Southpa

Its part of the deal when I take on a "refurbishing" job for friends and acquaintances. I strip all the hardware and use mild cleaning solutions like Windex or Fantastik. It does no harm to woods or finishes. Just let it sit a couple minutes and then wipe clean with a soft cloth. Sometimes I've had to resort to using an old toothbrush on those fretboards that are really caked up with finger gunk. I've seen some real dirty guitars in my day. For metal components I use a tiny wire wheel on a dremel to remove rust and tarnish then follow up with something called "NEVR-DULL" Magic Wadding Polish, basically cotton wadding impregnated with a mild solvent, similar to WD-40, then wipe clean with a soft cloth.

We should have a little contest to see who can post the worst wiring job ever. Heres one from my buddy's LP copy. The guy is an excellent journeyman painter but leaves a lot to be desired in the soldering area. We've got little pieces of black electrical tape, a bit of green masking tape and we can't forget the use of that speaker wire! Anyway, the guitar weighs in a 10 lbs, its a heavy sob. My friend asked me to strip it down, then he is going to town with the router and will chamber a couple lbs out of the body. We initially discussed running the whole thing thru a bandsaw, the guitar is actually a true mahogany back and maple top, chambering the back and then gluing them back together. Sounds like a risky, dangerous undertaking, not to mention losing a "kerfs worth" of wood in the thickness. So instead, I think the idea is to rout a large 1/8" deep area off the back, avoiding 4" centerline and existing cavities, then chamber said area leaving 1/4" ledge all around. Then make a 1/8" thick cover plate for the whole routed area and gluing that on. All seams will be filled, sanded, then finish the body ie. primer, paint and clear. I will scavenge what I need from the hardware and incorporate this 'n that into the scaled down Flying-V I will be building for his son.

Another 1-piece solid maple body. I guess I could have used up the whole plank of wrn maple to make a true 1 piece ie. neck and body of the same wood, but the mere idea is ridiculous to me not to mention a waste of wood. The neck on this guitar is clean, quartersawn eastern hardrock. The body is moderately flamed western or "bigleaf" maple. A complete body/neck combo in eastern maple would weigh a ton. Maybe you could do it all in wrn maple but its not really suitable neck wood.

I'm using a bastard file for now. Why? Because I like saying it "BASTARD"! BASSSSTERRRRRRD You know the files that come with a wooden handle? I pull the handle off and curl up the metal spike so its easy to move the file around on the neck. The real important part is monitoring your progress. Thats why you need to mark the fret tops first with black ink. So long as you are aware of how much attention you are giving the particular areas you should do well. I also make sure the file conforms well to my straight edge. I've used a 10" sharpening stone a couple times. They are reasonably flat and you have the option of using a fine or coarse surface. Unfortunately, stones tend to wear down faster than files.

If the binding is higher than the surrounding surface you can leave the tape on for much longer because you already have a dividing line. The tape will separate from the paint more uniformly. Make sure you use good tape, its amazing how much a difference that makes. 3-M blue tape is the best, a little expensive, but you can leave it on longer without any problems like having to scrape off glue residue or adverse reactions. If that is the case then you can fill it up to the level of the binding, but have to be more careful as you approach that mark. I would finish the binding first as much as possible, mask it and then shoot your primer and color coat. When you have enough paint on pull off the tape and let it cure with only minimal attention needed on the binding. Mistakes DO happen and the more time you have to spend shaping something with sharp tools or coarse sandpaper adjacent to a fresh paint job the better the odds are for screwing it up and having that bad feeling. All thats needed after that is a good clearcoat.

Just after the paint flashes. ie. as soon as it is no longer wet to the touch. I've masked the waterline on many boat hulls and right after rolling and brushing on the anti-fouling paint the tape is pulled off. I got in **** if I left it too long. Same deal with most anything else you paint, be it cars or guitars. Leave the tape too long and the paint may bond tighter to the tape than to the substrate you are painting. That means the paint could lift off or chip along the edge of the tape. You can shoot 2 or 3 times in one session but I would recommend pulling the tape after each session. Then remask the next day. If you are really concerned you could carefully cut the ridge down (w/ a sharp razor) that was formed by the paint between each shooting session. Another method is to practice rolling your tape edge up off the surface, as evenly as possible, so that when you spray the paint it feathers down to nothing rather than forming a solid ridge.

Just a correction to my post. String spacing can be an issue but it depends on what type of roller bridge. Some, like the Schaller I previously mentioned, can be adjusted for string spacing, others have fixed rollers. Sorry 'bout that.

Depends on what you are using for a body. I know the Schaller roller TOM is kinda high so a neck angle would be required. If you are just going to install a TOM on a fender style body/neck combo then you are going to have problems. String spacing is not an issue with a roller TOM.

Nice work. I'm looking into making something that will fit along a wall. I can remember someone built one out of 2"PVC pipe but can't remember when. I also like to keep my guitars in their respective cases. I just don't have the space to take them ALL out at once.

Quality wood = quality guitar. If its pine then I wouldn't even bother trying to "dress up mutton to look like lamb". Believe it or knot (pun intended ) pine can look pretty cool when left in its rustic state. Leave the dents, scratches etc, actually put some dark stain in them to highlight and then go with an amber clearcoat to give the aged look. I know some folks might (huh, make that WILL) see things differently than I do. The finish on a guitar is secondary for me. I've seen so much eye candy in the store. Most of the price is wrapped up in the finish and not the materials and structure. I'm not impressed by the nice paint job on the car if the car doesn't even work and I can't rely on it. Same thing with guitars.

10?

Welcome to the board Wiz! Then again, you been here a little while already. A friend of mine will be spending a year at the school near Qualicum BC, on Vancouver Island. (I forgot what the name of the place is.) They offer a full year w/ accomodation etc. etc. for $34,000 US but my friend will be driving his RV up there to live in, knocking it down to only $20,000. Like you, he is "in between" things. He was recently laid off from his job of 20+ years and hes decided to jump into something new. Hes been tinkering with violins, mandolins, ukeleles, banjo-ukes, but surprisingly, not many guitars! I'll be picking his brain when he comes back. Right now I got repairs coming at me left, right and center. Mostly keeps me in beer, I'm also big on the barter system. One guy gave me a couch! Anyway, once again, welcome and I hope your SG will be a satisfying experience. Mine had its ups and downs but it came out right in the end.

I broke my WAH-WAH!

You can put the poly over top of most anything, ' stay away from lacquer tho. The poly requires a mechanical bond between coating sessions. I'll shoot about 3 coats within an hour, let it dry for 3 or 4 days then scuff ...carefully, with 600 or 800 grit then repeat the process until I have enough of a buildup to wetsand... if that becomes necessary. If you want a smooth glossy finish you should grainfill mahogany. Its not an easy job, as a matter of fact its very hard work and a royal pain in the ass, no foolin! I've had mixed results with various materials. You'll have to experiment with materials and methods for yourself. Filler options: CA glue Mahogany tinted paste from hardware store Clear water-based filler from Stewmac Fill with your clearcoat from the beginning. I had the best success with the tinted paste. Method of application was with the fingers and I just rubbed it HARD into the grain. Let it dry thoroughly (next day) and then gently sand the excess away until the wood grain shows through. A proper job required 3 to 4 applications. The Stewmac grain filler was the worst, I don't know, maybe that was when this whole grainfilling thing was new to me. They said to "scree" it into the grain with a plastic scraper (or credit card) at a 45 deg. angle. I couldn't seem to get enough of it worked deep enough into the grain with this method. The result was a surface film that ended up getting sanded away quickly. I guess I needed to really soak the wood more. When grain filling with CA glue you are taking your life into your hands. It will burn your eyes and nose, very obnoxious stuff. I filled my first mahogany guitar with 3 cans of Minwax poly. If you want to go that route then prepare for the long haul. Nuf said. Give it 3 years and your finish will invariably shrink back and your grain surface pattern will pop up everywhere. Fix it by scuffing again and shooting more poly.

I gotta admit this paint technology is simply incredible. I'll be building a V in the next few months and my painter buddy is going to do some experimenting. Right now we are gathering info and he'll be testing with scrap wood. He wants to try laying a clearcoat between each dipped color to give it some overall depth. I've never done a dip before but from what I've read so far I think I understand the concept. I would just like to get some unanimous clarification. The borax increases the surface tension of the water which repels the paint, ie. the paint floats higher and stays bunched up. When an object is dipped the floating paint adheres to its surface like a reversed skin, the top of the floating paint is now the bottom of the paint on the guitar. Immersing first would not work, the guitar has to be dry for the paint to stick..right? I guess it depends on the nature of the paint, but I'm sure it isn't water based

I love the shape, love the color and love the guitar. So much so that I am working on my own custom variation , no templates this time, just winging it. http://www3.telus.net/Alsplace/Current/034.jpg

Its still a good chunk of change if the guitar is in good shape. A 1966 Fiesta Red (common color) Fender Precision Bass would be worth $7,500 to $10,000, thats low to high excellent condition. The source is from The Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide 2008 by Alan Greenwood and Gil Hembres.

That tells me the fret has seen its day and should be replaced. Although not consistently careful, I like to be thorough. I might use different methods where it comes to file and sandpaper use. To tell you the truth I don't really like doing the work, its repetitive and tedious and its also hard on my eyes and hands and fingers.

I used to use a triangular file quite a bit but the time factor has already been mentioned and I've been doing more fretwork lately. So I use the Stewmac files, got the sm/med one and the med/lge one. I'm glad most of the fretwire I work with is medium size. Here are some pics I made, a little tutorial, on how I level, crown and polish. The guitar is my Fender Gemini II acoustic that was due for fretwork after 23 years of playing. http://www3.telus.net/Alsplace/Fretwork/ I find those little stainless fretboard guards that Stewmac sells are very handy. If you are worried about messing up your fretboard wood then you can use a guard until you get the hang of using the fret crowning file.

I'll tell ya but then I'll have to kill ya! First off, are you ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE its a '62? Here is some good info on the P-bass. You're asking about some serious coin here. You can verify the ser. no. at that site as well. I can give you a value range if I know what paint is on the bass. A custom color is worth more than a standard color. The standard color for the '62 was sunburst. Custom colors offered by Fender can be common, rare and very rare and pricing gets a little variable depending on condition of the guitar and paint. Prices in my book are based on factory original custom colors with slight or no fade in and range between low to high excellent physical condition. Common Color: Black, Blond, Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue, Dakota Red, Daphne Blue, Fiesta red Rare Color: Shoreline Gold, Inca Silver, Burgundy Mist, Sherwood Green, Sonic Blue, Foam Green Very Rare Color: Surf Green, Shell Pink The colors from that era are actual Dupont colors codes used on automobiles from the 50's and 60's. PICS

Working on No. 4 from scratch. ie. from inert blocks of wood. But I've refinished, rebuilt and restored too many to remember over a 20+ yr period.

I've installed a few and bought the 7/32" bit from elsewhere, I think I've used 1/4" bit as well, no biggie. All my trussrods are sealed in with latex caulking, stuff sticks like sh*t to a blanket and prevents rattling. I don't like to use silly-cone based caulking/sealants etc. because of potential contamination. Get ANY of that stuff on your bare wood and no paint will stick. I've reconsidered my usage of the "Hotrod Bi-flex, dual action truss rod" and can't seem to justify the expense (ya, I'm a cheap bastard ) Basically, idiot proof, keep it slack and just plunk it in, no anchoring needed. But I got to thinking and realized that the last time I even came across a guitar neck that was backbowed enough to warrant a dual action truss rod was 15 years ago! And I've setup and repaired more guitars than I can remember in that time. Anyway, I'm building my own single action truss rods from now on, cost is about 3 bucks for half a dozen (SERIOUSLY). If you can build a guitar right then it should be that simple.

I've had lots of experience w/ Minwax poly, its not bad if you have some patience, ie. it takes a while to cure because of the solvent load. And, although I've never cleared coated over white, most everything else (nat. woods, etc) comes out a shade darker. IMRON Polyurethane enamel by DuPont is good, turns into a VERY hard and resistant coating, stuff is used on boat hulls. Also, acrylic lacquer is fairly clear, but can be difficult at times when compatibility is an issue. Basically anything acrylic has UV protection which prevents color fading. Nitro lacquer yellows, checks and underlying paint will fade. I would stop right there, and let the paint you already laid down cure. Then scuff it up and lay down a coat or two of high gloss, IMRON single stage white polyurethane, forget the clearcoat.

Did you check the resistance across ALL wire combinations? I would suspect the lower value to be the resistance across only one coil and the higher to be that of the 2 coils in series.

I did all mine outside. Both poly and lacquer, and I did get pretty good results after um... much trial and error. Things to avoid: 1. Sun - dark finishes will absorb heat. Don't get sidetracked and leave a black guitar out in the sun at midday for 1/2 an hour before shooting lacquer clearcoat. Bubbles everywhere! 2. Dust - clean the area surrounding the workspace. Turbulence from your spraying activities, even w/ rattlecans, will raise nastys off the deck to stick to your finish. 3. Wind - Yeah, we know wind brings dust but it also does other things. Uneven drying, drying too fast and entrapping solvents etc. 4. Bugs and other critters - have a look around, everything that flies or rides the wind (eg. baby spiders) has the potential to land on or collide with your work. Think of it as a giant piece of flypaper for the first 10 or 15 minutes. 5. Neighbors - I've shot paint even with a slight breeze and have had next door neighbors remark on the odors. If they got kids playing in the yard you better think twice. So pick the right day and the right time of day, when no one is around and temperatures, wind speed, humidity/dust levels are lower. Of course having all those conditions at optimum can be rare so I've taken precautions like covering my work with a large, clean cardboard box. I suppose you could also build yourself a paint booth out of heavy plastic. Otherwise, ya pay yer money and take yer chances.