RS530 Refurb Project - Please Help!

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Author Message   Azraphael Username: Azraphael Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 12:30 pm:    Hi all, I'm about to start in on a refurbishing project, and figured I'd ask in here about it, in hopes that someone who knows a helluva lot more than me can offer some tips. I have an '85 (I think) Ibanez Roadstar II RS530 that I haven't played in years, and I've decided to refurbish it. Specifically, I'm hoping to do the following to it: - Remove all hardware and electronics - Strip the epoxy finish (I'm hoping to find nice wood underneath... I'm pretty sure it's mohogany, but if someone knows for sure, please let me know) - Full fret dressing / neck treatment / refret if necessary - Refinish (preferably semigloss clear, to show off the wood if it's worth looking at. If not, it'll be veneered or painted) - Replace all electronics (pickups, pots, switch) with new stuff (probably an SD Jazz/JB combination) - Replace Ibanez branded pickup covers over new pickups (if possible.. anyone tried this?) - Reattach hardware (keeping the original tuning heads, bridge, etc.) What I'm going for is I want this so-so guitar to be a wolf in sheep's clothing... I want it to look as though Ibanez made a stock wood grain semigloss finished RS530 with all black hardware (I even have a line on a new headstock decal), but I want it to play and sound far, far better than it ever has. I'm pretty good at woodworking, so stripping and refinishing (if it's semigloss rather than laquer) I feel confident doing, but I do have some questions regarding 'best practices'. Specifically, should I remove the neck from the body prior to stripping and/or refinishing, or should I leave the guitar assembled? The neck set right now seems quite good, and I'm not that confident to reset it myself if I take it apart. Also, if my normal thorough cleaning and oiling of the fretboard doesn't bring it up to my liking, I plan to take it to someone else to do the fretwork. At what stage should that be done? Between stripping and finishing, I'm guess, but I'd love to hear some thoughts on it. Essentially, I haven't played this guitar in years, for 2 main reasons. The first (and most important) reason is that I can't stand the sound of the stock pickups that are in it. Personal preference, I suppose, but I find them muddy, with little or no definition to the mids. Could be that mine are shot, too, I suppose. The second reason is that I hate the gloss black w/ red pinstriping batmobile looking finish this thing has. Again, personal preference. The thing is... this was my first 'real' electric, so I'm keeping it for sentimental reasons. However, in my current lineup of owned guitars, this is my only non-fixed bridge instrument (I'm not a strat guy, can you tell? ). So, since it's already largely unplayed, I figure I've got nothing to lose by trying to make it look and play better than ever. Hopefully, I'll do a good enough job to return it to active duty, so to speak. Anyway, I appreciate you all taking the time to read this, and will appreciate more any thoughts or advice you can share. Thanks in advance, Dave   Mr_roadstar Username: Mr_roadstar Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 2:20 pm:    Under the polyester paint you will find a basswood body. Basswood typically has little or no grain to speak of. With the exception of the tuners, replacement hardware for this era Roadstar is almost non-existant. The factory IBZ pickups do not have removable covers. The entire assembly is potted in epoxy. Steve   Azraphael Username: Azraphael Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 2:50 pm:    Basswood, huh? That's a drag. Perhaps I'll look for a nice flame maple veneer I can apply, then... or just have it repainted. The hardware is actually in good shape... bridge, tuners, nut, etc. are all in decent enough shape that I don't think they need replacement. Might need some touch up black paint here and there on the machine heads, but easily enough done. That's a big drag about the pickup covers, though. I was really hoping to keep them. Maybe I can get black covers from Seymour Duncan, though I think they only have metallic options. Or, I could just leave them uncovered. I've heard varied opinions on stripping the existing paint... some people say that pretty much nothing will get it off short of sanding for an eternity, while others claim that it will come off with various chemical substances. Any idea which is the case? Thanks very much for the information. I'm really looking forward to this project, and the more I know at the outset, the more likely I am to succeed. Cheers, Dave

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