Duke Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 So for my next project, I'm refinishing a friend's schecter. It had a boring black paint job, and now we're going to sex it up a bit. Here's a list of what is going to be done to it: -Fretboard dyed black (stewmac stuff) -Everything sanded down, back, sides, neck are going to be minwax tung oil finish -Flame maple veneer on the front, deep green stain, minwax clearcoat spray -1 hole plugged, 2 volumes knobs, 1 3-way switch So far we have the front sanded down to sealer. He's going to help out on the sanding so once we get the whole guitar past the sealer the fun will begin. If anyone has any suggestions for this project, feel free to chime in. For the stain, I have both the stewmac green stain and also a wipe-on minwax emerald green in a tube thing. I'm going to experiment on scrap first to see which one will be the best. I haven't heard of anyone using the minwax colored tube stuff, but if it's anything like their other products, it should be easy to apply. We were considering removing the fretboard because of the lame tribal inlays, but I didn't feel comfortable with that quite yet. I may do a refret in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plinky Posted September 1, 2010 Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 Watch that leather dye. It stains ANYTHING! I just dyed a rosewood fretboard with it a few weeks ago and it started to discolor the side dot inlays. Test a little bit out on an inconspicuous spot first. It says it doesn't stain the inlays, but better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted September 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 Watch that leather dye. It stains ANYTHING! I just dyed a rosewood fretboard with it a few weeks ago and it started to discolor the side dot inlays. Test a little bit out on an inconspicuous spot first. It says it doesn't stain the inlays, but better safe than sorry. The side dot inlays are bound and painted, do you still think it would mess it up? Other than that, does it dye the board well and look good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plinky Posted September 4, 2010 Report Share Posted September 4, 2010 (edited) Before After Can't remember, but I think this was just one coat. I'm sure it would get plenty darker with more. Since your neck is bound you probably won't have the same problem as I did. I sanded the finish off the side of the rosewood fretboard to dye it. I let it sit for a little to set in. I had no problems with the inlays on the face of the board, but the side dots started to soak in the dye. I was able to sand it out luckily. Definitely wear some gloves. This stuff is nasty and will stain anything it touches. Don't use a rag like I did. Get a dauber or a small brush like Stew Mac recommends. Edited September 4, 2010 by plinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted September 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2010 Nice, that came out good. Got the flame maple veneer in today, 4 sheets of it. This stuff looks great, can't wait to see what this is going to look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Yuck, solid black guitar. You're doing the world a favour mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted September 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2010 (edited) Practiced tonight on some extra pieces. OK so, tip for anyone out there, the Minwax wipe on emerald green stain stuff is not good for tops! It comes out like paint and application is just yuck. I applied the stewmac bright green dye with some alcohol mixed in. No sanding, very rough, just testing to see how it would react with it. It's coming out a little more turquoise than I would like. The one on the right is the one I tried the minwax **** with. Edited September 6, 2010 by Duke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted September 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2010 Here it is currently. Sealer still needs to be taken off the top and the sides. Some sick wood grain going on! Fretboard before Fretboard with dye applied (don't worry, hasn't been wiped off yet!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 So it took several weeks to get all the sealer off. Fun! Cutting up the veneer tonight. Hopefully will get one side glued tonight. Still need to straighten out the veneer a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I think you need to start resizing your pics. other than that, looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted October 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 I think you need to start resizing your pics. other than that, looking good. Thanks, will do. So I have both sides of the veneer cut out. Here's the next issue: I need to straighten the edges where each side meets at the centerline. When doing veneers, do I have to have them perfectly exact, or can I just overlap them (at the centerline)? I would imagine that overlapping would create a slight hump in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 I think you need to start resizing your pics. other than that, looking good. Thanks, will do. So I have both sides of the veneer cut out. Here's the next issue: I need to straighten the edges where each side meets at the centerline. When doing veneers, do I have to have them perfectly exact, or can I just overlap them (at the centerline)? I would imagine that overlapping would create a slight hump in the middle. Yes, you have to get them perfectly even and flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted October 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2010 An oversized pic for your viewing pleasure. Almost done with the cutting. Need to sand the sides to make them round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted October 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2010 Here's where we're at. Everything is sanded down to 800 grit. Still need to glue the headstock veneer, then wetsand to 1500, then its stain time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted November 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 (edited) UPDATE. The veneer didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I sanded it all off, and I stained the body. Currently adding more coats of tung oil, it's coming out pretty sick. Things left to do: -Apply another coat of tung oil -Clean up the binding with steel wool -Apply headstock decal, and hidden decal on back of body (friends request, lol) -Apply more coats of tung oil -Copper shield pickup cavities -Install electronics, final setup, etc. -Polish it up! Edited November 14, 2010 by MexicanBreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted November 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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