Frankenstrat. I couldn't not.

[Prostheta]

So pretty soon I'm going to need to figure out a good way of cutting down painter's tape to the sizes needed for the striping. If I were to need tape cutting regularly to specific widths, I'd think that some sort of tape roller with an adjustable slicing knife edge that allows you to pull the tape over it to the correct width would be perfect. In this instance we're looking at maybe a metre or two of each width or thereabouts, which is easy enough to hand cut. The simplest method would be to pull the length required, temporarily tack it down to a smooth piece of laminated wood and manually cut it to width. Variations are to be expected, but nothing too out of what would be expected. The one I am most concerned about is the thin pinstripe. The best information I can get on the stripes is one in line with logic; 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", 3/4". I don't know what sizes are normally on the shelves (or were in the 70s) but this seems to have a degree of truthiness to it.

What I'll do is to derive sizes manually from CAD and see how that lines up. If anything it will provide a bit of splitting the difference. Like most things on this build, this isn't an exercise in correctness, however a reasonable level of aiming in the right direction makes enough of a difference. I have a roll of 6mm vinyl pinstriping tape which should serve well enough for the 1/4" sections (if they are in fact that) whilst the larger widths should be simple enough to divide by hand. The 1/8" (3,175mm) is a PITA size though, especially as it serves the areas that will be more noticeable if out of balance.

On that subject, the 1/8" stripes were vinyl in the original and not paint. This raises the question of whether to bake in the displaced pinstripes as per post tour or when freshly-applied. I think the latter is more reasonable since I'm doing this in the paint. Again, artyfart licence.

[Drak]

I loved that YT @komodo, I was completely transfixed and glued to the screen the entire time, from beginning to end.

That was an amazing detective story.

[Prostheta]

That guy came up with the right conclusions and did his work very well. I was impressed when I watched also. Thankfully, he has done all of the obsessive crazy stuff so we don't have to.

I mean come on. 1/4" or 6mm? It's nice to orient yourself in the right direction, but losing sleep over the last 0,5% just doesn't make sense to me. I wonder if he can remember how to make a guitar play wonderfully. or whether all this EVH navelgazing has pushed vital information off the other end of the shelf?

hahaha.

[Drak]

1 hour ago, Prostheta said:

but losing sleep over the last 0,5% just doesn't make sense to me.

I wonder if he can remember how to make a guitar play wonderfully. or whether all this EVH navelgazing has pushed vital information off the other end of the shelf?

Every person has different character traits, different aspects of their personality.

I watched a few of his YT's, he always has something interesting hanging behind him.

Not like I don't see tons of idiotic YT'rs with guitars in the background 'to be cool', which just makes me laugh at them, not with them.

Because, well, you're a stupid phony jackass trolling for likes, of course.

But I do pay attention to these things, and saw a few behind him that looked really creative.

Straight-up on his own, just his own ideas, no EVH connection.

So, yeah, I would believe he's that detail oriented in everything he builds.

There's no evidence I can see that he wouldn't be.

[Prostheta]

Everything he's done has been enlightening. Actually identifying salient points that are either missed or otherwise debated into vagaries and uncertainty.

It does take a degree of monomania to do this. 

[Prostheta]

I decided to use a combination of body vinyl tape and painter's tape around the guitar. I'm confident that the truly eagle-eyed will spot the odd error here and there, so if that's the case, good for you!  The sheer amount of aging this guitar will end up getting will likely obscure or take focus away from these for the most part. Instead of using 3-4mm pinstripe tape (which I don't have) I roughly hand-cut strips of painter's tape. This was a bit of a ballache in areas where the original vinyl would curve around edges as you stretch it, and painter's tape less so. Still, another thing that relicing will obscure, same as the less-than-perfect width of these strips.

The paint used was pretty good for a rattlecan. Plenty of product but perhaps a bit of a crappy tip. Still, I doubt that I've been working with better products or techniques than EVH did back in the day so I'm really not worried about any of this.

 

 

[Muzz]

That looks close enough so just don't rub Tiger Balm on the ache and you are good to go and start putting that body into the time machine.

[Prostheta]

Thanks man. It'll be a couple of days before that paint gets chippy rather than plastic-rippy. I'm happy with how that turned out, and sure, it could have been done better but why bother? We're not trying to fool anybody or recreate a moon landing.

I should really get some Ash plugs cut and block up those two repairs. I sheared the head off a pickguard screw (what?!) at the lower edge so I'll leave that and call it "invented history". Alternative fact?

[komodo]

I wouldn't spend another second worrying about aesthetic details, it looks excellent.

I'd be practicing Eruption, because anyone who sees that will expect to hear it.

[Prostheta]

I'd have to disappoint and go for I'm The One. Far cooler tune!

The pickguard is mid-relicing. Surprisingly, part of this process is to clean and polish it as that wears down existing distressing the same as age does. Then a little light "recent wear".

The neck was sanded to 500 grit and given a light oiling with raw cold-pressed linseed. It doesn't cure quickly like say, Tru-Oil or BLO, but gets into the wood and leaves nary a trace. After the first coat was wiped completely back (till paper comes clean) I added judicious amounts of pencil scribble next to the frets. This was polished with a paper towel dabbed with linseed and rubbed out. This leaves a subtle shading next to the fret and light dirtiness to the Maple. Nothing heavy. I burnt the headstock using a direct flame and also by allowing a spill-type match to burn on it. The wood leaves an oily smoky stain which is perfect. The blackened burnt match is also mashed into a little linseed and used to lightly darken the wood around the neck. In between oiling and dirtying sessions, I used a variety of implements to bash, bang, glance and rub corners and other parts of the headstock that you'd think would take abuse. Leaning on an amp, against a wall, on a table, in a pile of guitars, that kind of thing. Plausible damage from poor treatment and general stage use. Nothing deep (maybe a couple of believable ones) but many many light taps, blows and rubs. The ashy linseed highlights these nicely without becoming filthy. I think there's still some way to go, but it could be left as it is and be pretty damn good.

[Prostheta]

I'm still getting that damn line in the headstock transition curve!

Over the top? Excessive? Not realistic enough? Comments welcome.

[Drak]

Love the Birdseye neck, unexpected.

I wouldn't have done the burns on both sides, just on the upper side.

I used to do that, and to stick a cigarette on the underside wouldn't make sense (in the real world) to me.

Maybe he did it, I don't know, but it would seem odd for a smoker to do that.

PS, it's 11:00, do you know where your women and children are?

[Prostheta]

I took the burn marks from Met reference photos. I agree, they seem oddly-placed, however I figure he stuck one under the strings near the tree.

[Prostheta]

So's how we are after a day of relicing. It's a slow and tedious process, however same as what it's trying to emulate, it takes time. The more the better.

@ScottR would agree that the back looks better than the front. There's still a long way to go yet, and she'll scrub up just fine.

 

 

[Prostheta]

The process was relatively simple, which I prefer in this case as you end up going back through your steps multiple times to truly layer in the distressing. So here's most of the tools and materials I used:

(left to right)

• kitchen towel
• linseed oil
• spray bottle of DNA
• garnet shellac (about a 1-1/2lb cut)
• calipers
• pencil
• 360 and 500 grit Abralon pads
• 120 and 180 grit sandpaper
• broken solid carbide CNC endmill
• olivine diabase sauna stove rock
• flat file
• needle file
• framing hammer
• lighter and spill-type matches

The first objective was to remove paint from areas of heavy wear. I used reference photos of (maybe replica) Frankie from the Met exhibition to identify highly damaged areas and used my own intuition to translate that back to a B&W Frankie. The first tool here was the broken carbide cutter, which I normally use as a burnisher for card scrapers. The fractured shaft makes a great tapping tool to hit the body with straight-on and glancing blows, more often than not resulting in a flying chip. The size of these is somewhat consistent, so this tool is used only for bulk removal in areas that will be distressed further to hide regularity.

The rock was used by rolling, sliding, knocking and pressing into the body. On faces it makes nice indentations and knocks, whilst on edges it roughens, compresses and disrupts the paint and wood. This is a pretty creative job, changing from rolling here to pressing there, dropping here and there, etc. In larger areas of paint removal, it acts as a nice way to break up the chips from the carbide endmill into a more random wear area.

The low grade sandpaper was used sparingly, as 120 grit is large enough to cut the paint which looks very artificial. Instead, this was pressed, edge rolled, dragged and twisted lightly rather than pressing flat and push/pulling linearly. More or less the same was done with the 180, however this is light enough to afford a little "traditional" abrasion, generally for pulling back and smoothing in areas that are a little rough from heavier distressing.

The files can be used for spot gouging with a corner, cutting lines with lazy aim and light hold and creating wear on edges. These don't bite through all of the paint quickly, so they can be more judicious. Unless stabbing.

The calipers were opened up and the teeth points allowed to create scratches and gouges by rolling it, and throwing it around the body lightly with a loose grip. This required a bit of forethought to stay in control and not produce obviously consistent damage.

The framing hammer can be used to lightly dent or smooth areas depending on which direction you tappy-tap-tap the body with it. Edges chip or compress. Lots and lots of light taps.

A few burns were added as per the original; paint was melted a little with the lighter before burning with the wooden spill. The temperature output of the wood is lower than the lighter, and helps deposit a little smoky ash and brown oily sticky shmoo around the burns.

The garnet shellac was padded on with a rag and padded back off with another containing denatured alcohol. Some shellac stays, some doesn't. Wiping allows quicker depositing, whilst jabbing and randomly padding back off with DNA removes the obvious wiping artifacts. Shellac can be contaminated with a little ash from burning matches, and anything that looks too much or too artificial can always be padded back with DNA.

In between various stages, the body was rubbed down with 360 and 500 grit Abralon pads to cut back the gloss and smooth out the sharper pointier damaged bits.

Brown powder pigment can dirty up various areas, however this will likely be problematic when liquids like sweat get involved....

[Bizman62]

At this stage it looks filthy. I would've expected that the paint would be clean where it gets rubbed most often, like around the belly carve just where the bare wood ends. But as it obviously still is a work in progress I won't critisize.

[Prostheta]

Well, I'm still negotiating my way through the process since it's not something set in stone. Everything is done on the basis that it isn't "overfaking" a real-world aspect of a relic. The entire body will be given a going over with a high grit Abralon pad to tone back the roughness. There'll be a point where it feels dialled in, and now is now that time! It's beer and sauna time.

[Bizman62]

"Mmmm... Beer! Yes, oh yes! Woohoo!"

                                 - H. Simpson -

[Drak]

I found that pic rather humorous.

If I didn't (generally) clean up my bench before taking pics, there would Always be a 360 grit Abralon pad in my pics.

To quote a phrase: "I put that shit on everything".

I probably use the 360 Abralon nearly every day if I'm doing any kind of shooting or finishing work.

I have the full set going up to 4000, but the 360 is my primary go-to for so many functions.

It's always present, its always out, very nearby nearly all the time.

F-ing love those things.

[Drak]

I looked at it with a scrutinizing eye and I agree with Biz, it looks 'just' a bit 'too' dirty.

But we'll wait and see how you wrap it up.

I'm imagining the story, that it never got painted beyond this stage and Eddie played it regularly, so I totally get that.

But I don't think Eddie would have let it get that 'dirty'.

So let me say this: to me, it looks more 'dirty', than 'worn', if that makes sense.

I'm differentiating between 'dirty' and 'worn' now.

However, your abilities are top shelf, it looks completely authentically 'dirty', it looks completely authentic.

The 5 burns in the neck are really bugging me and if anything looks 'faked', or overbaked, its that.

Can you show me or link to a pic of the actual headstock burns?

[Bizman62]

32 minutes ago, Drak said:

The 5 burns in the neck are really bugging me and if anything looks 'faked', or overbaked, its that.

That raised my curiosity and I made a search for EVH playing the black and white guitar as that would most likely be "the real thing". The headstock was best seen on a couple of photos taken during the VH II recording sessions and it looked clean. The five burn marks are a thing to the degree that they exist on a mug. Also the MET museum pictures show the same marks on the red bodied guitar. But the black and white has a clean headstock. On some pictures it looked like it read Gibson or something close enough on it, on others it looks like the text either has been covered with pale tape or it has been scraped away.

[Prostheta]

1 hour ago, Drak said:

To quote a phrase: "I put that shit on everything".

Vincent: I dunno, I didn't go into Burger King. But, you know what they put on French fries in Holland instead of ketchup?
Jules: What?
Vincent: Abralon pads.
Jules: God damn!
Vincent: I seen them do it, man, they 'king drown them in that shit.

[Prostheta]

58 minutes ago, Drak said:

Can you show me or link to a pic of the actual headstock burns?

 

 

Yes, the blackened parts on mine are somewhat incongruous.

[Prostheta]

25 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

That raised my curiosity and I made a search for EVH playing the black and white guitar as that would most likely be "the real thing". The headstock was best seen on a couple of photos taken during the VH II recording sessions and it looked clean. The five burn marks are a thing to the degree that they exist on a mug. Also the MET museum pictures show the same marks on the red bodied guitar. But the black and white has a clean headstock. On some pictures it looked like it read Gibson or something close enough on it, on others it looks like the text either has been covered with pale tape or it has been scraped away.

That "Gibson" decalled neck broke from what I'm aware. The neck I made is modelled on one of the many necks Frankie has had, but generally the one seen in the Met photos (it may be a replica) and around the 1984 period. Again, I don't think accuracy is a requirement and perhaps a lot of repros just have less mojo because they're attempting to aim and always fall short of some nebulous ideal. The idea here is that Frankie never got repainted or Floyded up, and continued to be toured and have the shit played out of it for decades alongside EVH's other guitars. So the VH-1 Frankie is what became the icon and not the '79 repaint.

I think you have to consider how much dirt and wear Frankie took in a 5-year period. The '78 Super or whatever it's called has wear marks consistent with Frankie post world tour, and that was pretty light. Bring that forward only a few years and you've got a junkyard nightmare already. Stretch that out to twenty-thirty years and you've got a sewer-y swamp thing living dead rust monster.

Thanks for the compliments Drak, from you that means a lot man.

[Drak]

Wellsir, I stand corrected, there it is (with a Floyd nut, but I'm just f-ing with you)

And birdsyeyes, which I never knew about.

Carry On!