fishgiven

(In my best Steve Martin voice:) "I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...

First of all, I am not an Electrician. I suck at it. I think like a Plumber and will bow down to anyone that considers the term Electronics Geek a fitting badge of Honor and can fathom this challenge.

I picked up a Preacher Deluxe from Fleabay (all risks understood) and it will make a decent enough rebuild. It came with broken switches and separated battery leads. The active electronics are not working.

I have replaced the switches with Factory provided ones and removed/replaced the little three legged transitors that someone said are "the first to go". All I get now are hums and pops when I handle/touch parts of the circuit board and tapping the Pups gives a snap but no string sound.

Any references to someone that can troubleshoot and repair this older circuit? I do have the schematic.

Here are some of the finished pics.

Enjoy.

The Solidbodies, though inovative, where not appreciated and bought up. No market, no funding for that division!

You won't find a more ergonomic body on a solid guitar!

The Ovation necks are outstanding as well. Now Hamer is the Solidbody part of Ovation.

Just wanted to share. I have been working over a couple of Ovation Deacon refinish projects.

Here's some pics:

For the whole story check out

www.ovationfanclub.com

I am on my third Ovation Solidbody strip and redo. They use the 2 part poly finish as well. the best stripper I have found is the "Aircraft Paint Stripper" found in the auto parts stores.

Each one I had to take to the wood and then some. Bill Kaman (CWK2) on the Ovation Fan Club site said "50 grit takes it down every time"!

It is tough stuff. Stripper, like you said, takes some down in one application and other spots not at all.

Tedious, yes.

I was not going to dip it. I was considering a brush on application. I am playing with some test pieces.

I have used a small amount tofill some repairs to an Ovation acoustic top. they spray on a Poly epoxy finish that is close and compatable.

We'll see!

I have heard it said that there are no stupid questions so I have to ask.

Has anyone tried dipping a guitar body in that 2 part epoxy such as Crystal Sheen?

This is the stuff used in decopague and the tops of bars and restaurant tables.

My guess is that it would leavea thick clear finish.

I have been playing with wood veneers on pickguards. There are a lot of possibilities!

I dropped in today looking for info on rub/wipe finishes and found this string.

I have used the Pure Tung Oil on a body before and it was indeed, very earthy! It also was in satin finish and smelled like Hazelnut. I love what it did for the neck.

I will go chase down the Waterlox stuff. I don't want to have to go with spray equipment.

Thanks!

It now resides on Fleabay to fund my next project - a Deacon 12 string!

Ovation Viper Ressurection

I have (re)finished my Viper Project and it sits on eBay.

Ovation Viper - Maple on Maple

Done in Pure Tung Oil with a figured Bubinga Pick Guard and Adamas Wood knobs.

Very expressive creation. I prefer the first headstock. The second one is rather "Ovational" with an edge, pun intended.

You can totally rule out any contracts with Daisy guitars as well!

I appreciate your expression though guitar design although I fail at the whole metal death thing. Maybe a wilting rose inlay to add some tension.

Thanks all!

Today - the body and neck are drying out. Tung Oil is not for the impatient (me!). In a couple of weeks it should be hardened and ready for a coat of Boston Polish. This will bring the matte finish into a little more luster.

A benefit of tung oil is that any damage in the future can be repaired and brought back up easily.

The pickgaurd should be fairly durable. But, thanks for mentioning it - because I may just obtain a section of that vinyl pick guard material to lay over the pick swath just in case!

I would like to share some pics of my current project. It is an Ovation Viper scraped off of eBay. The Poly finish was pounded, the frets had glacial striations and the pick guard was broke and re-drilled for the switches.

Total bare wood strip, wood pick guard out of veneers, Pure Tung finish, replaced the plastic inlays with abalone dots and obtained wooden "Adamas" knobs and a new onlay for the headstock from Customer Support at Ovation.

Although I started thinking blond it has turned into a "Cinnamon Girl".

I'm open to any comments or suggestions.

Bare body and pick guard blanks

Start Here

Blonde pre-assembly

Dipped in Dark Pure Tung Oil

Wood tone and headstock

Inlays and fret repair

Cinnamon Girl

I would at least try it on a test neck or piece of stock. I should be able to post pics in a week or so. I have some before posts on the Ovationfanclub.com site.

It does take a good week to get the project completely dry - but it is a penetrating finish. Alone it turns to a matte finish due to it's reletive thinness. Once sealed try the boston polish or some other wax to add a gloss.

This is my first solidbody project and I don't have a spray setup so it was a natural choice. Tung oil (pure and not the Home depot type with added fillers) is a non-toxic, self catalizing polymer from a natural source. Other uses are turned food containers and such.

I am very happy with the look it achieved. If I knew what I was doing I might know better. Try some.

I am midway with a maple Viper project where I have used Pure Tung oil as my finish. The maple neck (stripped to bare wood) took the first coat well, showing significant grain and giving it an amber tone.

The body was given a first coat of Dark Pure Tung Oil. I got these from Realmilkpaint.com

After the drying process I will follow with Boston Polish. The result is a beautiful finsh that can be touched up any time with minimal work.

If you prefer the tung oil over the high gloss neck this is for you. I am very satisfied so far.