Epiphone Special refinish thread (56k Warning)

Spyke

Here's the start of my epic Epi refinish.

This will be a long'ish thread with updates along the way. I'm going to try and take as many pictures of the process along the way. The pictures will be shoddy camera phone pics but should still give you an idea of what's going on. I'm also doing this on a shoestring budget and at the moment it looks like the paint will be of the Aerolac kind (until i can find a guy with a gun and some spare time)

The Epi is still it's original red and not in a bad condition at all. There's a few scratches and the like but nothing ghastly.

Here's some of the ideas that I've been toying with - I still haven't made up my mind as to what theme to take yet. I'll take a gander at the quality and grain of the wood before deciding.

Weathered / distressed look.

Wylde inspired bullseye

I unfortunately don't have any pics of the stripping, but here's the body and neck stripped.

The sanding starts with 100grain paper and a block.

I'm going to have a lot of time this weekend so there'll hopefully be an update monday.

FatBoy

Yeeehaaa! Good luck dude, I'd go for plain black, maybe with binding on the edges, but ya thats just me.

Keep us posted!

LMinnie

Congrats on taking the big step buddy...it takes big balls to redo a guitar..especially one of that nature!

I said before... I dig the Wylde bullseye look...cant wait to see how this turns out!

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Riaan-Combrink

Good luck!

Like the distressed concept ?

Spyke

So, I said I'd have a Monday update for you. Had a fairly open and free weekend which gave me some time to work on the Epi.

What did I do you ask? The answer is below! ?

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I sanded.

Yup, that's it. I sanded, sanded, sanded and... sanded some more.

Geez, there's a lot of sanding involved and I'm still not through to the base wood yet. I think I may need power tools.

No pics 'cause a part sanded body is about as exciting as Nolene discussing her childhood heroes.

Heath

orbital sander is your best bet , a belt sander will do it quickly , but if you not carefull will chew your guitar up and spit it out as saw dust

Manfred-Klose

I know sanding a guitar sucks and takes time!!!!!

When finished sanding with 100, 180 and 220 grit, it's time for the sanding seeler, apply and sand it of ,apply and sand it off, repeat process until smooth.................

LMinnie

Do you still have fingerprints?????

If you do please... repeat steps 1 thru 8 and repeat.......

Sean

Looking forward to following your progress. At least have a decent photo taken of the fininished product for us to admire 8)

AlanRatcliffe

That's one of the reasons I chip off a poly finish rather than sand it off... Especially if you're doing it by hand. ☹

Spyke

I really didn't realize the finish was actually this hard.

vote4monkey

Maybe keep the headstock plain at the end, no one should ever know it was once a Epi Special... ?

Rudolf

Spyke: I'm no expert on guitars I know so please bare with me? I'm coming from my other hobby with this one and even though I've built endless amounts of aeroplanes in my lifetime I'm sure I can't offer too much valuable input on this topic. I know all about sanding though and sanding and finishing composites all the way through balsa wood. ?

Anyways what I'd like to suggest. Have you experimented using different sanding papers? I always keep a pile of all the different intended use sheets all different grains. I know you're supposed to use only wood on wood and metal on metal but trust me any sanding expert will tell you BS. Through experience I've found that some composites especially you can't get to break with certain sandpapers, you can sand wood with metal sandpaper but it cloggs up very quickly for instance. Now some plywoods for instance sand much easier and better with metal paper where wood tends to make it flake off. See where I'm going with this? Some paints and finishes because it's also a composite like automotive paints you'll find sand much quicker sometimes with metal sandpaper opposed to wood, and sometimes the other way around. By all means switch to a nice fine wood sandpaper once you start seeing wood breaking through the paint but just to get that finish off quicker you might consider trying a few things.

Spyke

Rudolf wrote Have you experimented using different sanding papers?

Trust me, I'm going to. I hear what you're saying.
I inadvertently used to do this when I was goofing around with odd projects - a hacksaw works better on plywood than a wood saw / box saw.
I'll try a few different ones and switch to a finer wood paper closer to the end. Who knows, maybe there is a nice grain under all that paint (unlikely but worth a shot)

Gearhead

Imho there's no 'wood' sandpaper or 'metal' sandpaper - there's grades, there's wet/dry/open back and there's different quality. Methinks the 'kinds' are invented by diy shop owners with non-diy personnel. There's even shops selling sandpaper composed of sand glued onto paper! We've not only made it past the seventies, we're actually in the new milennium dudes!
It's repeated everywhere that harder surfaces sand off better with finer grit - BS. Finer grit paper used to be better since it was not available in poor quality. The truth is, harder sandpaper works on harder surfaces. The issue of clogging is usually cured by washing the residue out (wet paper) or just by blowing it out (open backs).
When attacking a hard finish do yourself a favour and look for sand paper until you find one that works. And remember, if it lasts 5x longer you might as well pay 10x more - since it will also make you work 2x faster knowing you'll be done soon.

Spyke

Alrighty, time to dig up dinosaurs... as in this thread.

The Epi has sat for a while now due to just a general lack of time and motivation (screw this fallen economy!) but a quick mindset changed that.

I got my paws on a B&D Mouse, a small vibration sander with ridiculously expensive sanding pads - R11 each, only available in packs of five, one grain per pack... :-\

But this has made a significant impact in the progress, seeing as I only worked for 15 on the body last night and about 30min on the neck. The Mouse is nice because it leaves you with a surprisingly fine finish even though I'm using a fairly staunch 120g paper. It also has a vaccuum attachment that keeps your work area considerably dust free. Great for working on the dining room table, bad for the app next door as the noise is something to behold. Both the Mouse and the vacuum battling it out for supremacy in the noise stakes.
Downside; it's not as flat or true as a sanding block - I'll have to finish by hand.

The body is primered, so I highly doubt that there's any sort of quality grain underneath it. Still not sure whether to check it out or not.
The neck is not primered and has an ok'ish grain underneath. One dent is bothering me though, I may have to go digging... >☹

anyway, here's some pics.

Squonk

Looking Good so far Spyke, any idea yet what finish you're going for?

Spyke

Still not sure, it will be satin black though. My impatience is leading me to think just a straight satin black over the primer with a gloss black emblem but impatience is not a trait you can have when working with a guitar.

AlanRatcliffe

Spyke wrote impatience is not a trait you can have when working with a guitar.

Amen to that!

LMinnie

You have access to a compressor and spraygun??

Patience is a virtue my good man....Keep it.Take your time and DONT rush!!

Satin black with teh Gloss black bullseye...If you need help with application just let me know...Ive got a couple of tricks to teach you! 8)