butnut

I'm not sure if an older Ric is poly or lacquer, but if it's lacquer, use Kleen-Strip Varnish remover. It will remove lacquer easily, it's water thin so you just brush on a light coat and let it lift the finish off. It is safe for antiques (says on the can) and I have used it with great results when I had my refinish biz. I like that when most of the finish is gone (I use a heavy plastic/nylon scrapper) I soak a clean rag in a bowl of the stripper, and wipe all the finish clean off the piece. (Wear gloves) I use a 'remover wash' as a final rinse before doing any finish, it won't raise grain like water would. You'll have to take everything off the body to strip and paint, neck too if it's a bolt on. MapleGlo looks like a natural Maple under clear. The Reranch will have the good nitro to clear and ask if they know of any sealers or stains/oils used for the correct MapleGlo under the clear. Good luck, sounds like a rare and kool bass, once you get rid of the purple. If it has binding, be careful, I'm not sure if the stripper, although 'milder' than the heavy stuff, will eat it. Tape it off well and stay away from it with the stripper. You can easily sand off some finish left on the edge and binding.

WOW, that is a killer piece of Koa!

Thanks everyone for the really nice comments.

'Most' appreciated.

I think it'll get done this summer, barring other projects.

Wanna know something funny, just to show you 'one mans treasure' bla bla bla...

I posted that pic at the TDPRI (Telecaster Discussion Pages RI) last year I think it was...

...and it got pretty beat down.

Danged Vintage Tele-Nazi Purists!

Haha! Just goes to show ya...'they' thought it was not even allowed to be called a real Telecaster 'cuz it was so far from being like an authentic butterscotch-lookin' Tele. They said I should call it a Telecaster copy.      

When you're done, go show it off at Telemodders ...you can call it whatever you want.

Killer! Did'nt know PRS made Tele's!

That's some krazy veneer...nice work. My guess is a Charlie Christian type of pup...

The headstock is nuts! I thought I was seeing a lot of reflection off black gloss...you inlayed the tuning keys! Really kool stuff... ahhh, time.

It MUST be all LACQUER in rattle cans. NAPA has the best IMO. Get some 400 grit, tack rag, primer (for lacquer) black lacquer and clear lacquer. Sand the headstock smooth (not to bare wood) dust and tack lightly. You don't want any dust. Shoot a few light coats of primer. Let it dry a few minutes then shoot a final heavier coat. I let primer dry 8 hours or overnight. Next, lightly sand (400) the primer, just enough to get a even smooth look, don't wanna sand through. Dust and tack well. Shoot your black, first coat light...see through. Let it flash dry a few minutes, and continue this way, building up thin coats, letting each coat flash. Lacquer is'nt meant to be shot in one heavy coat. You may shoot up to 10 coats this way, easily 1/2 hour or longer. Take your time. (I'm assuming everything was masked off... ) The 'final' coat may be a bit heavier for gloss off (wet). Let this dry..overnight if applying decals or 5 minutes if not and you'll shoot clear. Assuming it's a hot day, longer wait if not ideal (I'm in Hawaii btw, so we have good days, except this mega rain storm right now ) If moving on to clear, again, start light and build slowly, 10 coats more or less. Last coat can be heavier for gloss off. Let this dry a day or longer. Remove all masking after an hour, slowly. The gloss may be fine and left as is, but can be buffed out using the methods above. Good luck.

That is mind blowing great inlay. Awesome. The figure looks a bit too muscular to be 'portrayed' as a female within the inlay form IMO...don't tell Dave's wife...I don't know her, but I know she could kick my ass! Good stuff, keep up the good work.

Here's my law-suit gold top LP headstock done exactly as the guys stated above. I used black lacquer over primer (after sanding with 400) decaled, 1st coat with lacquer to set decals, and buried under a thick poly clear. Did the 1200,1500,2000 sand and buff...good luck.

http://www.montypics.com/pic.php?url=/butn...05_0526_IMG.jpg

Looks sweet goat. What did you finally use to outline those letters? I'm assuming it's under the clear, looks great.

What do you mean, like poly or lacquer?  What make/model guitar is it?

SX J bass. Made in China. The finish feels hard enough to poly, but I wanted to know if there is a way to tell?????

Getting back to your question, it will be safe for you to poly over poly with no reactions. I'm pretty sure most import stuff is poly as lacquer is more labor.

I lacquered over my poly base only after paint stripper did absolutely nothing to it. I had poly'd it about 15 years prior to doing a color change and it was soild as a rock. I should have stated that to avoid confusion as lacquer sprayed on anything other than lacquer will mess it up...unless you have a very stable and old cured poly surface. Good luck.

Lacquer sprayed on fresh poly will lift it...but since it's an existing finsh (I assumed) it should be stable enough to scuff, prime/seal and paint. I've been doing this for years with no problems.

Use the 3M blue painters masking tape...comes off clean. If taping off 'fresh' lacquer, use the 3M green made for lacquer. It's worth spending a little more for good tape. Good luck.

Im still not 100% sure what this is about, but it seems like a question of if you can use poly over lacquer or lacquer over poly. The answer is yes. You'll just need to scuff/sand since it's an existing finish. I use only lacquer for my custom paints and clearcoat with poly. I shoot lacquer over old poly finished bodies after using the primer and sealer. I will, for the first time, be shooting nitro clear lacquer right over a nice see through blonde poly to create the checking effect doing the hot/cold thing. Looking forward to see how that turns out.

Although I cannot get their products, maybe you can. It's lacquer which is very easy to work with and very forgiving if ya make a mistake. They even tell ya how to use their products.

Reranch

Enamel takes a long time to dry. Most spray primers will work with enamel. I've never cleared enamel so I can't recommend a clear.

Yeah, I don't know if you can push a Dremel that much unless it's soft wood. The DeWalt 'spiral saw' is 5 amps and 30,000 rpm and as hefty as my laminate trimmer. Designed for only one thing...cutting....did I mention how this thing mutilates drywall? After all these years of borrowing Dremels, I really want one for all the projects I do, it's on my Xmas list, but I ain't been that good...

I agree Drak, learning, even if it's from your mistakes, is always a good thing. Not that I like saying, "been there, done that" but a lot of times, I have. Good luck Snork.

But wait till you see what this bad boy does to drywall! hehe. Yeah, the bit looks like it will cut 1 1/4" deep no problem...don't know if they sell longer cutting bits. Maybe you could drill at least 4 pilot holes inside your pattern as a guide for the bottom, and flip it over, trace your template (using the guide holes as reference) and cut from the bottom after the top?

I'll sue everyone! hehe, thanks Ace. so long bro.

Hey guys...anyone tried this? Roto-Zip IMO much safer than a router, just draw a line and follow it. The bit is skinny so it's not pushing much wood, cuts like a laser...I've used routers in my furniture biz and this As seen on TV gizmo is the bomb... It has it's limits, but for the DIYS guy, I like this tool. Seen generic versions on Ebay for 30 bucks with bits. I borrowed my neighbors one for my Tele, he moved so I got a DeWalt version now...love it.

hehe, good one Drak...yup, The only problem is on some stuff from there...the wait is forever!

Oh well. On that Tele sumo boy posted, it looks like that finish I discussed on the Voodoo. Here's that wood (A/C Fir 1/4" plywood) on the toolbox I made over 20 years ago. My boss at the time bought some Japan Red lacquer for a job and I thought it would look kool on a toolbox. I don't know where I got the idea, but after I shot the red, I got some black lacquer and sprayed the whole box. With 400 grit and a sanding block, I block sanded the black off the high spots, leaving it in the deeper grain and bringing out the red. I wanted to see more of the red color, I could have reversed the paints to see more black. I think this is how that guitar was painted...my cheap plywood has nicer grain...IMO

2 tone plywood box

Well, being from the Telemodders site, we have quite a few country players. And being modders, a few have those parts. Very kool stuff, but it's not me. I think El Dorado struck oil with that idea of quality leather work...notice Tele's are heavy favorites of country pickers

I can't seem to get the pics to load...tried a lot, but from what I have seen, looks killer. Nice job.

I had good results with Kiwi brown shoe polish. Most plastics have some kind of 'mold release' or wax that makes it kinda slippery...try alcohol, naptha or watered down lacquer thinner to wipe the plastic first (try any chemical in an unseen place first). Rub the Kiwi on with a rag and wipe off...if the polish 'stains' it and color does'nt come off (it will get a little lighter) you can go ahead and do the whole piece. I've found by leaving it on longer or repeated applications will make it darker. It may rub off some on high contact areas, but dark and light rubs look more authentic anyway...I just rub more brown on later.

I found the nail idea while doing my relic research. Fender put their nails in odd places outside of the pickguard screws etc...They may have used some kind of 'jig' to stay inside of the guard. I just thought it added some kind of authentic touch and my finish nails would be sitting kinda too deep in the predrilled holes.

Now Ghetto Flake must be something new...I'll check it out, if it's any bigger than their regular flakes, I'll need a mambo sized tip, been getting some jams with the bigger flakes.

Fender nail holes