Trying to love the unlovable

[Greg_L]

You aren't sanding back to bare wood on this one are you ? Just scuffing off the old clear?

I don't mind the sanding one bit. It is kind of rewarding to me to see something come together layer by layer and grit by grit. I really did miss my calling in life career wise. I really ought to have just explored a trade that had me doing stuff like that.

I know if Elon Musk ever invents a time machine and markets them to the gen pop, the first place i am going is back to 18 year old me and giving him a real hard talking to about a lot of his future life choices.

No I'm not sanding all the way down to wood. It would take too much effort. The parts of exposed wood where the paint did actually come off will be Bondo'd over and smoothed out. It's perfectly acceptable to paint over old paint. You just need to scuff the hell out of it and clean it so the new paints will stick to it. I'm going really rough for now so the Bondo will stick to the old paint where it needs to, and then I'll smooth the whole thing out to around 320 grit and primer the whole thing. Once the primer/sealer is on then I can treat it as a blank canvas.

[Greg_L]

Also, this is kind of almost a stream of consciousness project where things bleed and blend together. I needed paint stripper anyway to strip the chassis for my Bassman build, so I thought while my buddy was fixing the frets on my Strat neck I'd strip the body. That didn't work but I needed the paint stripper anyway. And I also need to fix the bumper I scratched up on my wife's car so I knew I'd be sanding and using plastic filler, so that's another two birds with one stone. So the Bassman chassis, Strat refurb, and wife's bumper will all kind of blend together into one giant clusterfuck!

[JD01]

You'd better get a good cover of Nitro done at the end of this project.

[Greg_L]

You'd better get a good cover of Nitro done at the end of this project.

Maybe but I suspect that this thing will go right back to never getting used.

[JD01]

You'd better get a good cover of Nitro done at the end of this project.

Maybe but I suspect that this thing will go right back to never getting used.

Give it a go, I think its a pretty difficult piece actually. Will probably be quite a challenge
Pop a set of 56 strings on it and trem pick

[Greg_L]

Give it a go, I think its a pretty difficult piece actually. Will probably be quite a challenge
Pop a set of 56 strings on it and trem pick

Ok. That will be my refurb Strat and Tender Assman debut song.

[Greg_L]

I got heavy duty today. I whipped out the cylinder head porting tools to get into the cavities and got some 80 grit discs for my DA sander. Progress was made. This is gonna work.


I got the body roughed up enough to repair the chunks missing and level it back out with plastic filler.



So body filler will go in tomorrow. I'll let it dry for a day or so then sand it back down to be ready for primer.

[WhiskeyJack]

I love this thread. I am excited for this refurb dude.

[rayc]

I had to look up cylinder porting..okay...that's require a very good tool and a very good hand. The guitar will have lower viscosity air flow to combine oxygen with the vibe.

[Greg_L]

I had to look up cylinder porting..okay...that's require a very good tool and a very good hand. The guitar will have lower viscosity air flow to combine oxygen with the vibe.

Very good, that is mostly correct. Cylinder head porting shapes the intake/exhaust ports in a cylinder head to smooth out and optimize airflow for maximum flow speed and efficiency. The more air you can flow into the engine, and the faster you can flow it, then the more fuel you can burn and the more power you will make. And the faster you can flow the exhaust out, the faster the new stuff can come in. Everything is about being fast to go fast. The cylinder heads are the most important part of the whole engine. And to work on cylinder heads...and stubborn Stratocaster bodies, you need some specialized tools.

[Greg_L]

This is taking way more effort than I thought it would.

Globbed bondo and grain filler all over it to fix the dings and dents. I also plugged all the pickguard screw holes with toothpicks and wood glue. I have to drill new holes for the new pickguard.


Sanding, sanding, sanding....smooth.




And finally....primer. All this just for the fucking primer coat.



It's fucking smooth as hell though. It looks and feels like a new guitar body.

So now...next step....gold basecoat.

[Tadpui]

Woohoo! Coming right along, man.

[Lt. Bob]

So now...next step....gold basecoat.

gonna do a candy?

I'm a big fan of a copper base coat but the gold is brighter

[Greg_L]

gonna do a candy?

I'm a big fan of a copper base coat but the gold is brighter

No it's gonna be gold glitter with about a mile of clear on top.

[Armistice]

Nice. A gold strat will certainly stand out... not that anyone's going to see it anyway - can't imagine it's leaving the house any time soon.

[Greg_L]

Nice. A gold strat will certainly stand out... not that anyone's going to see it anyway - can't imagine it's leaving the house any time soon.

No it will never leave the house unless it gets stolen or I move.

[JD01]

This is taking way more effort than I thought it would.

It's fucking smooth as hell though. It looks and feels like a new guitar body.

So now...next step....gold basecoat.

Wow, you must really love Strats

[rayc]

Well, it'll be a refurbished guitar and you've done the occasional power pop Fender amp cleanish thing for me in the past so you may get use from it.

[Greg_L]

Wow, you must really love Strats

Maybe I could one day.

Well, it'll be a refurbished guitar and you've done the occasional power pop Fender amp cleanish thing for me in the past so you may get use from it.

That's true, and they're always good for surf stuff.

[Lt. Bob]

That's true, and they're always good for surf stuff.

they are but you really need big waves to get up