ESP Floyd Rose to Hardtail Conversion | Part Two

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

This post is the second of five regarding an ongoing Floyd Rose to Hardtail [fixed bridge] conversion on a used ESP GrassRoots G-HR-49 solidbody. In this post, we'll talk about what needed to be done; as per the owner’s instructions: “install a Strat-style nut, strip the paint from the back of the neck and refinish it natural.”

I started off by cleaning the fretboard and frets of all gunk, dirt and grime. Following this, the back and sides of the neck and headstock were sanded and scraped down to bare wood. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the neck was maple with some attractive striping and figuring.

Now it was time to fashion a fretboard extension that would fill the “shelf” vacated by the locking nut, and provide a slot to seat the new nut. Several prototypes were created using solid mahogany; as I did not have any rosewood in stock. The last one proved the most suitable, and it was duly glued and clamped in place.

Once the glue had cured, the clamps were removed and the extension carved and sanded to the shape normally seen on rosewood-board Strats. As a finishing touch, the extension (except for the nut slot) was sealed with Tru-Oil. I dare say that the final color of the mahogany extension closely matched the rest of the fretboard.

That having been taken care of, the next task was to refinish the back of the neck. Firstly, StewMac ColorTone Liquid Stain #5033 (Medium Brown) was applied to the raw wood and allowed to dry overnight. The result was a very dark-looking neck indeed.

After sanding off the #5033 stain, most of the maple returned to its original pale hue except for the stripes and figuring; which had retained the stain and were now more noticeable. Yes, that was the effect I was after.

Next, the back of the neck was restained with #5030 (Vintage Amber). After overnight drying, the maple had taken on a vintage amber hue; and this pleased me to no end.

The final step was to seal and refinish the wood with Tru-Oil. I reckon about 15-20 coats were applied, with some light 0000 steel-wooling every three coats or so. The neck was then set aside to give the Tru-Oil ample time to cure. Now, be a good sport and check out the YouTube video I've uploaded just for you. Muchas gracias :)

Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part Three

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Well folks, here we are at the third and final post regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. Since we last met, the guitar's been reassembled, strung, set up; and plugged into a Ross MiniMouth G515 for a final playing check. Heck, I even recorded some audio and uploaded it to SoundCloud. Do give it a listen. Meanwhile, here are some pics of the restored Les Paul. Enjoy :)

Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part Two

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Howdy folks :) This is the second post of a three-parter regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. In this post, we shall take a look at how the damaged headstock/neck scarf joint (Image 1) was repaired, and the back of the neck refinished.

For starters, the bolt-on neck was unscrewed from the body and the finish around the damaged area sanded off until only bare wood remained (Image 2). At this stage, the extent of the damage was clearly visible (Image 3). The scarf joint had split apart completely, and part of the fretboard had separated from the neck. It was indeed fortunate that the break was clean, and there were no splinters to be removed.  

Following this, the surfaces to be mated were lightly scuffed with abrasive paper. Scuffing is important as it promotes glue adhesion to the wood. A dry run was conducted to determine the best placement for clamps and wooden cauls, as there would be little time to position them once glue had been applied. Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue was then applied, and the joint clamped for a week (Image 4).

Once the clamps had been removed, dried glue squeeze-out was sanded off with 220 grit abrasive paper, and the entire repaired area sealed with several coats of super glue. After the last layer of super glue had cured, it was time to sand again, this time from 220 all the way up to 800 grit. By this time, the bare wood surface was sufficiently smooth for refinishing (Image 5). Additionally, the entire back of the neck was lightly sanded with 800 grit abrasive paper.  

After cleaning the whole neck with naphtha and removing any dust with a tack cloth, masking tape was applied to the front of the headstock and fretboard; right up to the fretboard edges. This was done to shield these surfaces from overspray. The back of the neck was then color-coated with Samurai 29/209A Flat Black (Image 6).

The next step was to remove the masking tape and eliminate the paint ridge that had developed all along the border between the bottom edge of the fretboard and side of the neck. This ridge cannot be avoided. You have to put tape on before spraying, and no matter how careful you are; a little of the paint finds its way underneath the tape. This is what creates the ridge. A single-edged razor blade was used to scrape off the paint ridge and smoothen things out (Image 7).

Subsequently, the back of the neck was clear-coated with Samurai 1/128 Clear. This time around, only the the fretboard face was taped off; as the sides of the fretboard needed to be sealed with the clear coat. As can be seen in Image 8, the final coat of clear wasn't all that smooth; no thanks to the unwelcome presence of "orange peel." "Orange peel" is caused by high and low spots in the finish, and must be dealt with appropriately. 

After a couple days of hang time, the clear coat had cured and was ready for some serious wetsanding. Wetsanding is a must if you want to minimize the amount of "orange peel" and even out the finish. And so, the clear coat was wetsanded with a succession of grits from 800 all the way up to 2000 (Image 9). Wetsanding in this way creates a relatively even and smooth surface that exhibits a dull sheen. The final step was polishing and waxing the clear coat, which definitely added some gloss and shine.

Having reached this stage of the restoration, all that needed to be done was to reassemble the Les Paul, do a routine setup with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, put her through her paces; and have a quick photoshoot. Thanks for visiting, and do stay tuned for Part Three of this series :)

Image 1 - First look at the damaged scarf joint

Image 2 - Sanding off the finish down to bare wood

Image 3 - The extent of the damage is clearly visible

Image 4 - Clamping the joint after regluing

Image 5 - After removing the clamps, repaired area sealed and sanded

Image 6 - Color-coating with Samurai 29/209A Flat Black

Image 7 - Scraping and smoothing-out the paint ridge

Image 8 - Clear-coating with Samurai 1/128 Clear, orange peel

Image 9 - Before and after wetsanding, after polishing and waxing

Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first of three posts regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. The truss rod cover says "Gibson," while the headstock face sports a silk-screened "Epiphone" logo and the words "Special Model." Etched into the chrome neck plate are the Epiphone logo and serial number (07020798). 

As received, this solidbody was covered in dust and grime; while the hardware was tarnished and/or corroded. The barely-functioning three-way toggle switch, pots and output jack had certainly seen better days; and were in dire need of replacement. 

Perhaps the most critical issue concerned the bolt-on neck. Due to a bad fall, the headstock/neck scarf joint had cracked open. It was a bad break, with only the truss rod and rosewood fretboard holding things together. Speaking of the fretboard, well; it was in no better shape than the rest of this guitar.

After determining the repairs/servicing that would have to be carried out, this restoration job was split into three distinct phases: (i) degrime/derust/clean/polish, (ii) electronics overhaul/upgrade; and (iii) scarf joint repair/neck refinish. The pics below cover only phases (i) and (ii) of this restoration. Phase (iii), namely the scarf joint repair and neck refinish, will be covered in Part Two of this series. Thanks for dropping by, and see you soon :)

Image 1 - Headstock before and after cleaning

Image 2 - Fretboard and frets before and after cleaning

Image 3 - Control cavity components and wiring as received

Image 4 - Corroded pots, toggle switch and output jack

Image 5 - Pickups as received

Image 6 - Years of dust, dirt and grime

Image 7 - Hardware removed for cleaning

Image 8 - Pickups reinstalled after servicing

Image 9 - New components and wiring

Image 10 - New Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack

Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass Scarf Joint and Fretboard Repair

Though looking its age, the active electronics on this Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass were still functioning as they should. Granted, there was some crackling when you turned the pots; but this was fixed with a squirt or two of contact cleaner in the right places.

The real problem with this bass was that the rosewood fretboard had somehow become separated from the maple neck; from the nut right up to the third fret. Meanwhile, at the back of the neck, the scarf joint had opened up quite a bit. I should also mention that someone had fashioned a crude ill-fitting nut out of black plastic. And yes, I forgot to snap a pic or two of these abnormalities.

The game plan was to reglue the fretboard and scarf joint with Titebond III and clamp everything nice and tight until the glue dried. Then there would be lots of sanding, followed by a Tru-Oil refinish on the back of the neck. A new custom nut would also be installed. And guess what? It turned out okay, thank goodness :)