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Post by Rusty on Jul 3, 2009 23:54:01 GMT -6
I just got an old Yamaha FG-335 that's half stripped,and all the way disassembled. Looks like a good candidate for a refinishing project since I've always wanted to do one. I'm thinking just order the reranch.com clear,and sand it off and shoot it.Anything I should know before I start this project? I'll post pics of the guitar tomorrow when I get my camera from work Here is a link to some pics ozarksmusic.ning.com/photo/albums/yamaha-fg335-project
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Post by Rusty on Jul 4, 2009 16:38:20 GMT -6
Well I started to sand on it today,and It has places where the previous owner sanded through the vener,so I'm going to have to paint at least the top. The back and sides look OK and the neck is going to have to be taken down to wood again and start over. It's all fun though I'm going to be looking into painted top acoustics in the next few days trying to make a decision,I have 3 black guitars already,would be nice to have a different color,but I will have to do a solid opaque color since the vener is sanded away.. Decisions decisions?!?!
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Post by Rusty on Jul 5, 2009 1:10:47 GMT -6
Here is a copy of the Blog I started in my profile on the homepage. A friend dropped off this Yamaha guitar,and she is in bad shape. I posted about it in the forums.So anyway I decided instead to post progress on the rebuilding of it here,and we'll see how it goes.Here are the pics of it this morning before I did anything to it.Since this is my first shot at refinishing one from the wood up,I thought it only proper to work on one I couldn't really make any worse...lol I spent a good long time on the internet looking at articles on how to refinish a guitar,and I can only hope I can pull it off. So I cleaned it all off with alcohol and started wet sanding by dipping the paper in a dish of water and sanding the top. The veneer has been sanded through in a couple of places on the top so a clear finish is out,so look like I'm at least painting the top,and possibly the whole guitar.Depends on what I find later down the road. I'll post some more pics tomorrow of my progress.Now I have to decide what color to paint it. I took the blow dryer to it to remove the pickguard,and much to my surprise it came off fairly easy. Just heat the edge and slip a butter knife under it nad work my way around the edge toward the center and in a couple of minutes VIOLA! Success! Then some adhesive removal with the same method of the blow dryer and some scraping with the blade of the butter knife. I wouldn't recommend this if you have a nice finish or you are trying to save the pickguard. In this case I have nothing to lose either way so LETS GET IT OFF HERE! Then back to sanding until I got tired and quit,but I have made some good progress,and while I still have work to do on it,here is a quitting photo after day 1
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Post by vanman on Jul 6, 2009 0:57:11 GMT -6
I see the spot that appears to be sanded through the top veneer. I didn't realize that guitar tops were made with veneers, I thought they were solid tops. Anyway, perhaps you'd consider sanding what you need to, then refinishing the guitar as you would had the top not been sanded away as it has. I'm not trying to suggest you not be concerned about the look of the guitar but rather, if you are wanting to get into this as a hobby, rework the guitar as is developing your skills with sanding/sealing. etc. I don't know what effect paint has on a guitar- i'd assume it would be treated as if it were just another coat of lacquer and not affect the performance of the guitar at all. That said, whatever you choose, I hope you can refinish that back as is, from the pics it looks VERY nice.
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Post by Rusty on Jul 6, 2009 11:35:17 GMT -6
Some tops are solid,the good ones are Spruce,the lower line guitars are laminates. Saves money,there is a performance hit though as the solid top guitars sound much better,like the high end martin,gibson ect. I have thought about doing a relic on this one,do a new finish and make it look old. Also thought about an opaque stain with a nice coat of lacquer over it. Might just clear it and play it. I am going to convert it to electric/acoustic if it plays good. At best it's just a guinea pig to test my skill. I used to paint cars,worked in resto shops,and owned a body shop for a long time. I think the main test will be working with the wood...lol Due to a back injury I am no longer able to work on the floors all day on the garages.
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Post by vanman on Jul 7, 2009 4:45:42 GMT -6
well get us some more pics as you go along with the project- its nice to see what people are working on. I've mentioned in a prev. thread about a friend of mine who built guitars and the shop he had, all the specific tools and jigs, etc. His last project was the one he built for me- usually he would build 2 at a time but in my case he just did the one, numbered, sighned and all that and then a very short while after that he passed away. Its nice getting to see a guitar project in action again.
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Post by Rusty on Jul 7, 2009 8:19:05 GMT -6
I remember that conversation. I do build or should I say modify a guitar a year,I did a Les Paul a while back,and a Strat right before I started the forums. I'd like to build one from scratch if I get the nerve.
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Post by vanman on Jul 8, 2009 3:37:02 GMT -6
Well I've wanted to build a kit as well but I do not have the tools necessary for that and really, even a good refinish job is painstaking enough for my tastes. Just some things I'd like to have done once in my lifetime, but that is not a high priority
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Post by Rusty on Jul 8, 2009 8:13:39 GMT -6
I know what you mean. I've accomplished or at least attempted a lot of things I've wanted to do. I'm working on remodeling my house,and running the secondhand store,and trying to keep my guitar habit in check. That seems to be enough to keep me busy..lol
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Post by vanman on Jul 10, 2009 4:13:29 GMT -6
I hear ya, for me its family, my dogs and drumming. I just got invited to fish this afternoon, haven't done any fishing in nearly 2 years- looking forward to it but then thats an entire other hobby requiring its own time and money- probrbly won't get too heavy into that again for a while but it will be fun
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Post by Rusty on Jul 10, 2009 9:41:29 GMT -6
well fun is what it's all about,after that it just becomes like a job and then it's not worth it anymore...lol Have fun,sounds like a blast,haven't been in a couple years myself.
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Post by vanman on Jul 14, 2009 0:28:00 GMT -6
BUST- friend of mine had some unexpected things come up but I'm sure we'll get out there soon
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Post by Rusty on Jul 14, 2009 10:21:56 GMT -6
that the way it goes,it's gonna be a lot cooler next weekend though,that's a plus.
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