Washburn’s True Paint GURU!

by Eric McKenna

It’s hard to even find a place to begin! I was a fan of Chewy Dezynksi’s paint work even before I had decided to begin our work with Washburn. His paint work on Dimebag Darrell’s guitars was just jaw dropping. Literally –jawdropping. So when you consider my drive for pure ‘custom’ guitars and you mix that with the industry’s most talented ‘custom’ painter – the outcome was bound to be amazing. And it was. And it still is.

From the very first project that Chewy did for BSG – the Blue/Black andRed/Black ‘Dixie’ Dime 3 Customs – I knew I was working with true talent and I remember thinking to myself how amazing guitars in the coming years would be with this man painting! And was I ever right!

Chewy painted the now famous 14 USA ‘BoogieBolt’ Dime 3 guitars. The very LAST Washburn USA Custom Dimebag Darrell Signatures ever. EVER. And they were beyond amazing. These guitars are owned by some major recording artists and guitar collectors from around the world.

Chewy was willing to take up any project we could come up with! And while we did not hit a ‘home run’ every time – just did smack it over the fence about 99.5 percent! Yes – he is THAT good!

What continues to impress is that not only is his ‘custom’ graphic and free hand painting as good as it gets in the industry, Chewy has literally mastered the flame and quilt ‘staining’ process. Burst? No problem. Tri-color? No problem. Vintage color? No problem. Paint matching? No problem. If can be done to a guitar – Chewy can and will do it. And to perfection!

One of best projects we have done with Chewy and continue to do with him is the Flags of the World guitars. These guitars are painted with various flag scheme. However – these are not done in solid colors. Chewy does these in a 3-D style stain over flamed maple! We havedone the USA Flag, UK Flag, ‘Dixie’ Flag and many others. And the projects just continue! These Flag guitars need to be seen and held up close to really understand the stunning beauty.

Chewy also did a run of just the most crazy ‘BoogieBolt’ WV80 ‘V’ guitars for us. Collectors went WILD! They are some of the most amazing ‘V’ guitars to EVER hit the market! And this is a finish that we will continue to use on other Washburn models.

Of all Chewy’s amazing work and dedication to his craft, it’s Chewy the man that impresses Krissy and I the most. When we visit Washburn in Chicago, one of the best treats is going to dinner and drinks with Chewy. He has always treated us so well – as people. As Friends.