axegarden

Thanks for all the good advice. I've begun a .doc with materials to consider, costs, and a linear plan of what tasks to perform. I'll look up "doghair" mahogany vids. I like the ones you posted, but i'll refrain from asking how you did it for now. That technique looks particularly 2D and I'm aiming to get as much depth as I can out of the mahogany. I started looking for custom mahoganies but there's few high quality pics, one I found was a nice blue mahogany Ernie Ball here. One concept I'm currently trying to decipher is water vs alcohol based stains. Apparently alcohol dries fast and is thus harder to blend and evenly coat. The Angelus brand seems nice for alcohol, though as a beginner I'm intimidated by any difficulty alcohol poses. The Crimson Stunning Stains seem like a good choice for water-based. I don't quite understand why one would use one over the other. I would like a multicolored aspect to it, so that it's not quite as monochrome as the Ernie Ball example. That's why I was attracted to an initial black layer to bring out the grain, and a purple-to-blue blend from the center outwards. A blend like this doesn't seem as attractive on mahogany as a figured maple top, though, so I may change my mind.

Thanks for the resizing tips. Can I line the inside with aluminum sheeting to have the same effect?

Here's pics of the cavities. Does anyone know what this black texture is under the neck pickup? Or if I can leave the finish under the tremelo? or do I have to suffer through sanding that out?

I'm eyeing a Cosmo Black on thomann but at $266 I'm hesitant....I want matte black hardware so ideally I would get a Powdered Cosmo, but the only one I can find is a new one on IbanezRules for $360 The Cosmo black isn't very black, So I would at least like the actual "Black" instead @ $300 ... AHH i don't know what to do about the trem yet. The crack on the existing bridge is actually in the arm that holds those mounting studs. It's a real shame because it's in pretty decent shape otherwise, considering age. That's a great pickup combo. It sounds familiar, I think Petrucci used Air nortons? The stock pickups don't sound bad, so I think I'll only get new ones if I really want a "new" guitar. The pots have been scratchy so I'll definitely get new electronics. I didn't think of the fact that the tuners need not be "nice" since the strings will be secured with the locking nut! Good idea there, thank you. I want to find matte black everything. You think the frets need some love? I've always liked the action on this guitar so that frightens me. What's the benefit? I'd have to research techniques/practices. BUT the double shark fin inlays in the fretboard have ALWAYS bugged me. It seems that there were gaps between the inlays and the fretboard, as if they weren't cut precisely, and the resin/glue stuff is raised above the surface of the fretboard. This little detail, which doesn't effect my playing, has always bugged me. Anyone have suggestions on how to fix that?

I have confidence it'll like great, if I 'do it right', lol. I've spent maybe 8 hours watching/reading videos of staining (almost always on figured [maple] tops though) and I haven't heard of bleaching the wood - is that typical for mahogany staining? I've learned that the color of the woods will effect the color of stains, so I guess i should accommodate that. I'd like to play with the "Northern lights" color scheme, which includes a layer of red/pink below the blue(s). I'm definitely going to find some mahogany to practice with. I found this vid at the beginnings of my research, as I was searching for ways to accentuate the contrast in wood grains. Since then I think it would be better to do a black stain first, sand it, and then apply colors. This seems to be a common way to increase contrast in the grain. I'm also leaning toward having a purple in the center (around all the cavities) which blends into a nicely saturated royal blue for the rest of the axe. black hardware. It should look mmm sxy. I've found videos (and channels) like this to be helpful, this vid has a nice color to aim for, and his channel is great. I live in a rural area of Virginia. I would prefer to order my supplies but I could probably find good vendors around D.C.. Thanks for your help! Here are some additional pics, of the headstock crack

Yeah it does seem to chip easily, i think i'm going to try the heat gun method to get the rest off, then use an orbital sander to sand it down to fresh wood. I noticed some weird texture under the neck pickup which isn't under the bridge pickup, don't know how what it is (pic included). Can I keep the existing blue finish under the tremelo? That area seems like a pain in the arse to redo. How do I know when I've sanded through the sealer coat? Apply water to look for blotches? I'm actually pretty excited to stain the mahogany, I know it's not as nice as a figured top but it'll do for me. I took better pics of mahogany top that shows through the hole in the finish. I'm not all sure about the logic behind using (or layering) water-based stains vs. alcohol vs. oil or sanding certain coats and "grain filling" etc. That seems like the proprietary part of the industry and is never presented as "standard practices" and whatnot, it's different according to who is doing it. I love the lo-pro edge bridge, I wouldn't want to change it. I'm going to hate paying $250-350 for one, but I think it's worth it. I'm attracted to matte black hardware, so I'd like to find the "Powder Cosmo" finish, but it'll be expensive. I think the stock bride is "cosmo black", but i'd at least like to find the "black" if I can. Do you - or anyone here - recommend a vendor selling matte black hardware? It's a pain in the butt to resize pictures so I'll post more pics soon. Thanks for your help/reply!

Hello all i'm a short time lurker since i've decided to rebuild a guitar of mine, so I figured this is the place to come for expert advice. I have a 1992 Ibanez S540 LTD in Jem Blue that has been a great friend of mine through the years, but i think it needs to be reincarnated. It acquired a bad chip on the body that opened a hole all the way to the wood. Once I could see the wood grain underneath I came to like it, and I've decided to refinish and remake it with new electronics and hardware. I've always wanted to build a guitar from the body up, and luckily I have the tools and resources to do it at this point in my life.I've occasionally followed guitar rebuilds (over my 15 year guitar career) but my experience goes no further than replacing a pickup. I came here in hopes that I can find good vendors/resources for the dye and finishing materials and instructions, new hardware, and new pots and switch etc. I know of Rich's Ibanez Rules site of course, and I figure that's a good source for factory parts, but I feel attracted to matte black hardware and I don't think he would have such things.My idea is to dye the body blue and replace the ancient, corroded hardware with new black hardware, knobs, bridge, etc. (Sadly the original Lo Pro Edge trem has a cracked arm around one of the pivot points. It has functioned for me just fine, but since I've already started disassembly, I found the arm is completely broken and I figure I should cut my losses here). I love transparent finishes and wood grains so I'd like to highlight the grain somehow. I saw a youtube video where a metallic something was rubbed in after a dark stain had been applied - I figure I'd like to do something like this to highlight grain depth. The Wizard neck also has some minor crack situation around both sides of the first fret, almost looking like the fretboard is separating. I'd like to clean that up too.Anyway - does anyone have vendor suggestions? Techniques? Colors? Hardware? I would really appreciate it!