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Post by guitardoode on Apr 10, 2006 11:05:56 GMT -5
Hey there guitarnuts! I hope i'm posting in the right thread...
Ive got myself an old old old 1998 which i bought when i was 9 years old... and umm i was curious is it worth doing up?
Ive rewired it, mostly because it looked like a five year old did the work and thats pretty much all ive done to it so far.
Ive been thinking of getting the pickup's potted and giving it a nice new paint job possibly pearlesent or something on those lines. and maybe one of those pickup wiring mods i saw on guitar nuts, they're really interesting.
has anyone got any tips on painting a body from scratch? I'm quite new to the painting thing side of tech, i was curious if car paint from DIY shops would be any good?
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 10, 2006 17:49:34 GMT -5
Hey there guitarnuts! I hope i'm posting in the right thread... Ive got myself an old old old 1998 which i bought when i was 9 years old... and umm i was curious is it worth doing up? ... hi Guitardoode, Welcome to GN2! i guess old is a relative thing. i have a daughter who is more than twice as old as your guitar, and i don't consider her "old". even as young as that guitar is, if it's a MIA Fender, you will be decreasing the value by refinishing it. if it's a MIM or MIK, or Squier or other clone, consider this: if you sand the existing finish so that it is smooth, but still intact, you won't have to start from scratch and seal the wood. an acrylic lacquer or acrylic enamel from an automotive paint dealer will probably be compatible with the existing finish. although the enamel will be tougher, the fumes are more toxic, so you'll want a respirator if spraying that. also, enamel will dry to a smoother finish, without polishing, but dries slowly, so dust will be a real enemy. don't even think about spraying in your basement. (your mama will break her foot off in your...) so if your garage is dusty, you could have some problems there. i refinished a tobacco sunburst LP jr. in gloss black with many coats of clear, years ago. the neck came out great, but the body showed some of the ripple of the wood grain. even if it was perfect, the value now is probably half of what it would be with the beat-up original finish. unk BTW: this is in the wrong forum. it should be in the Lutherie. but, no worries, RH will move it for us. |
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Post by pollyshero on Apr 11, 2006 9:21:58 GMT -5
doode, I too have kids much older than that. Not to mention underwear, strings on guits I haven't played in a while... Hell - my COMPUTER is older than that! Take it easy on us, K? ;D Anyway, unk is right about devaluation and if I were you I'd really think hard before you take any irreversible steps. Having said that - if you decide to go for it the first thing to do is RESEARCH. There are about a bazillion different ways you can go about painting your guitar. Google "painting a guitar" and read, read, read. The type finish you're considering is a fairly advanced process and will involve lots of preparation. You're going to have decide if you're going to strip the old paint and start with bare wood. If so, you've added 20 or 30 steps to the process (ok, that's an exaggeration, but it'll seem like that many if that's what you do). I could go into great detail and tell you how to go about everything from the bare wood approach to a simple "scuff & paint", but so many others have already done so, and much more eloquently than I can. All the info you need is already on the web, so get crackin'. Let us know how it goes. |
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Post by guitardoode on Apr 11, 2006 11:38:35 GMT -5
ah thanks for the advice :-) And sorry unklmickey, it wasnt a fender its a Squier Affinity. So umm yeah.. i really need to pot the pickups aswell... i got tons of microphonic feedback!  |
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Post by Mini-Strat_Maine on Apr 11, 2006 12:31:08 GMT -5
Sounds like you've got a good project there. Re the refinishing part, somebody (in another thread) mentioned The Guitar ReRanch. I'd never heard of it prior to that, but it turned out to be in UnklMickey's Gigantic List of Guitar Links. ( www.guitarranch.com) They also sponsor a forum, accessible from the home page above. |
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 11, 2006 13:36:00 GMT -5
Sounds like you've got a good project there..... i agree, a decent chassis to start with, should actually improve in value, it the finish comes out nice. but, no great loss even if the finish is a total flop. unk |
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Post by guitardoode on Apr 11, 2006 17:59:44 GMT -5
ah thankyou, would you know if its better to pot my pickups or saving up for better ones...
I mean it still buzzes extremely harsh and i get microphonic feedback but i was thinking thats due to not being potted :/
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Post by UnklMickey on Apr 11, 2006 18:19:15 GMT -5
Guitardoode, you'll certainly get in less trouble if you pot your pickup, than you could if you pick up your pot. potting your pups will keep the windings secure, so that sound doesn't move them in relationship to the magnet and pole-pieces. so, if that is the source of your microphonics, potting is the cure. if you like the sound of the pups you have, pot them. if you want something different, there are lots of ways to go, some of them won't break the bank: store.guitarfetish.com/clse.htmlthe buzzing might be wiring / shielding / poor quality cable, or other issues. unk |
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Post by guitardoode on Apr 12, 2006 5:43:58 GMT -5
thanks once again  I shall be seeing if the tech room in my college has a nice wax melting pot when i get back from the holidays then. ;D |
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