2010 Ibanez GRX70DX | Part 3

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January 23 Update

We had a few hours of sunlight today, so I was able to get some work done on this 2010 Ibanez GRX70DX. After plugging the 12 old trapezoid tuner mounting screw holes and reaming the six tuner holes, it was time to test fit the new Korean #0986 tuners. I'm glad to say that the tuners fit nicely, as can be seen in the images below.

Old Screw Holes Plugged

Test-Fitting New Tuners - Rear View

Test-Fitting New Tuners - Front View

After test-fitting, the tuners were disassembled as there was work to be done on the maple neck and rosewood fretboard. As planned, the grimy fretboard was scraped, sanded and cleaned with naphtha. The frets, meanwhile, were abraded and polished with 3M Scotch-Brite Pads and 3M Softback Sanding Sponges. The cruddy back of the neck also received its fair share of TLC. It was first cleaned with naphtha, and then subjected to lots of elbow grease and silicon carbide paper. I took it up to 400 grit and called it done.

Fretboard After Cleaning

Working on the Back of the Neck

At this point, the sun was still in the sky, and so I decided to start clear-coating the back of the neck and headstock with Samurai 1/128. Of course, the headstock face and fretboard were taped off to protect them from overspray. With most of the gunk and old finish removed, a rather pleasing transformation slowly but surely became apparent as the clear coats were being laid on. Out of the dull and lifeless maple, pre-existing figuring began to appear in the form of faint striping. Anyhow, I managed to get three coats on today, and believe that will suffice. We'll let the fresh finish cure overnight and resume work tomorrow, weather permitting.

Clear-Coating in Progress

Pre-Existing Figuring Revealed

With the neck hanging from the ceiling, there was ample time to turn my attention to the saddles, intonation screws, springs and hex screws. These had been soaking in MultiLube for quite some time, and were ready for further treatment. The saddles cleaned up nicely, and all the intonation screws and springs were useable after a good scrub and greasing. The final challenge was the hex screws. Out of the 12, 10 screwed smoothly into the saddles. The remaining two, however, kept getting stuck halfway due to badly damaged threads. The only option, then, was to replace them. And that's basically what I managed to get done today on this 2010 Ibanez GRX70DX.

FAT-6 Bridge Reassembled

Two Unusable Hex Screws