Guitar refinishing

[andrewgosline]

You may already know this, but DON"T BREATHE THE STUFF!

BTW It's going to look awesome! How are you going to drill out the tuner holes??? I was under the impression that CF didn't cut well with regular machine tools.

[webmaestro]

Wow, the timing on this thread is perfect. I've been talking with Michael at Livewire Guitars about doing a carbon-fiber-under-clearcoat refinish, and he was up-front about having never done CF before (but is eager to try). This will be a great resource to show him.

I absolutely love this look, and have been wanting to do it for awhile. However, I prefer a different CF pattern... I think it's called 2x2 and has a more "diagonal" look.

This is looking great though... can't wait to see this finished.

[LonePhantom]

My God I want this guitar so bad! Love carbon fibre!

[worldrecordholder]

BTW It's going to look awesome! How are you going to drill out the tuner holes??? I was under the impression that CF didn't cut well with regular machine tools.

Thanks and I was going to back drill the holes with a common drill bit. Because there is a wide bezel on the tuners the holes would not have to be perfect. CF cuts like fiberglass. I have had success cutting cured product with nearly every cutting tool imaginable including abrasive cut offs.

Just note that like fiberglass you do NOT want to breath the dust and it will make you itch to poop if you get the dust on your skin.

I absolutely love this look, and have been wanting to do it for awhile. However, I prefer a different CF pattern... I think it's called 2x2 and has a more "diagonal" look.

This is looking great though... can't wait to see this finished.

I 'chose' my CF because its what I had laying around. I also have CF/Kevlar blends but some of them are harder to look at. There is a good part of the build on this guitar that has a personal connection to my race vehicles as its the same material I used on various components.

Before you decide on ANY thing.....
Check this stuff out!!!

http://compositeenvisions.com/raw-fa...bon-fiber-145/




After trimming the excess around the sides and pockets (razor knife) I am test fitting the trem and pick guard. Sometimes drips can cause enough build to make things too tight. Its MUCH easier to trim before it does a hard cure.

This is just a sealing coat, it needs to be sanded and have build coats applied.



A side shot. Its really hard to take a decent photo of CF....always looks better in person. You can see some very small white 'pecks' and thin spots. Once the body is sanded and build coats applied they go away and it will be level across the surface.

Getting closer!!!!!

~JH

[LonePhantom]

Damn you! I'm getting way to excited to see this finished!

[webmaestro]

Niiiice! It's so great to see someone actually doing this. Puts my mind at ease to have actual examples out there I can show Michael (at Livewire) when we do mine.

I think you're planning the exact same edge I am too: a painted gradient rather than a hard edge on the CF, almost like a burst (but not quite as deep).

Can't wait to see it finished!

Originally Posted by worldrecordholder

Before you decide on ANY thing.....
Check this stuff out!!!

http://compositeenvisions.com/raw-fa...bon-fiber-145/

Believe it or not, that's already on my radar. We've researched a few sources for the CF, but still just talking/brainstorming/investigating at this stage. Some really nice colored CF in there, so I'm torn whether I want to stay with basic black, or go with a color.

[worldrecordholder]

Now the finish looks 'grey'. Well....this is the happy color as its been block sanded to level with zero burns. Any shiny spots or furry marks mean:

Shiny = more sanding
Furry or discolored = burned (over sanded into the substrate) Time to start over!

Thankfully it blocked without burning.

Now it need to be clear coated!





Went over sized on the logo to be different.
Comments-thoughts???

~JH

[LonePhantom]

Not a fan of the oversized logo, but the rest is awesome!

[Swirltop]

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

Not a fan of the oversized logo, but the rest is awesome!

I agree... Maybe without the cutoff swoosh it would be ok, but it looks like a bad printing error or something...

The rest is looking really cool though!

[silverctr]

Originally Posted by Swirltop

I agree... Maybe without the cutoff swoosh it would be ok, but it looks like a bad printing error or something...

The rest is looking really cool though!

I'm onboard with this. Maybe do your own custom logo?

[worldrecordholder]

Variation #2 (*work in progress)

I may do away with the Ibanez logo all together and do something less corporate, or maybe spell it backwards (Zenabi?...in truth I sort of like it) or something stupid like that.

~JH

[Swirltop]

Yeah man IMHO if you're going to do the Ibanez logo it would definitely look better if it's done right. That way it doesn't look like a cheap copy with a screwed up logo.

If you're going to do your own thing then it doesn't matter so much

[silverctr]

Use the Ibanez font, but change the name to "Ibby".

[LonePhantom]

Please not Ibby. Man I hate that term!!!

[invisible_kid_]

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

Please not Ibby. Man I hate that term!!!

I could not possibly agree harder. All such terms should be banned. Ibby, Gibby... urgh, pukey.