Covering an RG in fabric practice run (on a Tele guniea pig)

supersoul · #1 12-09-2012, 03:36 PM

I am currently practicing covering a guitar in fabric on a chinese crap Tele i bought for 100€ off eBay many years ago. Originally i always had it as spare guitar equipped with a Göldo sitar bridge and Kluson pickups. It's made of mahogany. Considering it was only 100€ it's usable for certain specific sounds. It's Tele shaped but that's about it for vintage specs. I have been wanting to refinish an old Ibanez RG of mine in fabric and I thought the Tele is the perfect guinea pig to practice. I started today and I am very pleased with the first results. Second step will be spraying the sides and do a simple burst effect over the edges. I have to wait for spring for that as Germany is effing freezing atm. Still have to decide on the color of the sides. I am tending towards black even though dirty white would be the more logical choice as that's one of the predominant colors in the fabric pattern. I have months to decide... What do you guys think? For the technique: i applied a layer of Mod Podge on the sanded body then put the fabric on top (roughly cut to the width of the body) and scraped it flat with a plastic blade. After letting it dry for about 15 minutes i used scissors to cut around the edges of the body shape and then applied 3 coats of Mod Podge always scarping away the excess. Once that was dried (20 minutes in between coats) i cut around the edges with an exacto knife and cut out the PU routings etc. Once everything was dry i sanded the edges carefully kind of tapering the fabric towards the edge. I had imageined it to be much harder to get a clean cut around the body but the Mod Podge was the perfect choice as once it's dry it gets a rubbery texture that makes it a breeze to cut with an exacto knife.

As I am not allowed to post pictures or links yet look here for pix:

www dot tdpri dot com/forum/finely-finished/366944-covering-tele-fabric.html#post4642627

I am really looking fwd to do this on my 1989 RG 550. It was my first guitar and I always wanted a JEM 77FP but couldn't afford it. I ended up with a black RG550 which i stripped and ruined in 1991. A few years ago I dug it out again and decided to do a couple of mods on it and turn it into the closest i can to a JEM FP. I know it's silly but I take it as a challenge. I already relocated the input jack and added a monkey grip. The fact that it has a front routing doesn't bother me as I don't want to fake having a JEM, i want to create the guitar i originally wanted with what I have. Kind of a construction challenge. I see it as excercise to cut my teeth with guitar building/modding.

Cameron1234 · #2 12-09-2012, 03:58 PM

it looks pretty good to me

RyansJem · #3 12-09-2012, 04:42 PM

I think you should fabric the edges, i know it would be hard but its worth the effort as black or white would look simple out of place. If you wanted to do it black i would not put fabric on the back and only have the front fabric'd and have the back and sides sprayed black, just my opinion but cool idea! Love it so far!

andrewsfury · #4 12-09-2012, 06:40 PM

heres your link.
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-fi...ml#post4642627

here. and give details on how long you let stuff dry before sanding and clearing it and what clear you used.

i had a disaster failure doing mine.

silverctr · #5 12-10-2012, 02:26 AM

I really like that fabric! Just to clarify, after you laid the fabric, you coated the top of the fabric with 3 coats of Modge Podge?

Ibateur · #6 12-10-2012, 03:05 AM

That looks nice. I would not have done the back. I would have painted the sides and back a shade of blue that would match the fabric. The brown just doesn't go.

I wouldn't do the black or blue burst on the surface except in a very light border. Think it looks great the way it is.

supersoul · #7 12-10-2012, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverctr

I really like that fabric! Just to clarify, after you laid the fabric, you coated the top of the fabric with 3 coats of Modge Podge?

yes exactly. the Mod Podge acts as glue, filler and sealer at the same time. Great stuff.

supersoul · #8 12-10-2012, 04:56 PM

I will overspray the brown all over of course as that doesn't go with it at all. The shade of blue to match the fabric is what I might go for in the end. As i still have months to wait for warmer weather I can ponder and obsess about what to do :-)

supersoul · #9 12-10-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewsfury

heres your link.

here. and give details on how long you let stuff dry before sanding and clearing it and what clear you used.

i had a disaster failure doing mine.

thank you very much! I will do so... what happened on your build?
The Mod Podge really dries fast. I sanded a bit more today and it was pretty rock hard. I also like the way it brings out the fibres in the fabric. It's kind of like what happens when you cover carbon fibre with resin or epoxy, it really pops.

supersoul · #10 12-10-2012, 05:04 PM

As soon as I am allowed to I will also post pics to my RG to poor man's JEM build/mod. That poor guitar has been to hell and back. And now it's getting covered in fabric... similar to the Tele but more colourful. I think it could look great. Thx for the interest everyone.

andrewsfury · #11 12-10-2012, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by supersoul

thank you very much! I will do so... what happened on your build?
The Mod Podge really dries fast. I sanded a bit more today and it was pretty rock hard. I also like the way it brings out the fibres in the fabric. It's kind of like what happens when you cover carbon fibre with resin or epoxy, it really pops.

i used glue like the tutorial and then sanding sealer.
this caused little bubbles in the finish and ruined it.
heres my link to my disaster.
http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f21/ma...rn-109243.html

supersoul · #12 12-11-2012, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewsfury

i used glue like the tutorial and then sanding sealer.
this caused little bubbles in the finish and ruined it.
heres my link to my disaster.

what a journey... did u give up? spots unsandable? sealer looks super rough and gooey on the pics...

that fabric looks like synthetic fabric. that might have caused a reaction maybe? mine is 100% cotton. i read the Mod Podge wasn't holding the fabric when you tried? My experiment was so easy so far I almost feel guilty. Today i received the fabric i want to use on my RG, same pattern but the color version, red flowers, purple erhu playing dude and green snake, plus bone coloured skulls. i think it will work very nice with a very dark grey almost black burst on the sides. i will post pics tmrrw. the only thing that bugs me is I'll lose a few square inches of pattern because of the front routing on my RG. on the weekend i will tackle glueing the fabric to the body and putting coats of Mod Podge on top. this time i will put 4 so the edges get really stiff and trimming will be easier. i need to be more accurate on the RG because of the PU cavities etc. i hope i don't screw it up... stay tuned for pictures.