Resurected A Project On Hold For 3 Years-Need Opinions

This is a Musicman Stringray 5 that I stripped nearly 3 years ago. It was Black and had long hairline cracks in the paint. I bought is very reasonable thinking If I liked a 5 string I would refinish it. About 3 years ago I started by using aircraft stripper and it took many applications to get the paint off, a tedious process. After removing the black paint it looked like the cracks went into the wood. Also the neck pocket was marked opaque. That is when I realized that I had only removed a repaint and it was a opaque butterscotch color from the factory. This what it looked like at that time. There was still a lot of paint to remove! I put it on the back burner.



Fast forward to yesterday and I used a power sander to remove the rest of the paint, also a tedious process. My intent was to remove all the paint, prime it and paint it Shell Pink. After looking at it closely it have some green filler in several spots by the output jack and today I removed it and used another filler to fill the holes. I also filled the pickguard holes and Ginny said "This thing looks interesting. I think you should just clear coat it". I am about to do that but thought I would run it by you folks. It is a very nice ash grain but has a dado type seam which shows from the end. The areas I filled are virtually undetectable. I will make a small control plate for the controls from the original pickguard shown in one of the photos. What do you think, Shell Pink or Natural? The other option would to use a wood dye but I have reservations about doing that.

Here is how it looked this morning.It is completely stripped.



The back


This is the seam I am concerned about showing


The area with the green filler


A green repaired area not yet sanded


The neck


Back of the neck


The pickguard which will be cut down to the control area only



The green filler area after replacing and sanding


The same area after being repaired and sanded.


Let me know what you think. I will post photos when it is completed. The neck is also getting a complete refinish with poly gloss, my favorite. -- Darwin

Hi Darwin,

It's a nice looking piece of ash, but not very well book matched and the dado 'feature' looks kinda weird as well.

I think your gut instinct is correct. Go Shell Pink!

IMO the pick guard would look cool as it already is. Please post up some 'after shots'. I love this kinda stuff!

I would tend towards a solid color.
The differences in the wood color will probably be even more obvious with the wet look
that a clear coat brings.
If you put a thin coat of sanding sealer on it you will know how the color shifts with treatments,
or maybe even just give it a wipe with Acetone or thinner to get an idea.
Maybe a dab of finish on the butt-end at the splice for a test(you can carefully sand it off after drying).

my quick 02 cents,
elwood

(and then build Ginny a little wood something or other to satisfy her urges ...and I didn't mean for that
to sound like it does...LOL)

Thanks Phiby and Elwood. Shell Pink it will be. I am going to do a matching headstock.-- Darwin

Darwin,

I missed this post yesterday, but I'd go with shell pink too. The pieces of wood used in the body would both look great on their own, but not side-by-side IMO. I'm with Philby on the pick guard. I think it would look sharp as it is with the pink finish.

Ken

Darwin,
If it's not too late to add my two cents, I think that the body would look good with a compromise. Although I am not a big fan of pink, the body would look good with a translucent pink that has a nearly solid outer perimeter. The perimeter should be just dark enough to mask the glue joint but not necessarily opaque. For added Wow factor, you might add platinum pearl in the sealer coat . This will make it reflect stage lights when you move around without obscuring the pink topcoat. Needless to say ( but I'll say it anyway! ) it needs to be buffed out, no satin finish.
Fred
P.S. lose that pickguard!

Fred I had thought about fogging the edges but I am going the easy route with a solid color. I primed it today and now the restoration begins with restoring the lines and curves to as perfect as I can get. Primer is cheap and I can level, sand and reprime until it is ready for the color coat. I have used pearls in the past and they do as you have described. This is truly going to be a Pink Lady when done. The pickguard will be gone and will be just a neatly sculptured cover for a control plate. Thanks for jumping in, I was hoping you would see this before today. I went to Home Depot looking for a grain filler as I didn't want too spray primer on the wood. They didn't have anything that I could use. It is now primer which in the end is okay. I thought it had potential but the two pieces of wood were a different shade of Ash. This will be better in the end. Thanks Fred and I will keep this project posted as I progress. I tend to forget how much work it is to repaint. It is labor intensive. Seeing more potential as it develops. -- Darwin

Todays update. The primer had aged since yesterday and I sanded it out today. This thing is really shaping up. After sanding:




I have sanded almost down to the wood and the grain and imperfections are filled. I sprayed a new coat and this will remove everything elso and now I can shape the lines and bevels properly after this has aged for a day.




Here is a picture of the approximate size the pickguard will be.


Done for the day!--Darwin

Today has been spent perfecting the shape of the edges and beveled surfaces. I primed those areas again as the top and back are flawless at this point and ready for final sanding. I also decided to make the control plate from the old pickguard. The control plate worked out very well and fits nicely. Here are some pics of the control plate surgery.





The white band on the control plate is even all around although it doesn't look like it in the photo due to the camera angle. I used a coping saw to saw it out, files to shape it and a razor blade works very well for the final scraping of the edge to finish it.

Anyone need a modded Stingray 5 pickguard?????



Here is a picture of my sophisticated tools for doing this project. I did not show the Ryobi power sander.



This project is really getting to be fun, more enjoyable for me as it progresses daily. I am complete for this week and will start a new thread on the painting next week. Hope some of you have found this somewhat interesting. Ginny is checking daily!-- Darwin

darwin,

anything i can do to get you to revise the pickguard so the inside edge is concave rather than convex as it is currently?

sort of a parenthesis rather than an oval would keep with the curves of the guitar.

if not at least you did not do a straight line edge on the inside.

please consider my suggestion. it isn't the end of the world but.....

Others to Salmons suggestion? I still have some room to work with. I will consider everything.--Darwin

Edit, Salmon, I just did some measuring and there is very little room to move in. I still have to make a couple of holes for the screw. I just did some measuring and I have made a picture showing the most that I can remove and still have room for the screws and wood underneath. I also have to admit I never cared for the kidney control plates on the early SC's and F-100s-- Darwin

so for the nice edge after cutting did you use a razor blade to get the layered bevel to match the old edge of the pickguard?

please don't change anything if you don't like the curve of the older guitars. i wasn't thinking of those when i imagined things. i think because this is wider proportionately it doesn't seem like the same thing but it put the idea of the older guitars in your mind. you should do it your way.

i find myself liking guitars that remind me of the 1950's card more and more. i love a cream colored pickguard with several color combinations. the belair green is nice. i like fender's green that is similar to belair. it is more pastel. this pink was off my radar but i looked it up after seeing your project and it too has a classic look to it.

Looking good Darwin! Can't wait to see it finished.

It should be done in a week and a half. I now have the paint. -- Darwin