Trying to love the unlovable

[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.

[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

[Greg_L]

they are but you really need big waves to get up

[Greg_L]

Well I've started the gold basecoat. No pics of that yet, been too wet to handle.

But I did get the pickguard tweaked and modded and set up.

One knob and the 5-way switch. That's all it's getting.




But the one knob has a trick...it's a push-pull. When pushed in it's a normal volume control that will work with the normal 5-way switch for the usual five Strat pickup positions. When pulled out it will engage the neck pickup regardless of where the 5-way switch is set. This will provide two pickup combos that are missing from a typical Strat: Neck + Bridge, and all three on at once.


No tone controls. Don't use them, have never used them, won't use them. I'm going straight from volume control to output jack. I might add a little kill switch in the very bottom hole which is currently plugged. Haven't decided on that yet.

[CrowsofFritz]

Well I've started the gold basecoat. No pics of that yet, been too wet to handle.

But I did get the pickguard tweaked and modded and set up.

One knob and the 5-way switch. That's all it's getting.




But the one knob has a trick...it's a push-pull. When pushed in it's a normal volume control that will work with the normal 5-way switch for the usual five Strat pickup positions. When pulled out it will engage the neck pickup regardless of where the 5-way switch is set. This will provide two pickup combos that are missing from a typical Strat: Neck + Bridge, and all three on at once.


No tone controls. Don't use them, have never used them, won't use them. I'm going straight from volume control to output jack. I might add a little kill switch in the very bottom hole which is currently plugged. Haven't decided on that yet.

Yeah I’ve never ever used tone controls either on my strat. Always sounds shitty when using them any way other than the normal setting.