ZiKi

So yeah, i purchased all my parts for the guitar, and today finished relic'ing the body. It is very dull looking and i am unpleased. I sanded it with a final 1500 grit and want the shine back. Can i use finesse-it?

Okay, today i started sanding the finish, started with 600 to 800 wet on some parts, and 1000 to finish. then i found some kiwi brown shoe polish and it nicely browned the wood. Some parts of the guitar are duller than others because the 1000grit took away the shine from the part i scratched with the wool. I dont know if im going to dull the whole guitar, or make it shiny and bronze wool it again. What would you prefer? A half shiny guitar with swirls all over, or a dull guitar with unnoticable swirls?

very nice work. airbrush i assume?

Can you provide me an example (picture) of scoring a poly finish?

i just took a look at nash guitars again and i noticed his pickguards arent really brown, they all seem pretty white.. gonna look at vintage guitars on ebay and see what they look like.

*edit* K here are some ebay links of vintage guitars

1965 strat

1965 White?? Guitar. Seems the edges near the pickups are a little yellow

1958 Strat, werent the pickguards make of bakelite? I think it doesnt age if they were.

I purchased the pcb etchant the other night and used it on my back plate and tuning knobs. The back plate came out perfect because it was all steel. But the knobs showed some sort of bronze or brass under the chrome. So i have to find a way to relic those (make them dull and not shiny)

Also, i got some brass wool (couldnt get a hold of steel wool quick enough) and started going at my guitars finish. It surely made a difference! I love the way it looks. Now i have to find ways to chip it. I have a tool on my leatherman that chipped very nicely on my squier, but on this guitar it was hard to do because i think the finish was thick. I tried it on the part under the pickguard and all it did was make scratches, not chip. I guess I'll try the "catch keys with guitar" technique and let you guys know.

Oh yeah, I heard you can crack a poly finish with liquid nitro, but i cant get a hold of that . I will try putting the guitar in the freezer tonight, just to see if it will crack (It has been hot lately around here) and now is a good time to try. Any examples of scoring to make the effect? I wanna see pics. Thanks for reading guys

Maybe this will be stickied?

ZiKi

those stripes on it remind me of amp energy drink can.

RANDOM

Yes, I've heard that the poly will melt back together or something if it cracks. But I also heard someone found a way to crack it. I'll just wait for them to come out and tell us

*HINT HINT*

what kind of lace sensor is in it?

We all know how to crack a nitro finish, but how do you crack a poly finish?

Has anyone had success doing it?

I've never tried using the compressed air upside down because I figured it would be different for poly

LMK, kthx

dont yell at me, it was someone elses words.

Heres more Q and A's

Q) How would you relic plastic like pickguards, pickup covers, trem covers, etc?

A) Get some tea. Specifically, Earl Grey tea. Mix up a STRONG batch...put in the plastic or bone parts,...and do NOT get this on the countertop,

it is the tea that is responsible for the yellowed teeth on the British people... Do the physical distressing first,,, so it does not wear through...

Q) What's your take on fingerboard wear? I've heard using a chemical stripper with a q tip will do it.

A) Yes, that works,...and a sharpend spoon to simulate the wear of uncut fingetnails,...it is about the

right radii...

I just recieved great information as for relic'ing techniques from a guy who is selling relic's on ebay

"For nitro,...use canned air for cleaning cameras and computers,...upside down....

Wear gloves as this is COLD, COLD....

be careful as the checking is invisible at first.

Get some very fine dirt like from a pitchers mound that is well raked and mix it with dirty motor

oil and the checking will jump out at you and simulate your greasy hands over a period of years.

Forget plastic finishes....they DO check but they just melt back together immediatly...

For the metal first use a fine bead set up bead blasting kit to dull the finish, and then you can

use a brine mixture to rust it...

Look up how to make brine online...."

Wait a minute. What happened to all your other guitars? Like the one you were going to paint black. I can't imagine what your guitar wall looks like, i bet there's about 15 of them. I have some suggestions. How about trying out some nitro or lacquer on the body. I always loved the look and feel of a blonde guitar with a smooth lacquer finish. Try it out! have a great day and keep up the good work

For the aging of a pickguard, i need amber lacquer spray right? Where's the cheapest place to get that? I have two pickguards I wanna relic, one of them is going to go on ebay.

Thanks for the fast input. I emailed bill nash but i later found out he doesn't give away techniques. Anyways, what would the difference between sand paper and steel wool do to the guitar, and is the chip-away-with-screwdriver technique a good idea?

Thanks for the responses guys, i didnt know this topic was so alive

Here's the news.

The guitar was going to be a 50s relic. But then I realized my parts werent too exact, so now i'm trying for a 50-60s relic

I got more parts off ebay. have a look

Tremolo Cover

8 hole pickguard

67 pickups

50's reissue bridge pickup

And i got the neck in today!

Although it is slimmer than my neck pocket (which is weird, the original neck i was going to use was too big), i think itll work! I'd have to do some modifications like relocating the neck screws and switching the black nut with a white one.

Speaking of nuts, does anyone have a white nut to trade for my black nut? *that sounds awkward*

Anyways, i talked to the guy at guitar center and he was like the "fender expert" he told me some suggestions. One thing i would never do is buy reissue parts from guitar center when i have ebay. LOL

anyways, Thanks for the input

One more question: anyone have info on relicing the plastic? also, does the finish have to be nitro to check or could i just throw my body into the freezer and then the sun?

Once again, THANKS GUYS! keep it comin

I am selling a guitar neck I was going to use for my relic guitar, but wouldnt fit my japanese neck pocket. I originally was going to modify it but realized it wasnt worth it. It is a johnson neck. I started to operate on the headstock and make it look better, but never finished. So the headstock is missing like half an inch off the top and a little cut in the right side. Pics to come soon!

$30 shipped

I bought some parts left and right off ebay for my next project. I plan to put together a strat using vintage or reissue parts and making a relic. The most recent thing I bought was a steal (in my opinion):

Relic Strat Copy Neck

I also am using my 8 hole pickguard from my squire (interesting that they're 20 some bucks and hard to find on ebay, yet fender slaps them on their low end guitars) and a sunburst Aria body. I'm waiting to find a vintage tremelo and pickups at a good price. I got some cheap kluson knockoffs. Why spend alot of money on parts you're going to beat up. Pictures will come very soon, any tips or thread links are appreciated. Thanks

i started working on the knobs and my technique and i used some water based model paint. what i did is put some black on a brush then dipped it in water and painted the ridges, then i wiped off the sides closest to me and it kinda looks dirty now

okay guys thanks for the links, although i have seen most of them.

anyways, heres the specs on my guitar im relicing

I bought a cheap johnson maple neck that i plan to strip down and put a amber finish on. bought it for 31

i also bought a cheap sunburst (more browner than orange) for like 53 bucks.

i am also helping my friend upgrade his 87 american strat which came with a vintage tremolo, so he's letting me have that.

i just won kluson tuners on ebay.

although this strat is not going to look like a fender strat (because of the headstock), i want it to look cool.

a couple questions i have. when you do the "wear" on the neck and make it look dirty, how would you do that. I've heard you use coffee or something thatll brown it but wouldnt that come off after a while? i dont want my hands smelling like tobacco and coffee after i use my guitar. hrmmmm

thats pretty much it right now, right now i'm gathering the parts and such. still looking for a 1 ply 8 hole pickguard for cheap. the cheapest ive seen is like 23 bucks. BS...

oh yeah i might have some tips i made up on my own.

I bought cream knobs a while back for a previous project but i didnt use them. I checked out that vintage fender website and examined the knobs. i rounded them and such. what i plan to do to make them look dirty in the cracks is take some brownish black model paint and paint the sides, then wipe the knobs off. i'll let you guys know how that turns out.

in fact, im about to go practice doing wear on a old bass neck i dont need, as well as do those knobs.

Peace out!

I'm doing a relic cause it's a fun thing to do and is obviously "in", but every relic post i go to has broken pictures. So, if any of you have relic guitars you did, please share, im interested in your tips and tricks.

I'm in the process of doing a relic and saw some examples and a few had some cracked finishes. Whats the easiest and fastest way to crack a finish? Put it in a freezer then a oven?

any ideas would help too

wrong forum sorry

finally got some pictures