1993 Japanese Fender '62 Strat make-over

[Alm_63]

Simon,
Fugian factory is we're the Gretch pro line is made.

[Simon Barden]

Paint just turned up, so I better get on with the sanding!

[Fretworn]

I'm also in the middle of re-doing my pedal board with 3M Dual-Lock instead of velcro. The velcro just kept coming unglued from the pedals, especially when it got warm. I'm hoping the stronger adhesive on the Dual-Lock works better - especially as it's very expensive stuff!

If I'm ever in the market for a new pedal board I'll be trying to get a Holeyboard. I reckon cable ties will be better in the long run than Velcro.

[Simon Barden]

Maybe. But sometimes it's not easy to run cable ties across pedals, depending on knob positioning and case shape. Sometimes you might get one on, but then can't fit another one in a position to stop it moving. I don't have one, but a round fuzz-face type pedal would be impossible with cable ties. Small tuner pedals could be difficult if the top half is all display etc. Wahs and volume pedals can be difficult without getting in the way of the treadle mechanism.

[Simon Barden]

Well today I thought I''d finished sanding the body, so gave it a wipe down with turps. Showed a couple of areas where the old undercoat, or more probably glue, was still noticeable, so did a bit more sanding to remove that. Then gave it a quick once-over with primer to see where I was. Found one obvious area on the upper horn that had some noticeable gouges that would take too much filling with paint, so I need to let the primer dry, sand down that area, and then check for any other areas that need attention. So much easier to see these with paint on.

[Simon Barden]

Well I sanded the first primer coat almost right off, but got most of the body nice and flat as a result. Have done three more primer coats, will let them dry overnight and sand those back tomorrow. There's probably one or two more coats left in the can, but hopefully tomorrows sanding won't expose the wood but still hide any small blemishes. Any exposed wood patches and I'll just spray those areas first, then hopefully one more full primer coat after that. Then it's blue paint time.

[Simon Barden]

I'm now 100% sure it's a basswood body - it dents so easily - even when using a rubber mat!

[Simon Barden]

Oh, and the Clapton boost circuit + TBX circuit turned up today. A mint green scratchplate is in the post, so most of the bits I need I to finish it I now have.

[FrankenWashie]

Wow, ripping into this one Simon! progress shots?

[Simon Barden]

Pics for FW.

Body after yesterday's priming spray:




Then after rubbing down and (hopefully) getting rid of visible dents and scratches. The back was the worst area.




I then sprayed what was left of the primer tin on the back, so that's now waiting to dry before a bit more sanding that flat again.

What I've used is actually more of a tinted sanding sealer/filler than a true primer (though it's sold as primer), so I don't intend to use any more of it to get to a solid white. It's quite soft, so I'd prefer to have a minimum of it on the body. The daphne blue is a solid paint, not a tinted lacquer, so will cover up the areas where the wood is showing through a bit.

But I'm now down on quite a few types of lacquer, so just put in an order for some various bottles of paint, lacquer and thinners - almost Aus$200 worth. It's not cheap stuff this nitro! And I've just remembered that I'll be needing another can of black for the headstock of me ES-3 and EX-1. Damn!