RC Stromm S-Style Needs Some Help | Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Cleaning and Polishing the Body

With the body completely free of hardware, I've had unobstructed access to every nook and cranny. To my utter delight, using a variety of cleaners and polishes in conjunction microfiber cloth has yielded satisfactory results. Now you can actually see that the top finish is actually a semi-transparent dark blue burst that shows off some lovely wood grain.

Top - Cleaned and Polished

Back - Cleaned and Polished

Servicing the Fretboard and Frets

I've elected to work on the frets first. This is because the job will generate a lot of debris which will eventually have to be cleaned off the fretboard. Right, then. The frets have been abraded and polished with 3M Scotch-Brite Pads, 3M Softback Sanding Sponges, and fret erasers. As for the debris so generated, it's been removed with facial cotton pads and naphtha. The fretboard is now ready to be hydrated and conditioned with Dunlop Formula 65 Lemon Oil.

Polishing the Frets

Cleaning the Fretboard

Fretboard Conditioning - Lemon Oil

Hardware Servicing

Servicing metal and plastic hardware has, without fail, been a tedious and time-consuming task involving lots of elbow grease. I'm really grateful for my trusty helpers, which include a rotary tool, an abrasive buff attachment, Autosol and Waxco polishes, naphtha, as well as microfiber cloth and facial cotton pads.

Metal and Plastic Hardware After Polishing

Pickguard After Servicing

Pickup Pole Pieces After Servicing

Tuners After Servicing

Servicing Assorted Metal Hardware

Servicing Smaller Bridge Components

Reassembling the Guitar

With hardware servicing taken care of, I've been able to reassemble what needs be, and reinstall these components into the body. At the time of writing, each and every body-mounted component has been reinstalled, and this includes the pickguard, tremolo bridge, strap buttons, and output jack plate. Over on the neck side of things, the tuners and string retainers have also been reinstalled into the headstock. Now, you might remember from Part 1 that the neck was slanted upwards, resulting in excessively high action in the upper registers. Well, a shim of the appropriate thickness has solved that problem, and the neck is currently attached to the body at the desired angle.

Pickups Reinstalled Into Pickguard

Tremolo Bridge Reassembled

Pickguard Reinstalled Into Body

Tremolo Bridge Reinstalled Into Body

Neck and Output Jack Plate Reinstalled

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