RG350 rebuild

[badger6]

Been wanting to buy a neck and body and build an early 80's Charvel clone. However, I realized that I have a 1998 dissassembled RG350 that I sanded down in 2009-2010 and kind of forgot about. I've always bought my guitars and never really done any kind of refinish work. So here is a generic pic of what I started out with 6 years ago.

[badger6]

Here's where I'm at now. I had only the front and back sanded down and I remember sanding it by hand was a bitch. Last weekend I used a heat gun for the sides. That's what the darker burn marks are from. 

 

[badger6]

What I'm planning on doing is a version of the famous and much copied burnt stained blue. However I think that with the ugly and multi colored 5 piece body that I'm going to do more of a distressed light blue and maybe use the heat gun a little. Here's kind of what I'm trying to achieve, except maybe a little darker with more weathered type streaks.

Here's what I'm thinking. Stain black and sand back, then stain brown and sand back. Then maybe a little heat gun treatment. Then start on the light blue. I'm going to do a tru oil finish. 

Since I've never done this before, I'm trying to get done for around $100 give or take, and I'm about $25-$30 into my budget. Therefore, I'm going to keep all the original black hardware on it. Got to think of a double or single humbucker pickguard and some cheap pickups also. For that I think that I'll stick with maybe a plain flat black to match the hardware and keep it simple. Any ideas or suggestions? Maybe a different color choice other than blue? Maybe purple, green, or red? Any tips?

[plinky]

I wouldn't take a heat gun to that 5 piece body for too long, if at all. It will soften the glue & the body pieces will start to separate. Ask me how I know.

If you wanted a wood grain finish on top, research here & all over the web & try putting a veneer top on it, then you could get a neat transparent stain on the top, or whatever you want. Since the round over on an Ibanez RG is very small it's a lot easier to install a veneer than say a Strat with a 1/2 in round over. It would look a lot better with a 2-piece veneer (or one) than seeing that 5-piece laminated body.

Edited March 19, 2016 by plinky

[badger6]

20 hours ago, plinky said:

I wouldn't take a heat gun to that 5 piece body for too long, if at all. It will soften the glue & the body pieces will start to separate. Ask me how I know.

If you wanted a wood grain finish on top, research here & all over the web & try putting a veneer top on it, then you could get a neat transparent stain on the top, or whatever you want. Since the round over on an Ibanez RG is very small it's a lot easier to install a veneer than say a Strat with a 1/2 in round over. It would look a lot better with a 2-piece veneer (or one) than seeing that 5-piece laminated body.

Not gonna do a veneer. I already thought about doing that but I think that I'm just going to try the body as is. My expectations aren't too high, hahaha.

[badger6]

Goodbye Ibanez. Headstock sanded and holes filled. Body sanded to 220. Almost ready for the first coat of stain. Anyone know where to get Ibanez waterslide decals? Are decals safe to use under tru oil?

[Prostheta]

This will help!

[Prostheta]

Decals should be fine under oil as long as it doesn't contain anything that will melt the inks. Tru-Oil should be fine.

You might find your blue ending up greener with Tru-Oil however. Still, go for it! Great refinish project.

[badger6]

6 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

This will help!

I just hope that I got all the factory sealer/primer off the body. I just sanded the headstock and the top white color coat must have been only 2 coats, but that dark grey underneath was as thick as half a dime. Anyhow, we'll know in a little while, about to do the first black coat. Does it matter how long I let it sit before I do a sand back with 220?

Edited March 20, 2016 by badger6

[2.5itim]

Ibanez's sealer is the devil!!! If you don't know if you got all the sealer off then you probably didn't. You will know when you get past the sealer and into the wood because the wood will look more like the color of the wood and the part with sealer on it will be really dark still. 

Ive refinished about 10 ibanez's and I have promised myself I would never do it again because of the sealer. 

[badger6]

3 hours ago, 2.5itim said:

Ibanez's sealer is the devil!!! If you don't know if you got all the sealer off then you probably didn't. You will know when you get past the sealer and into the wood because the wood will look more like the color of the wood and the part with sealer on it will be really dark still. 

Ive refinished about 10 ibanez's and I have promised myself I would never do it again because of the sealer. 

Looks like I got all the sealer off, or at least 99% of it. I got the 1st coat of black stain on and sanded back. Looks like the headstock has some light flame, not gonna match but that's cool. Have some more sanding to do on the bottom strap button edge, inner horn edges, and bottom of the back. The end grain seems like it soaked up more and it's a bitch to sand back. But I got some pretty good streaking. Looks better in person than on the pics. Anyhow, next I'm gonna stain brown and sand back. Except I'm going to do less sand back than the black. Got to figure out how strong to make the brown. Dark, medium, or light? What you guys think?

[Prostheta]

I guess it depends on the final look you're aiming for. The dye seems to have been burnt through on the edges. End grain does soak up more. A method I've heard is to pre-wet it with alcohol prior to the dye. Not sure how easy this is in practice. 

[badger6]

12 hours ago, 2.5itim said:

3 hours ago, Prostheta said:

 

I

 

Are you talking about when I sanded it back as far as the edges? I'm trying to get more of an old  barnwood/weathered/relicing type look.  

[badger6]

3 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I guess it depends on the final look you're aiming for. The dye seems to have been burnt through on the edges. End grain does soak up more. A method I've heard is to pre-wet it with alcohol prior to the dye. Not sure how easy this is in practice. 

As far as the edge are you talking about when I sanded it back? I'm trying to get more of an old  barnwood/weathered/relicing type look.  

[Prostheta]

Sure. It's a difficult look to get on some woods. I think that heat is a great way of scorching the surface, then ragging it back with steel wood. Like @plinky said, there are limits to how hot you can let the wood get. Some woods such as Ash can be sandblasted to increase the weathered look.

The RG350DX has a Basswood body, which is pretty soft and less defined between the early/late wood which is what tends to reveal itself during weathering.

Time to consider getting artsy with fire!

Sanding the edges can work or simply look like you're burnt through the finish prematurely with the sandpaper. Edges are fragile as you know. Just seeing a consistent light line around the body is a bit distracting....perhaps breaking it up by having less/more of a line between each lamination, and bringing the light edge "down" into the board as a streak would make it look more natural?

[badger6]

14 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Sure. It's a difficult look to get on some woods. I think that heat is a great way of scorching the surface, then ragging it back with steel wood. Like @plinky said, there are limits to how hot you can let the wood get. Some woods such as Ash can be sandblasted to increase the weathered look.

The RG350DX has a Basswood body, which is pretty soft and less defined between the early/late wood which is what tends to reveal itself during weathering.

Time to consider getting artsy with fire!

Sanding the edges can work or simply look like you're burnt through the finish prematurely with the sandpaper. Edges are fragile as you know. Just seeing a consistent light line around the body is a bit distracting....perhaps breaking it up by having less/more of a line between each lamination, and bringing the light edge "down" into the board as a streak would make it look more natural?

Thanks Prostheta, your sanding idea helped out. After I got the rest of the black stain sanded back I  hit it with a medium brown.

I sanded it back lightly and used the edge of the sanding block to make lighter streaks going with the grain. Then lightly flat sanded it. Forgot to take pics after sanding back, but it kind of hid the lamination lines to an extent but they were still too visible for my liking. Anyhow, I got creative with the brown stain and I'll let dry overnight and see what we have tomorrow after lunch.

[Prostheta]

Given how bland Basswood is, that is showing a lot of promise. It's very common to see people jump in feet first, stripping back the paint on Ibanez bodies, etc. without getting a grasp of what to do with the sealer and the fact that these are usually built for paint in the first place, including wood choice.

Let's see what you can pull out of your hat after lunch! 

[badger6]

Came back with some more black highlights.

Then sanded back again. Sorry for the blurry pic.

Then hit with the heat gun. Not too happy about the way it came out, but it's my first time doing it. I think it would work better with a small propane torch, would have better control. 

Anyhow, I'm mixing the blue up and will post back in a while.....

[badger6]

Ok, got 2 coats of blue on and I think it looks ok. 

I wonder if I need another coat. Some of the edges are kind of light and have some areas with light steaking. But then again it might lend to the character and worn look. Anyone have any suggestions one way or the other?

With pickguard and trem in.

.

I'm thinking a flat black pickguard in a 2 humbucker configuration and 2 zebra or reverse zebra humbuckers. Any suggestions?

[curtisa]

I actually quite like it with the white pickguard & pickups. Kind of a more modern, gritty-looking take on a 50s pale blue Strat.

[Prostheta]

Totally. Basswood is junky wood for non-solid finishes, but that actually looks really good! Genuinely. 

[Norris]

I liked it at the "came back with more black highlights" stage - it looked almost like the markings of an exotic big cat. I think I'd have been tempted to leave it like that and finish off with a clear coat .

Having said that, the blue looks great

[badger6]

12 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Totally. Basswood is junky wood for non-solid finishes, but that actually looks really good! Genuinely. 

Thanks, Prostheta. Actually after working with the basswood, it's not too bad. But only if it's one piece or a somewhat matched 2 piece body (If you can even do that with basswood), 5 pieces if a bit much, haha.  But a one piece body would have been much less work and came out much better

8 hours ago, Norris said:

I liked it at the "came back with more black highlights" stage - it looked almost like the markings of an exotic big cat. I think I'd have been tempted to leave it like that and finish off with a clear coat .

Having said that, the blue looks great

Thanks Norris. It did look kind of cool at that stage, but up close it didn't look too good. It was kind of sloppy since I knew that I was sanding it back. I just wanted a bit more background stuff going on to try and hide the distinct "5" pieces of wood that the body is comprised of. Maybe sanded back a little and a medium green on it and you would have a camo type finish.

 

Anyhow, I was thinking about putting another coat of stain on to try and cover the light/streaked areas highlighted below. But I don't think it will help much. So I may just leave it as it is.

 

 

Anyhow, pending if I do another coat of stain or not. I guess the tru oil is next. Also got to tape off the front and rear trem cavities and dress them with some flat black spray paint. Anyone familiar with tru oil got any tips or tricks?

Edited March 23, 2016 by badger6

[badger6]

Ok, did the first couple coats of tru oil. 

Looks like I burned the bottom side of the headstock at the tip and lower edge a little. I don't think there's much to do to fix that at this point so I won't worry about it. 

I've read various forums online to use your fingers to hand rub the tru oil in. But I have one question, how do you get that shit off your hands. My hands were one big sticky mess when I finished. I think that I'll invest in some fast food gloves or something, haha.

Anyhow, tomorrow I'm going out of town until Monday. Will letting the first 2 coats sit until then matter any? Also, it's picking up a little fuzz or lint sticking to the surfaces while it's drying. What's the process for removing that? 0000 steel wool before the next coat? Or would the green scotch brite pads work better?

[2.5itim]

I have done tru oil twice with good results each time. I apply it with an old cut up t-shirt and yes I went thru a bunch of disposable rubber gloves when doing it. I always did it in a very dust free room but I did take a light pass with 0000 steel wool between coats so you should be fine there.