Ibanez RG570 Project

Clint-Green · 2012-02-28T13:53:01+00:00

Hey all, Here it is, the project thread for my Ibanez RG570! I picked this axe up for a very good price from a fellow GFSA member as I'd been looking for a shred machine for a while and was on a bit of a budget. It needed a lot of attention, the finish was badly chipped and dinged, the pickups had been removed and the frets were very, very worn, so I decided to turn it into my first project (bit of a risky move in retrospect; even though I paid very little for the axe, it plays like a dream with that legendary original Wizard neck!). The plan was to give her a full refret and refinish. I went with Stew-Mac's tallest/widest fretwire for the refret and for the finish, I had the idea to get hold of a very thin maple veneer for a relatively easy yet classy-looking trans finish. Well, I got a little more than I bargained for; the veneer I ordered from Stew-Mac turned out to in fact be more of a cap, at 7mm in thickness, so with advice from some other forum members (you know who you are, your advice has been and continues to be invaluable, THANK YOU!!), I decided that the only way yo go would be to create a "drop-top"; taking the basswood body down by about 5mm to accommodate the maple top and steaming-bending the maple to fit the arm contour on the top of the guitar. Here are some pics, apologies for the poor quality, I used my phone to take these. Here is what the guitar looked like before I got started: Removing the old frets using my modified end nippers (ground flush on the end) and a soldering iron. It looks worse than it actually is because the fretboard was really dirty. I managed to get minimal chipping of the rosewood: Levelling the fingerboard using a heavy steel sanding beam and 220 grit paper. I then used a radius sanding block (16") with 220 through 600 grit paper: New frets installed, still need polishing though. Some of the frets could have seated better but I chalk that down to not bending them properly before installing. All in all not too bad for a first-timer though, but a nerve-wracking experience! TO BE CONTINUED.....

costafonix

Neon Gecko wrote
CostaFonix wrote
Neon Gecko wrote Looking schweet Dude! Just a tip though, I normally leave the base coat for around 45 mins and no longer than 2 hours before shooting clear. Always a good idea to allow the solvents to vent out of the base coat first.
Hey Wayne, what will happen if you leave the base coat for longer than 2 hrs, say a couple of days?
Base coat is designed to have the clear coat applied within a certain time frame without having to sand it first. If base coat is left for any longer than two hours, leave it a day to dry properly and then give a light sanding with 1200 grit water paper to allow the clear coat to key into the base coat.

ok, cool, thanks
+1 apologies for the thread hijack,, but its useful info that may apply to the topic.

Clint-Green

[/quote]

ok, cool, thanks
+1 apologies for the thread hijack,, but its useful info that may apply to the topic.

[/quote]

Not worries at all, Costa, that's definitely relevant...in fact my dad and I got stuck with a similar dilemma yesterday; we applied the basecoat and unknowingly used 2k thinners instead of regular lacquer thinners. The result was a few pinholes, a run inside one of the cutaways and somehow a hair managed to land on there as well. The basecoat was also quite glossy which is a bad thing since from my understanding, this isn't the ideal surface for the topcoat to adhere to. We weren't sure what to do now; wait for it to dry, sand it all off and start again? So we took a chance and left it to dry for an hour, flatted it carefully with 1500 grit and then applied a new batch of basecoat. I'm not sure if we did the right thing but it came out pretty good except for slight orange peel in the basecoat ?

I'll try and post some pics when I'm back in the office on Wednesday, next weekend I will be able to flat the finish down and do final polishing.

Neon-Gecko

Mmm, I'm not too sure what the implications of using 2K thinners with base coat would be. Maybe leave it a day, give it a light sanding and give it another coat of base coat. I just hope that the solvent in the new coat of base coat doesn't react with the previous coat.

Clint-Green

Sorry, I didn't type the whole story...mea culpa ?

What happened was that we used 2k thinners in both batches...after we saw that the first one was producing pinholes, etc, we mixed a second batch, also with 2k thinners, but with a larger ratio (ie less thinners) and did another coat. This didn't work so we decided to flat it down and then do more coats, however we had mixed the thinners in with the last of the paint, so all of the basecoats have 2k thinners instead of regular thinners. Clearcoat is already on, no adverse reactions so far but I'll keep an eye and hope that it doesn't start giving problems. :/

Clint-Green

Ok, it's been 24 hours now, worst thing that's happened so far is that while I was removing the masking in the electronics and trem cavities at the back, a small bit of paint peeled off along the very edge. I'm planning of painting the insides of these cavities by hand using black 2k finishing (no thinners), is it okay for me to do this now or should I wait 7 days for the paint to cure first?

Neon-Gecko

Clint Green wrote Ok, it's been 24 hours now, worst thing that's happened so far is that while I was removing the masking in the electronics and trem cavities at the back, a small bit of paint peeled off along the very edge. I'm planning of painting the insides of these cavities by hand using black 2k finishing (no thinners), is it okay for me to do this now or should I wait 7 days for the paint to cure first?

Normally 3 days should be fine for the paint to dry enough for sanding and polishing (water based polishing cream). For it to reach full cure can take anywhere between 2-6 weeks depending on the ambient conditions, then you can use an automotive wax based polish (clear coat friendly) for the final shine.

Brushing unthinned finishing black into the cavities will work fine, just remember to add the catalyst though.

Clint-Green

Awesomeness, thanks Mr. Gecko! ?
Gonna have to overlap the finishing black a tiny bit over the blue/clearcoat to cover the little spots where it peeled as the primer just peeks out when the cavity covers are on. I should probably just have left the cavities unmasked but there's that whole hindsight thing again..hehe

DonovanB

I just have to say...

Well, not to you Clint, but to the rest of us...

Clint-Green

It's been a busy long weekend. I am insanely happy with the results! I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Apologies for the poor picture quality, again these were taken with my phone. I will post some better pics in the "My Gear section once the axe is 100% done and I've been able to loan a decent camera ?

Still to do:
Need to get some locking strap buttons and install them.
The original Edge trem which I bought on Ebay never arrived so I have gotten a refund from the seller. I am now trying to find another one at a reasonable price.
Once that is sorted, some new pickups (still leaning toward an Air Norton/Tone Zone combo but I will be doing some more research before I decide).
Also thinking about getting ones with cream or cream/black bobbins and then replacing the vol and tone knobs with cream coloured strat knobs for this type of look:

Lemme know what you guys think about that idea ?

Extra extra special thanks to my dad for doing the clearcoats and to Neon Gecko for all of the great advice and guidance throughout this project!

guidothepimmp

Phwoarr

Awesome dude, that looks awesome, white pups look the beans man

Congrats

nick_D01

wow, that is really amazing is all i can say...i'm speechless. well done on a really, really, really good job man ?

Neon-Gecko

Yep, I think you nailed it there Dude! Awesome results and once you got the pups and knobs on... :goodtimes:

Clint-Green

Thanks a million, lads! Stuck at work now, itching like hell to get home and play this thing...My girlfriend hates it already (she started calling it "the other woman" a few weeks back already) hahaha

ZarK

Awesome!! Awesome Axe and awesome job! Congrats. Cool that you omitted the truss-rod cover...

(I'd either stick with black pups and cosmo hardware throughout or splash on deep purple or even neon pink pups, selector and knobs (ala 77FP Jem) -if she where mine...) ...Hope I didn't make anyone sick with this statement... ?

I'm totally stoked on your behalf!

Clint-Green

Thanks Zark!

She's still THE most comfortable axe I've played in almost 20 years of playing. I'm an Ibanez (MIJ) convert for sure! hehe

Funny enough I used to hate the neon pups and matching knobs that people sometimes put in their RGs (obviously as a tip of the hat to Mr. Vai) but the idea has been growing on me lately so who knows? ?

slyd

Well done on a fantastic result :applause: :applause: :applause:

I just love that you overcame all the obstacles that were presented, and persevered with the end goal! Lakka!

Zulublues

Give that man a Bells ! ! ! !
All I can say is WOW. My vote is also for the black hardware, or if you have to make a change, satin nickel ??
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

Clint-Green

Thanks chaps, your feedback is greatly, greatly appreciated!

slyd wrote I just love that you overcame all the obstacles that were presented, and persevered with the end goal! Lakka!

I think most likely if it was a mediocre-to-okay guitar to begin with I may have thrown in the towel but I've wanted one of these RGs for so long (specifically an early 90's Japan-made one) that simply I had to make a plan no matter what! hehe

Zulublues wrote My vote is also for the black hardware, or if you have to make a change, satin nickel ??

I've thought about the satin nickel idea as well, it looks awesome on some of the RG321's I've seen.

Will probably stick with black for now though as I bought another Original Edge on Ebay yesterday which is Cosmo Black - a Lo-Pro Edge this time and I demanded the Express Mail option so hopefully this one doesn't disappear into the dark, fiery abyss that is our postal system.

ZarK

Personally I prefer the lo-pro edge to the edge because of the lower profile. They're basically the same trems, however. Edge is a tad heavier with that whale tail but they feel very alike and stability is identical. Remember with cosmo black hardware to wipe all components after each playing session -if you wish to preserve the finish. They look great but tend to corrode very easily if not kept clean and free of any salty moisture...

Clint-Green

ZarK wrote Personally I prefer the lo-pro edge to the edge because of the lower profile. They're basically the same trems, however. Edge is a tad heavier with that whale tail but they feel very alike and stability is identical. Remember with cosmo black hardware to wipe all components after each playing session -if you wish to preserve the finish. They look great but tend to corrode very easily if not kept clean and free of any salty moisture...

From the mountains of reviews and posts of various forums I've read, the difference between the two is pure preference, indeed. Personally, I really like the fact that the string lock screws are accessible from the top of the bridge, without having to dive the trem bar and hold it there while changing strings. BIG pain in the ass, that! lol

I totally know what you mean regarding the corrision issue, especially with the Cosmo finish which seems to wear off quite easily leaving the metal exposed. I had serious trouble finding a used one on Ebay for a decent price that had little or no corrosion (the only way to get one without a fair a mount of Cosmo wear is to order a new one from Rich).

Luckily I'm a bit of a stickler for wiping the strings, bridges and even the bridge pickup screws down throughly after playing so it should stay pretty for many years to come ? Can't wait for it to arrive!!

Just bought some Schaller locking strap buttons as well as the buttons which came with the guitar are mismatched and have nasty little flat-head screws.

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