This one is a bit of an experiment. Been wanting to try a shou sugi ban finish on a guitar ever since I saw videos of the technique. Originally I'd planned it to be baritone Jazzmaster but the grain on that guitar probably won't really suit and I didn't want to ruin the body on just a test. So I instead picked up a cheap SG kit.
Plan is a sort of worn finish. I have a *genuine* Gibson SG with a worn finish which I really like. My friend was playing it a couple weeks ago and was really liking it so if this kit turns out ok I'll give it to him as a present.
So the plan is:
* Burn the guitar - more around the edges to give a sort of burst and less on the front to leave more wood colour; Body and Headstock front;
* Use wire brush to remove excess charcoal and accentuate the grain;
* Sand back areas I want lighter
* Coat of sanding sealer neck and body
* Stain neck black and sand back to highlight grain
* Stain body and neck mahogany
* Finish with wipe on poly
After burning, wire brush, and sanding. Forgot to take photos before hand. As the neck was already attached I used aluminium foil and masking tape around the neck joint to try and stop the fretboard and binding getting burnt or melting.
After staining and a coat of boiled linseed oil. I had hoped the oil would penetrate and enhance the grain. It just caused problems though as the paper towel I used to rub off excess left lots of lint which I then had to rub off with a scourer pad and my fingers.
After a few coats of wipe on poly. Looks and feels great. Really liking the grain. And it is way easier to do this finish as I'm not going for a high gloss finish.
First ever fret levelling, crowning, and polishing. This took way longer than I'd thought it would. And I'm really not sure I've done this right. Seemed to go lower and lower and there were still high and low points. I guess I'll see once the strings are on.
Shielding the control cavity with aluminium foil. Needed a bit of a clean up in the cavity first with a file to make it a bit smoother. Foil attached with super glue.
It lives! It has strings, and pickups! And it even makes a sound when plugged in! Tone isn't half bad either. Not the same as the Gibson bit not terrible for stock kit pickups.
Weighs a fair bit heavier than the Gibson too, 3.2kg vs 2.6kg. The body is larger and thicker. From looking on the net I think it might be closer to a 1960s Les Paul rather than a modern SG. 3.5 cm thick body compared to 3 cm and also bit longer with the neck joining further into the body.
Couple of uh-oh moments putting all the hardware on. First was that the bridge holes are slightly too far apart so the bridge is very tight and pretty much can't be adjusted because of this.
Second was the scale length. I'd measured when I initially unboxed and did a quite mock build but the length, 635 mm, sounded correct. But that's not 24.75", that's 25". It sounded correct because I'd done a lot of calculations and measuring for a PRS kit previously which also has a 25" scale length. Thankfully everything was fine and measuring to the 12th fret the scale length of the guitar is indeed 25" / 635mm. The intonation is even almost spot on without any adjustments.
I've left the truss rod cover off as I've ordered an Epiphone "Les Paul" one. Likewise the knobs haven't been attached yet as I have some Epiphone Pro Buckers coming which include a wiring harness with push pull pots for coil splitting. Honestly not sure if I'll use them though as these pickups sound quite nice.
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