Need help on RG project, refinishing ...

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Author Message   Shane P (Scrooge) Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 3:24 am:    I recently picked up an RG 550 from a pawnshop for next to nothin',Aud$109.I would like to customize it slightly for something different to my vintage Ibanez.it has a very nice but dirty maple wizard neck.How can these be cleaned or should I leave it so as to not wear off the remaining lacquer.The body has been totally stripped and sanded down to a very smooth finish with the last rub which was 1200 wet and dry. As you can see the original wood actually looks quite good and is in three pieces. I don't really have a clue as to where I should go from here, but I would like to have a natural finish, almost like a french polished type effect. how should I go about this, also is the original edge trem OK.I'm trying to do this on a budget. Now I am also looking for pick up recommendations, as I want something with some bite and snarl(high gain),but with versatility. I will leave the existing SA single coil in the middle as I think these sound great.If I try and source some pickups secondhand, e.g. Duncans or Dimarzio. how important is it to get the F spaced types for the trem. As I've heard a couple of different things some say replacement start types still are OK. All in all it should be an interesting project. Some say the RG's are the poor mans Jem, so it will be like a jem on a shoestring budget.   PS10 (Spiro) Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 8:47 pm:    Shane, I suggest you finish the guitar with an acrylic lacquer (automotive) as this is probably the easiest finish to use.. Spray about 3-5 coats and then sand with 800 grit wet (make sure the wood is completley sealed before wetting as Basswood loves water). then repeat the process until you get about 20 coats on the guit, let it sit for a few weeks and then final sand the finsih FLAT with 1200 grit and polish with a fine car polish. and voila..... a pro finish at a cost of about $30 aud (even spray cans will do the trick and Pete Davies has seen some of the guits I have finished with cans and he can back me up on this) i am actually in the middle of a project as well... I am finishing an RG570 in Swaroski Rhinestones (4.7mm stones) which means about 1500 stones are needed to cover the guit (approx glueing 30 stones a day)(top only) so I will let everyone know the progress of this project....   Shane P (Scrooge) Posted on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 12:23 am:    Spiro thanks for the advice. Boy 1500 swarovski rhinestones, that sounds like one hell of a glamorous type of finish! Can't wait to see that one, make an Iceman cracked mirror look subtle, LOL. I'm thinking of saving my beans for an EMG 81 for the bridge and leaving the other two slots with blanks until funds permit extra pups.This may sound like a stupid question, but you can't use passive pups with an active like an EMG or can you.Anyone here used this pup in a Basswood body. Looking for modern high gain sound. Looking forward to this long term project.   Mark Munchenberg (Munch) Posted on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 2:58 am:    Shane, That looks to be a fun 'no risk' project you have there. The timber has come up nicely. How will you go about removing it from the trem cavity and pickup routs?? I've always wanted to do some of this kind of tinkering myself. I only just recently got up the nerve to subject my guitars to my own under-developed soldering skills. Don't worry though, I used my Fender Tele as a guinea pig - not one of my Ibanezes. Good luck with it Shane. Oh and Spiro, great idea using the rhinestones - you could sell it to a Glen Campbell fan!!!! Cheers, Mark   ~FLY~ (Guitarworkz) Posted on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 8:30 am:    Hi Scrooge. I just finished a project of my own. I refinished an old musician that had a natural finish, similar to french polished finishes I have seen. Here's what I used with great results. Step 1 - Spray body with lacquer sanding sealer. This stuff dries quickly, so you can get a good build pretty fast. I think it took 1 can & 1 hour to seal the wood. After it dries, sand it out with 400 grit sandpaper. You'll be surprised at how easily the sealer sands away(it's like primer). You can use a block & paper on the flat surfaces too. Step 2 - Apply thin coats of clear shellac, right out of the can. This stuff is pretty thick - I think i ended up coating the body 5 times in all. Apply with a foam brush. Even though the shellac is "clear", it will still give you a slightly ambered finish. If you want a more vintage finish mix clear & amber shellac together(that's what I did for the first 2 coats, the last 3 were just clear shellac). As you'll see the shellac gives you a nice even finish IF you wait a day or so between coats. Don't rush it. Since the shellac dissolves into itself, if you try to recoat to soon you can have problems. Step 3 - Once you have the desired look you want finish with a few coats of clear gloss polyurethane. This is where you get the nice glossy build. Again, wait a day or so between coats. I used a 1" foam brush for this also. Step 4 - Buff out finish with compound & a drill mounted buffing wheel. Be carefull around the edges of the guitar, the wheel can burn through the finish pretty easily if you don't watch it. That's it! If you took your time and didn't slop the finish on you should have a nice looking guitar. I think my guitar looks even better than new. Not only is the wood grain more noticable, the overall look is very appealing, especially since the guitar has gold trim. Here's how much materials cost - Sandpaper - $5 Clear shellac(1pt)- $8 Amber shellac(1pt)- $8 Alcohol thinner(1qt)-$5 Sanding sealer(1can)-$7 Polyurethan(1pt)- $5 Buffing wheel(drill mounted)- $10 Total = $48 ~FLY~   Steve (Gitfiddle1) Posted on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 7:19 pm:    Shane, Nothing against EMG's, but you might consider a DiMarzio X2N. My brother uses one in his "S". Great bottom and huge output without feedback problems. Cheers Steve   Koadude (Koadude) Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 7:17 am:    tru-oil gun stock finish is an easy rub on oil finish which is almost idiot proof, 1 coat every other day, steel wool& tack rag between coats. available thru Lutiers Mercantile Internat. (LMI.com)

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