision or style you can come up with or find on the internet. We haven’t done everything that’s possible, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try. Almost every custom guitar we build has a new custom element that we have never done before, and that’s what makes our job fun. We love to experiment, prototype and develop custom elements for our customers.

Custom and One-off Finishes

Born Guitars® is a custom shop, and so we are always developing new finish formulas and looks. If you have an idea for a cool finish or you have a picture of the perfect finish for your new guitar, then let us know and we will either develop a special formula just for you or we will match whatever color you can pull out of a hat. Our job is to create the perfect look for your guitar, and we will spare no expense to create that look just for your one-of-a-kind Born Guitars® build (This applies to guitars, amp stands, guitar stands, and our custom pick boxes).

Here are some examples of the custom finishes you could integrate into your guitar:

- Solid colors (Ex. Vintage White, Graffiti Yellow, Surf Green)
- Transparent Colors (Ex. Trans Green over Quilted Maple)
- Burst Finishes (Ex. Tobacco Burst, Sunburst, Fire Burst, Ocean Blue Burst)
- Sparkle Colors (Ex. Glitter Purple or a Classic Gold Top)
- Candy & Pearl Effects (Ex. Candy Apple Red or Lambo Pearl Orange)
- Natural / Clear Finish (Ex. Fancy Curly Redwood Top)
- Vintage Finishes (Ex. TV Yellow)
- Stained & Dyed Woods (Ex. Cherry Red Flamed Maple or Chocolate Brown Curly Redwood)

Tip: You can go to your local paint store and pick a color you love – we will match it!

Finishing Touches and Custom Elements

Custom is our middle name, and custom electric guitars is our game. We specialize in integrating custom elements into our guitars. Anything from multi-ply binding and custom inlays to one-of-a-kind wood tailpieces and custom machined pickguards is fair game for your new custom Born.
Custom inlays are always a popular way to add your own style and mark to your new custom electric guitar, amp stand, guitar stand or even pick box. We have the capability to design inlays based on images and descriptions, and we provide to scale renderings of your design for your approval so that your custom inlay turns out exactly how you imagine it will.

Here are some examples of custom elements you can add to your next build:

- Custom Inlay Designs (Shell, Wood, Stone, Composites, Soft Metals)
- Custom handmade Jewel Entrusted Tuner Heads
- Aftermarket Bridges (Ex. FU Tone Floyd Rose™ or Handmade JP Woodtone Bridge)
- Handmade Wood Binding
- Custom Pickguards
- Engravings
- Hidden Compartment
- Secret Note
- Custom Features (Ex. Custom Wood Tailpiece or Built-in Pick holder)
- Your Unique Idea

* If you would like to learn more about our finishes, finish process or philosophy around finishes please contact us at info@bornguitars.com or call 720-440-BORN (2676)

* VOC stands for Volatile Organic Chemical and is the paint industry standard for measuring the amount of dangerous chemicals and fumes that are in a can of paint or finish. Car industry and industrial standards have much higher limits on VOCs compared to residential home finishes.