nervous
Well-known member
Just thought I'd tease this one out there. Should deliver to me Friday. I'm expecting it to be a great improvement over the original and first attempt refinishing. Pics look promising in Butterscotch Metalflake.
- Thread starter nervous
- Start date
nervous
Well-known member
Work was done by the folks at Guitar Paint Guys. It's the third body they have done for me. They do great work, but painfully and maddeningly slow. They're super busy and I respect that but we're coming up on a year for something that was original estimated at 3-6 months. And, I even made a color change a few months in on their word it would expedite things. But no. So, that is not the original color I planned, but it may actually be more to my liking when assembled with the original zebra pickups, rosewood board and cream knobs. Beyond that it's just a standard 1999 Axis Sport with all it's original parts cleaned up and ready for their next life. I will certainly post glamor shots when it's complete.
Astrofreq
Well-known member
That looks great. Did they have to keep the body the whole time, or could you ship it when your name came up?
GoKart Mozart
Well-known member
Dude, that looks absolutely killer!
Mixolydian82
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- Aug 24, 2018
- Messages
- 178
Shawn does good work, but they aren't optimized for efficiency at all. I'm not surprised it got pushed back, but clearly it's worth the wait. Looks awesome.
nervous
Well-known member
You make your choices, pay your money, send it in, and you wait. You will get a confirmation of delivery receipt but any further communication will be spotty and vague at best. A shame because they are very good in a business where there really are not that many options. .
That's nice @nervous, I don't see too many custom paint jobs on MM guitars. Heck their colors/finishes are so awesome who would choose to do that! lol
Haven't seen your orig Axis but she was probably a good candidate. I had a JP6 re-fin'd but haven't yet put it .
I like the sparkle in yours, good choice. It's similar to the level of sparkle I had done in a purple JP6 re-fin I did that I haven't yet put back together or posted pics. They would be good sisters. I'm planning on doing another JP6 in gold sparkle but gotta get the guitar first! Also, your experience was like mine in that - you send 'em the body and wait. But the most important thing is the finish and yours looks great!
Congrats on your new Sport and I'm looking forward to the pics when she's completed.
Haven't seen your orig Axis but she was probably a good candidate. I had a JP6 re-fin'd but haven't yet put it .
I like the sparkle in yours, good choice. It's similar to the level of sparkle I had done in a purple JP6 re-fin I did that I haven't yet put back together or posted pics. They would be good sisters. I'm planning on doing another JP6 in gold sparkle but gotta get the guitar first! Also, your experience was like mine in that - you send 'em the body and wait. But the most important thing is the finish and yours looks great!
Congrats on your new Sport and I'm looking forward to the pics when she's completed.
nervous
Well-known member
Here is the journey of this one so far:
Latest Axis Sport Refurb
Been a while since I've been back but I thought it'd be fun to share my latest (second) Axis Sport rescue. Came to me as a bit beat up and grubby 1999 model, all original that I bought with the intention of restoring and refinishing. I had great success with my 1997 model so I was pretty...
forums.ernieball.com
nervous
Well-known member
And the story of my first one, the '97Here is the journey of this one so far:
Latest Axis Sport Refurb
Been a while since I've been back but I thought it'd be fun to share my latest (second) Axis Sport rescue. Came to me as a bit beat up and grubby 1999 model, all original that I bought with the intention of restoring and refinishing. I had great success with my 1997 model so I was pretty...
NGD - 1997 Axis Sport
1997 Axis Sport & Refinish Hi all, I recently received this beauty. 1997 Axis Sport. Had eyed it for a while and finally bought at a price I was agreeable to. Ever since I saw Mr. Castellano's video on his Red Special homage project I have been on the lookout and this one is just about perfect...
forums.ernieball.com
Sweat
Well-known member
OK that color is killer, nice job!
That finish is really something special. Looks like what you'd see when you open a treasure chest from a sunken pirate ship. Bright but with some darkness. Opulent yet a bit spooky. Gorgeous! Can't wait to see pics of the finished guitar.
Iperfungus
Well-known member
WOW!!!
That's going to be gorgeous!
That's going to be gorgeous!
nervous
Well-known member
A quick progress update. If all goes to plan the body will be wired and complete this evening and that will just leave a completed re-fret and setup which I am hoping to have completed by next Saturday afternoon to use Saturday night for the first time out. A few hurdles left with that though and I am not a fast worker with this stuff. I can say that because of the finish thickness this is a bit more fussy ti reassemble that my others. It's about 1/32" thick and that raises havoc with things I might not gave considered like the direct mount pickup height, the rear cover to selector switch clearance, the pot depth and topside exposure, the selector switch to top surface clearance (both pot and switch related issues compounded by the double thickness inside the cavity and out on the top), and (fingers crossed) I have no issues with saddle heights when setting things up. They were low to start with and 2/64" is a bit to over come, albeit it's 1/64 at the 12th fret. Should be fine as the new frets will be taller so that should be a comfortable offsetting match. Fingers crossed.
I also gave everything my usual screw hole 'treatment' where I lightly chamfer/countersink all the screw holes and ferrule holes using a couple fine toothed machinists countersink burr files that I spin by hand to clean up all those edges so that the twisting screw entering does not disturb the paint and raise or chip out that area. I also carefully run some thin super glue around all those newly chamfered edges to seal and secure the paint edges and harden the exposed wood and thread channels a bit. The selector slot is also pretty business as the large flake either does not color inside the slot, or it collects in the ends leaving an unwanted buildup. The top clear coat is pretty brittle so that is a butt clenching experience for me. One wrong move, one heavy handed or errant pull vs push with a file can leave me with a very sad chipping problem.
This color is a bit more yellow/gold that I originally expected. Not as butterscotchy as I was thinking. And it's is very hard to capture in a simple one dimensional photo. But under brighter LED lighting this larger flake finish just dances. It's growing on me.
Here some quick pics of where it stands now with many parts installed which give a better idea of what a finishes product will look like. Final knob and switch tip color TBD. Black or Chrome are also options.
I also gave everything my usual screw hole 'treatment' where I lightly chamfer/countersink all the screw holes and ferrule holes using a couple fine toothed machinists countersink burr files that I spin by hand to clean up all those edges so that the twisting screw entering does not disturb the paint and raise or chip out that area. I also carefully run some thin super glue around all those newly chamfered edges to seal and secure the paint edges and harden the exposed wood and thread channels a bit. The selector slot is also pretty business as the large flake either does not color inside the slot, or it collects in the ends leaving an unwanted buildup. The top clear coat is pretty brittle so that is a butt clenching experience for me. One wrong move, one heavy handed or errant pull vs push with a file can leave me with a very sad chipping problem.
This color is a bit more yellow/gold that I originally expected. Not as butterscotchy as I was thinking. And it's is very hard to capture in a simple one dimensional photo. But under brighter LED lighting this larger flake finish just dances. It's growing on me.
Here some quick pics of where it stands now with many parts installed which give a better idea of what a finishes product will look like. Final knob and switch tip color TBD. Black or Chrome are also options.
Iperfungus
Well-known member
Wow!!! A wonderful job!
Just a curiosity: what happened to the rosewood in the middle of the fretboard?
Just a curiosity: what happened to the rosewood in the middle of the fretboard?
nervous
Well-known member
Good question. That's the natural, original wood grain. I never noticed when it was fretted but once pulled and radius sanded it's quite prominent. Very smooth to the touch though.
Iperfungus
Well-known member
Ah, wood. Wood.....wood is an incredible material, full of surprises everywhere.
Well, that "scar", together with the new painting, makes your AS a true ONE OFF!
jlf599
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
- Messages
- 387
This thread is inspiring me to get my Reflex painted. 
Before/present is the vintage burst. Pondering doing the green sparkle. Other thought is the Aqua Sparkle like the Fluff signature EBMM.
Any opinions or other ideas? My only reservation is the covered pickups. I don't want to change out the pickups but wonder if they're just black or zebra under the covers.
Before/present is the vintage burst. Pondering doing the green sparkle. Other thought is the Aqua Sparkle like the Fluff signature EBMM.
Any opinions or other ideas? My only reservation is the covered pickups. I don't want to change out the pickups but wonder if they're just black or zebra under the covers.
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