[bob493]

I've had this saber for a while, had a dead fret so I didnt play it much. Today... was the day to solve the issues. Im quite unsure what was on the paint, but it would NOT come off at all; it was almost like overspray? Anyway, whipped out the sandpaper and buffer and did the body. Then I tackled the neck and did a fret level and polish on the frets. Im trying to get better at photography and editing, so thats more or less what this post is for. Still learning so be nice; some edits *are* intentionally done a certain way though. For some reason I had a lot of trouble photographing the finish; it looked "cloudy" in photos, but in real life its very deep and rich, has that "wet shine" thing going on. Is this a lighting thing? I edited the photos to get the paint "right" but its super saturated. Its not a "dishonest" portrayal, but I couldnt figure out how to do it otherwise. Any tips would be very appreciated.

anyway ->

What I started with

Took everything apart, and frankly this kinda irritates me but is what it is I guess? I've never seen this happen before though, not a "downgrade" anyway. I know they're basically the same body here, so Im not too butt hurt here, more curious why this happened or if this is a donor body perhaps?

After a bit of work

And for the "good stuff" lol

Couch shot

fret polish

cleaned up really nice

 

[bob493]

This is what I mean by the paint looking "weird"

 

[LHORAXE-Seba]

man it already looks a billion times better,
that snatched body would bother me if i spent a bunch of money on it though, super weird. Like if you paid for a 540 you should get a 540.
not that anyone would think to check there though, lol, I sure wouldn't.

REally cool looking pictures.

Not too sure if you should do what I'd do, the body work and paint jobs I do on my guitars are very, not normal, or even generally considered okay.
But I would either chemically etch the entire surface, or use very fine grit abrasion, and then glaze it over with something to fill it out and "resheen/regloss" it.
That way, if your results are unexpected, at least it was done to the whole thing and looks intentional.
or you could fractal burn and fill it.
been wanting to do that lately.
like I said though, thats just how I roll. Totally not into the "off the line" look on anything older or under a certain price point.
I completely understand wanting it to look nice, or even if you plan to resell.

So maybe don't do those things, but maybe it could spark an idea to get the job you want done.

 

[bob493]

Lol, 90% of the time, I dont buy a guitar unless its REALLY clean, regardless of age. I dont find value in "relics" lol, I beat on my guitars, and somehow never scratch, chip, drop, ding, crush, or otherwise demolish them lol. I have a wolfgang I played live for like 10 years, and it doesnt have a scratch on it. If its not real clean, it better be cheap

My radius for example

the wolfgang mentioned

And I genuinely think I have one of, if not, the nicest RG520QS on the planet.

That aside, I DO enjoy "projects" and have tons of things I've done otherwise.

 

[bob493]

oh fwiw, this is my #1, my favorite guitar, the best playing, the best sounding, and certainly not the best looking guitar I've ever had the pleasure of touching. I have a lot of uh... "political" things on this guitar lets call them, thats why a lot of it is blacked out . Basically im mocking tom morellos "arm the homeless" guitar for obvious reasons.

 

[FireEagle]

Nice 520qs... I'll bet it sounds great with the F2/F4 pickup combo! I have an immaculate one as well, but its the "transparent blue" that is so dark it almost looks black. I put an Evo2/Paf Pro in it, but still struggle to get decent sound from it... not sure why? Not sold on the Evo2. They are great playing quality guitars. My main player is a beat up strat body with Roadstar II neck though... lol.

 

[bob493]

Haha, I actually wanted a blue 520! This one is "transparent black" which is so dumb lol. In most lighting its literally just black and impossible to see any figuring, but in the "right light" oh my goodness it explodes lol

Man I need another roadstar! I lost some in a house fire I had a little while ago

 

[LHORAXE-Seba]

Awesome "tom-job"! Reminds me of my own #1 favorite.
Not an ibanez but I've had it the longest so I'm just way more bonded with it based on that more than its voice. I rewired the pickup straight to the tone pot then the output Jack from there.

 

[bob493]

lol similar vibe sure

 

[FireEagle]

Haha, I actually wanted a blue 520! This one is "transparent black" which is so dumb lol. In most lighting its literally just black and impossible to see any figuring, but in the "right light" oh my goodness it explodes lol

Man I need another roadstar! I lost some in a house fire I had a little while ago

Thats how mine is... very very dark. The finish is similar to yours in that you can see a little texture from the grain in the light reflection on the finish, almost like tiny cracks. Don't know if its the sapele top or what, but I just have trouble getting a good tone out of this guitar. Might just be one of those tone dead guitars that cannot be made to sound good... though the workmanship is stellar.

Something about the comfortable Roadstar II necks... I put the refinished neck from an RG110 on an H-S-S strat body w/jackson soloist pickups, have an s-s-s RG135 with repaired headstock, and an RG440 w/custom H-S pickguard. Great guitars! Sorry you lost yours to a fire... damn!:surprise:

 

[jmp]

Great work! Very impressive. Is there a difference between the 540S and S470 bodies? Is it possible they are similar enough that they could be used for either model?

 

[bob493]

Great work! Very impressive. Is there a difference between the 540S and S470 bodies? Is it possible they are similar enough that they could be used for either model?

Thank you
and yes, the difference is one is stamped "540s" and the other is stamped "S470" ... Im not joking either lol; I have NO idea why they'd even bother differentiating the two actually.

s470 body ->
https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-2hj...3/216_028__60291.1518932677.1280.1280.JPG?c=2

S540 body ->
https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-2hj...1/103_065__66094.1515099802.1280.1280.JPG?c=2

The only saber bodies of that era that would have any difference at all would be the 540S-LPF; and I've never seen one of those "naked" before lol

 

[LHORAXE-Seba]

My instinct tells me they absolutely would stamp it correctly. if they have a qc checkpoint after stamping the body and before attaching the neck, they would catch that.
Threre's no way they'd be that sloppy. i really think it has to be repurposed or something. Donor body type deal like you said.