Sunburst (finish)

At the center of a sunburst-finished surface is an area of lighter color (often showing the wood grain underneath) that darkens gradually towards the edges before hitting a dark rim.

Among the best known examples of a sunburst finish are the Gibson Les Paul guitars and the Fender Stratocaster.

Some vintage mandolins made by Gibson actually had a burst style finish achieved with stain that was wiped on to the top of the instrument and sometimes the back as well but sprayed tinted nitrocellulose lacquer later proved to be a faster way to achieve a burst finish.

[1] There are also aged variants of sunburst finishes which are usually found on high-end boutique instruments from Fender, Suhr, Tom Anderson, Melancon, Don Grosh and James Tyler, such as Aged Cherry Burst, Fireburst, Lightburst and Antique Tobacco Sunburst.

These aged sunburst finishes are mostly suited for quilted, spalted and flamed maple tops, as well with other highly figured woods such as swamp ash and koa.