Early '70s Greco EG-420B Solidbody - September 4 Update

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

This update documents progress made as photographed from August 25 to September 4 (today). We'll begin with the day the fretboard clamps came off. I'm pleased to say that the Titebond and clamps have done their job, and the detached fretboard is a thing of the past. Any reglue job leaves behind a fair amount of dried residue, which must be cleaned off somehow. I've chosen the simplest method, namely scraping with a blade.

Right Side of Neck - 1

Right Side of Neck - 2

Left Side of Neck - 1

Left Side of Neck - 2

Headstock End of Reglued Fretboard

Scraping Off Dried Glue

Before proceeding any further, the neck needs to be re-straightened by tightening the truss rod sufficiently. This would be followed by a fret check and fret work, if necessary. As there's still a lot to be done on the sides of the neck, I would not want to mess up a fret job with tape residue and such. As it turned out, the frets were nice and level after the neck was straightened, oh joy!

Checking the Neck for Straightness

Scraping, effective as it may be, does result in chipped paint where the edge of the binding meets the neck. To remedy this, I began by sealing the areas in question with epoxy. Next came some more scraping, followed by gentle sanding with various grits of abrasive paper, and final finessing with 0000 grade steel wool.

Applying Epoxy

Another Round of Scraping - 1

Another Round of Scraping - 2

Sanding & Finessing - 1

Sanding & Finessing - 2

After sanding and finessing, the back of the neck was prepped for painting. The first step was a good dose of sticker remover spray, which was then wiped off completely. This was followed by a wipe down with naphtha to remove any remnants of the sticker remover. Finally, a tack cloth was used to eliminate dust particles and other contaminants. With regard to painting, my color coat of choice was Samurai Flat Black (29/109A). Oh yes, I've also found the time to attempt an epoxy repair on the cracked case handle. Let's hope it holds. 

Samurai Flat Black Color Coat

Case Handle Repair