damn thats the most beautiful and unique guitar finish that I've seen in a LONG time.

I was a bit worried that it might look cheesy, but that turned out chic af! Now you've made me want another thing. Grrr!

Thanks to two KZfaqrs with a new guitar company that shall remain unnamed for bringing this 80’s trend back into style! It takes time to apply, but anyone can do it because there really is little artistic and technical skill needed to get a cool result unlike other types of finishes like dyes and paints where more skill, perfection, knowledge of mixing colors and paint types, a place to spray or apply them where you are okay with a paint mess, and/or an artistic eye is needed. Holoflash is just heat and done, kind of like ironing patches onto a jacket. Thanks for showing people how to get a really cool result in just a single morning. You turned a boring black guitar into something special! Everyone is going to have a holoflash guitar before you know it, lol. I have no idea how companies who’ve done this finish make a run of these because of the time involved to apply it, but it’s just so cool and totally doable at home as you have just proved!

It's really cool to see someone engaging with the creative spirit in an attempt to develop a novel approach to the aesthetic portion of guitar building. I appreciate your experimental approach!

This channel really is StewMac 2.0. At the very least an informative StewMac Alt. And that it uses neat electronica is a nice touch.

Man you have the patience of a saint to do that... now do the whole thing!

Looks like black opal - that's why the black looks awesome with it.

Mark, you are my favorite luthier on KZfaq- every video you make inspires me to get back in the shop! I bought some roasted maple Temu necks a few months ago on your recommendation, and now I have a few new guitars to show for it!!!! This is another fun, cool project- time to pick up a cheap project body and get ironing!

Marvelously commented video. Thank you!

I really liked it more than I thought at first glance, it really came out that good! I'd love to do a RG pickguard with this!!

That is absolutely killer

Wow that’s amazing. Very cool to see that it’s doable in a DIY manner

The mushroom shoot shows you have an eye for light 🙂

I use a spray on liquid car polish, 'Wet Dreams' by Bowden's, to seal artwork or stickers on my guitars. I spray on a coat, then wipe it off, don't let it set as it dries lumpy, etc.. Keep in mind the microns thickness, and as you spray on, wipe off, let that extremely thin coat dry, waitvan hour or so, and do it again, as many times as you like. It's just a film of protection between your arm, etc., and the finish looks really good under lights. I think this would be perfect for your finish.

Astonishing result. Great

Amazing video, thanks for share our process. Greetings from Mexico

It looks very good. I dream about a lacquer finishing shining .

Hello, I absolutely love your channel, mate! I've used this film for a couple builds, and through experimenting, I discovered that 2K clear is an ideal top coat for halo flash. It adds excellent protection and won't alter the halo flash effect at all. Just thought I'd share my experience with the halo film. Hope you find this useful.

Very funky!!! Are you going to do the headstock as well?

I love stuff that is dynamic, for the lack of a better word, what I mean is stuff that looks different every time you see them. I don't know if I explained myself clearly 😊... Anyway, I love it!

I did this to a MIJ '93 Jackson Soloist about a year and a half ago. I can tell you from experience that unprotected haloflash film will come off with normal playing, particularly where the pick hand/arm rests on the guitar. It will essentially come off anywhere your hands consistently come in contact with the haloflash. In order to keep the haloflash intact, it needs a clear coat, which must be done by a professional, with professional equipment, and professional supplies. Without this clear coat, the film will look dull, and not very good, in normal light. To make unfinished haloflash "pop" it needs strong, direct light. Something like stage lights, or lights used while recording video. But it's not going to look like you want, sitting on a stand in a normally lit room. Additionally, the film is difficult to apply; it's easy to use too much heat which causes the film to shrink and not want to adhere to the body, leaving smaller patches of dull haloflash. It took a lot of experimenting, a $40 craft iron, and a practice body to come to a decent result (similar to what we see in this video), and it's not nearly as good as a professional job. There are reasons places charge $700+ to do this job. But if you do try this yourself, don't expect it to stay there forever; especially if you play that guitar often.

Turned out rad! I wanna do an Ibanez RG like this one day!

love it! I'm going to do one, I just got back into working on guitars after many year hiatus!!

whelp...sold me on it...I'm about to pick some up for my next build!

Like hot iron guilding... very cool 😎

I did this years ago, it came out great and it's really easy to do. If you like the look of it you should definitely give it a try. I did give mine a light clear coat and that was from a rattle can, so again, the whole thing is very easy to do.

Thanks Dude!!! Killer Look!

That's beautiful. Bravo!

Gracias! Es exactamente el acabado que deseo hacer en mi guitarra . Voy a intentar.

Did not disappoint. I wanted that sollo at the end.

Fantastic video…well done👍

Whoaaa I love it so much!!!

I was afraid it wouldn’t work on satin/matte finishes but damn man this came out good af!I was thinking on adding it to my 2014 Desolation Star 1 pickup Seymour Duncan Brandon Ellis Dyad signature a floyd rose 1000 tremolo And doing the whole guitar and headstock face like this is going to make it look from boring to an actual 80’s replica the neck has agedngoving its hat yellowish hue Maple gets with time.hell yeah man thanks for sharing Hermano! #BUFFALO #NEWYORK

Perfect combination with Jackson style! I would love wacht more this kind of quick finishing in others guitars.

Nice! Thank you Mark!

Looks great, I remember playing the original Kramer Sustainer in this finish, it really does look awesome.

I had a guitar mag back early 90's with a pic of the holoflash guitar on it. Loved that guitar... then someone stole my magazine. May give this a try, but I would definitely clear it when done, regardless how tough it is.

Thanks for an inspiring video! Have you ever tried to do a finish with copper leaf or gold leaf? Some years ago I tried it on my 3D printed bodies. It kind of works (example in my channel or IG) but I think that you can create something awesome with those materials. Also the copper you can spray some vinegar on it to get the blue green patina.

Quality as always 👍🏻

I like your style man. You look like a wrestler, come a cross as a straight guncle and then you pull out a cross between my old Jason Custom Shop soloist and current black satin 23 Vela and call it the guitar no one wants. I love it!!!

That would be kinda fun on a BC Rich Warlock or Ibanez Iceman! Cool stuff!

Great video mark. Def want to do this on my next bass build

You are just awesome!!!

It sounds like you could use a shellac that you make from flakes and alcohol seeing as that also didn't really take it off. The shellac is a little amber though, so I'd experiment to see if the color changes too much for you.

Fantastic job that's awesome

great video mate that finish turned out killer. More demo? lol

Verrrrrrrrrry imPRISMive! Thank you! KC

Very cool!

Oh man Mark, that is a perfect donor guitar! I'm excited for you to see the Basquiat fabric top guitar I just finished. I have a couple YT shorts you can check. But you basically inspired me to push myself and it's become super fun. Turned this $70 guitar fetish blem into a pretty rad and unique fabric top, and learned a TON along the way.

this is so cool

You should have let the rain keep going on in the background. Just to make the video more relaxing. Rain ASMR. Lol 💪😂

is that coffee beans you're growing in your backyard....? dope.....

as always your videos are so inspiring many thanks

I have the same exact black Jackson with black Floyd rose and hardware ! It's an awesome guitar for being a cheapo bottom of the barrel !

Always inspiring ❤

Dammit. This rocks.

🤘EVIL METAL WEATHER🤘 🤣😂🤣 Seriously tho, I'm a huge fan of this finish. I've always wanted one. Also, as a backyard gardener trying to get a grape vine started, I'm kind of jealous. 😉

seems to me that if you do wear out or chip it, you'd simply apply some more.

13:12 KITTY! Did you do any experiments with masking edges? Given that it's hard the apply the film to the sides and around the horns, I'd think contrasting the "splattery" look with crisp edges (maybe a 5mm "inset") would be slick.

Nice vid and how to! I'm gonna try this and did you notice the face (well, half face) at 14:00?

Another interesting project, I thought it also would look cool if you just finished covering it and left it the way it was at 11:20. What band is it on the last shirt you had on?

i did that finish on my drum set before , i use a shitty battery powered solder iron with inch wide flat titsd, and wrapped with those fireproof leather looking material ,mainly for not scratch the finish and just heat up few second is enough heat do the job, so easy to control and fast, almost like painting , but 6 months later, the finish started to show lot of little dot on scface, but you cant feel it, hard to describe, something like metal oxidize , maybe just quality problem?

Any idea what the actual material is? Not a heat transfer vinyl? Also, it seems like the negative space stuff is a happy accident, almost like the material wasn't designed very well and doesn't have a clean consistent release from the carrier sheet, but it ended up looking cool so it was fine.

How well or not well does it work on a curved surface like Les Paul? Does the heater/iron have to apply heat on a bigger flat contact area of the film?

Do you think this could be done with a stencil pattern. So guitar is painted or strained like normal then a stencil is tacked down then you holoflash the stencil pattern then remove stencil

Cool video, you think a stencil would work? I would rock hologram cheetah or zebra print

That looks great. I wonder if there is any tool that could help you get around the curves of the horns and enable you to do the whole guitar?

Will it deteriorate due to oxidation or sunlight overtime?

can you apply the holoflash film over a very polished bare wood?

you gotta tell me what music did you used for the background, it suits the Holoflah theme

Looks cool, how durable do you think it is since they recommend no clear coat?

The Jackson soloistl is a much better guitar for that finish!!🤘 Kramer's look boring compared to them

Dude?

Boomer guitar KZfaq comments are wild LOL

Not going to like. This looks pretty sick.

Why not read the damned instructions that were probably tossed in the trash when you opened the package...🤔 Just sayin'...

How about reading instructions on how to do it, instead of guessing. Edit: Come to think of it, you should've done the test on the front, because after all, you could've went back over it. You're not very bright are you? Work smarter not harder.