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PeteDuBaldo

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Jul 16, 2004
Messages
10,149
Location
Central Connecticut (Manchester) USA
This one arrived sporting a not so good refinish in black & blue, along with a painted neck and a good amount of body damage from sanding. I'm going to strip it down, fix the issues with the body/neck, and give it a nice finish.

As it arrived

Front1.jpg



Back1.jpg



Part1.jpg



Yesterday I removed all the hardware, electronics, and the neck (this takes 15-20 minutes, tops).

Part2.jpg


Part3.jpg


This morning before work I got out a paintbrush, paint stripper, a stainless bowl, some cardboard, and I commandeered an outside table.

Part4.jpg



A good thick coat of paint stripper was brushed on and allowed to sit for 15 minutes.

Part5.jpg


Part6.jpg


After 5 minutes you can tell it is working on the new finish - Keep in mind that this won't work on the original EBMM finish, sanding or a heat gun is the way to strip off the hard poly.
Part7.jpg


Part8.jpg



After 15 minutes I hit it with the scraper.
part9.jpg


Birdseye alert!!!

Part10.jpg


After a second round of the paint stripper and scraping it was down to the sealed body
Part11.jpg


Part12.jpg


Part13.jpg
 
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PeteDuBaldo

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Jul 16, 2004
Messages
10,149
Location
Central Connecticut (Manchester) USA
UPDATE 9/22/2020

OK, it has been a while on this one but I finally finished it this week and it is already on the way to a new home!

This took a tremendous amount of work, mostly due to the botched blue/black finish, and I don't know that I'd ever do another one like this again.




Additional photos

















 
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jones4tone

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Jun 24, 2016
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Texas
I just can't imagine painting that neck... I'll be watching this one for sure.
 

tbonesullivan

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Aug 24, 2012
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New Jersey
That top looks like it's BEGGING for a flamed maple veneer or something to help shore up that control cavity.

I would LOVE to know what the previous owner(s) were thinking when they did this to an awesome guitar.

THEY PAINTED OVER A BIRDS EYE MAPLE NECK.
 

PeteDuBaldo

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Central Connecticut (Manchester) USA
That top looks like it's BEGGING for a flamed maple veneer or something to help shore up that control cavity.

I would LOVE to know what the previous owner(s) were thinking when they did this to an awesome guitar.

THEY PAINTED OVER A BIRDS EYE MAPLE NECK.

I just came here to post that.

The top of the body looks like a canoe from the over-sanding.

The birdseye in the neck is tremendous.

A figured top veneer might be amazing, but would be a lot of work
 

GWDavis28

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Jun 23, 2003
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Location
Mass
Pete you are the man this great to see and so sad that someone would do the things that have been done.

Glenn |B)
 

PeteDuBaldo

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Jul 16, 2004
Messages
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Location
Central Connecticut (Manchester) USA

Update with a photo above with the neck being almost finished - it has fantastic birdseye! There are just a few faint spots of black remaining that I'll need to gently sand. The neck was in much better shape than I thought! It's the body that will take some serious work. I am keeping it in a hot car in the sun to try and dry out any moisture that might have entered the wood during the stripping process, the top seems to be settling down a bit. Maybe another day or two and it will finish leveling out - the worst area was the thin spot over the control cavity, it rippled like a wave!
 

RichieZ

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Sep 22, 2016
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86
Great save... and fascinating to watch. Thanks Pete! Out of curiosity how are you planning on dealing with that thin area, especially where the knob holes are?
 

GWDavis28

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Jun 23, 2003
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Location
Mass
Damn Pete your right that is a great neck, you are gonna luck out again from the looks of it so far.

Glenn |B)
 

wesman11483

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Apr 1, 2018
Messages
121
I bet I am not the only one kicking themselves for not buying this after seeing that birdseye.

Definitely regretting it...but also know that this beauty made it into the right hands for the job. But yes...I will be kicking myself hard once I see the amazingness that seems to be in store.
 

nervous

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Nov 9, 2014
Messages
230
Location
Central NY
Here's a thought to salvage the body. Something I considered on my Axis before repainting. That appears to be a flat top which is in your favor. I'd get that to someone with a planer and make enough passes to compensate for whatever thickness of top will go on it to restore to the original thickness when new. that drop top area and perimeter carve is what presents the challenge and makes a figured top difficult unless you do a black edged burst of some sort. If you can resign yourself to painting a solid color things get easier. After it's thickness planed you glue a new maple top on, reshape the edges, re-route the pickup openings with a bottom bearing bit and trem opening (or simply go to a hard tail bridge). re-drill the correct holes and send it off for however many coats of fill and primer it needs to return to glass smoothness.

That neck reveal was like a freakin' archaeological dig! I can't believe the "made in" decal survived as cleanly as it did. The neck may be the biggest win overall.
 
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