Warnell LP-Style Solidbody | Servicing and Fretwork

This cruddy, grimy and rust-infested Warnell LP-Style Solidbody was sent in for servicing and setup. However, before it could be serviced properly, all components needed to be disassembled. A task which turned out to be easier said than done.

For one, several rusty pickup ring screws had become embedded in the body wood and were refusing to budge. I ended up having to gouge them out, plug the holes; and drill new pilot holes. 

Next was the task of removing age-hardened crud and grime. I'm glad to say that Zippo Lighter Fluid, Autosol Metal Polish, Gibson Guitar Polish and lots of elbow grease took care of the problem. Meanwhile, the electronics were working fine and only needed a couple squirts of electrical contact cleaner.

After straightening the neck, I discovered quite a number of high frets. This just would not do, and so fret dressing was carried out on all frets. Following this, the rosewood fretboard was cleaned with Zippo Lighter Fluid and conditioned with Dunlop 65 Lemon Oil.

With the frets leveled and recrowned, the Warnell was strung with D'Addario EXL110s. After tuning up, I realized that the stock black plastic nut was rather worn, and several slots were too deep. This resulted in open string buzzing. After evaluating the situation, I decided to simply replace the stock nut and take it from there.

Warnell Headstock

Body | Upper Half

Body | Lower Half

What's Under the Pickguard

What's Under the Control Knobs

Stubborn Neck Pickup Ring Screw

Stubborn Bridge Pickup Ring Screw

Rusty Screws and Springs

Hardware Disassembled for Servicing

Polishing the Tuners

Harware Servicing Completed

Neck Pickup Reinstalled

Bridge Pickup Reinstalled

Fretwork | Fretboard Taped Off

Fret Leveling in Progress

Checking the Frets After Leveling

Recrowning in Progress

Conditioning the Fretboard with Lemon Oil

Tuners Reinstalled

D'Addario EXL110 Strings

New Nut Installed and Reprofiled

Good to Go