My 540pII refinish project

[Fastmerc]

Figured I would share the experience

I bought this guitar about 5 or 6 years ago. It was Carotene Orange the chipped up pretty good. I tore it down, ordered some flamed/quilted maple veneer from Universal Jems and sanded her all down. Then she got put on hold until a couple weeks ago. I finally dug her up and started the real work. I can never seem to get photos to resize well for posting right in the thread so I will just post a link.

Im actually a little disappointed in how the top stained out. I tried several different test stains on the scrap. Originally I wanted to pre stain with black and then go over with a purple but it just wasnt looking right on the practice pieces. I then tried a brown base instead of black and that was lack luster as well. The more I did just the brown though I liked it alot so thats what I went with. The test pieces actually turned out better than the guitar. The two bookmatched pieces took the stain differently. One side shows alot of figure but seems a little streaked. The other side just looks kind of blah...Maybe Im just being too picky.

Anyway Ive finished staining and put on some sanding sealer and letting that cure. Let me know what you guys think and if there is any improvements I can make.

http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0p2%20project/

[AlaskaBat]

Looking good!

[ibanezcollector]

looks great so far to me, carry on

[Fastmerc]

Thanks for the kind words, I just hope once I clear it the finish pops a little more.

[AlaskaBat]

Make sure to hit it with a quick black wash of stain/dye then wipe it off. It'll make your final color stand out more and give more depth.

[Fastmerc]

add a few more pics to the album. The back and sides now have some paint. Its a sort of dirty copper metallic. Once it cures a little, it will be time for the clear! Im ready to be done with this

[Fastmerc]

By the way, I see lots of peope add pics to the threads. I have been successful a time or two doing that. But how in the world do they add whole rows of pics. It says I don't have enough space when I try to do that.

[GUITARMAGEDDON]

Originally Posted by AlaskaBat

Make sure to hit it with a quick black wash of stain/dye then wipe it off. It'll make your final color stand out more and give more depth.

+1 on this!

[Fastmerc]

I was experimenting with the black stain on the test pieces and could never get it to come out right. Are you saying I should do it over the already stained and sanding sealed top?

[RG Loyalist]

The black should be the first thing on unsealed wood before the main color or sealer. It adds more contrast in the grain. You can even lightly sand the top after you wipe off the black then apply the color stain.

[AlaskaBat]

Originally Posted by Fastmerc

I was experimenting with the black stain on the test pieces and could never get it to come out right. Are you saying I should do it over the already stained and sanding sealed top?

This:

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/3d.htm

[Swirltop]

Hey man I think it's looking pretty damn good so far. The two pieces may not match up perfectly but they look really great IMO

[Fastmerc]

Yeah that site is where I got most of my info. Like I said I tried the black first sanded and added color over it on several test runs, it just wasnt coming out right. It was leaving to much black and the color just looked muddy. Maybe I was leaving the black on too long before trying to sand. The veneer is really thin so I couldn't sand very much.

Thanks ZR I appreciate it!

[AlaskaBat]

You have to put a wash of black on first, then wipe off after just a little, then lightly sand. After that--add your color.

[Fastmerc]

yeah i guess I was leaving the black on too long. Its too late for this one now....lol. First couple coats of clear went on today. Tomorrow a light sand and some more clear! Got some clear on another project today also. Jackson Stealth HX that Im doing in the flip flop green to purple.