I bought a 7 string! Err, kind of...

G-Man

A disgruntled chap who may or may not be a gfsa member was selling an unfinished project, its an ibby RG7321 and comes with a hardcase. I put in an offer for just over a grand and now it is mine, it is still on its way to me but I have some pics of the unfinished job. I feel bad for the guy as he said that he was so angry with himself for botching the paint work.

Looking at the pics it is very thick paint, ideally I want to try and strip away the neck and try get to the wood under there. Any tips? It's spray paint apparently so would paint stripper be an option?

I also want to restore the headstock logo as this has been sanded off. Was wondering where I can get waterslide decals and hints on the application

Here are the pics, hope im not an idiot for just jumping in on the purchase but a 7 string project is right up my alley at the moment.

Tips and suggestions welcome !!

V8

Errr...a refinish - I've got one to do as well. Not looking forward to it either :-[

If you're going to bare wood, the advice I got was start with paint stripper, get as much off as you can, then sand, sand, sand. The temptation would be to use a heat gun - but you can burn the wood underneath and that can be incredibly difficult to remove if you want a natural wood finish. The insides of the horns can require serious patience...or a drum sander ?

Before starting a stripping job, I'd test fit all the bits together, string it up and check it's a player (is the neck straight, trem works, all parts present etc...). Might be a bit painful (I see it's thru strung, meaning fitting and removing the ferrules), but you don't know what other headache you may have inherited?

G-Man

Yeah I see now it is a lot of work to do, but I'm up for the challenge I think. The previous owner said that when he bought it it had already been sprayed a terrible flame job of the body, so I may just smooth this base coat out and use it as a primer, I'm looking more to sort out the neck than anything else. I can't find a decent 7 string anywhere for under 3 grand so I figure what the heck, might as well jump in. Apparently the guitar was a decent player before DIY enthusiast number 2 decided to spray it white. Whoever the bright spark was that painted the flames also removed the tone pot, meaning I will have to source another one.
I guess I just have to wait and see what I've gotten myself into ?

So basic plan of attack will be, fit everything together, check it's all there, check it is playable. Tear it down, sort out the body and spray the original colour, paint strip and sand the neck and pray that the serial number is still under there somewhere. ( He sent me a photo of it at least, its a 2004 model.... spray the headstock and stick a decal on there.

I've got some leave coming up, this could be fun ?

V8

G-Man wrote: so I may just smooth this base coat out and use it as a primer

Good idea! I was thinking of using the white as a base coat for your finish as well.

As a aside, I recall Chocklit_Thunder was asking about waterslide decals as well recently on SA Music Store - someone mentioned where he could find the paper locally so he could do his own, instead of having to import a decal from the US.

Maybe PM him for more details (or poke him on facebook).

My project is black, so I have little choice but to strip, I've put aside 4-6 weeks just for stripping & prep - soo easy to lose patience. I did on the last one and the scorch marks from the heat gun & bad sanding job on the insides of the horns are a constant reminder :?

G-Man

Ok thanks man, we can compare notes and see how we're doing on our respective refinishes ?

Stoffeltoo

Good luck on this one G-Man.
As with all project guitars, decision, decisions

G-Man

Well it looks like it's too late for me to back out now, the least I can do is get this beast back into playable shape even if I fail dismally at restoring it's aesthetics ?

studmissile

Actually looks like a nice guitar, I can see why you wanted it, but personally me and project guitars have a love/hate relationship, and it always ends in tears. Good luck, keep us posted.

G-Man

Yeah I know, I have dabbled with a bass guitar build and a refinish before, and both left much to be desired. But I still play 'em, I don't care if their ugly as long as they sound ok ?

I'll keep this updated when it arrives and I start working on it ? Thanks ?

V8

Out of curiosity, you bought this from Gerhardt?

G-Man wrote: Ok thanks man, we can compare notes and see how we're doing on our respective refinishes ?

Sweet, though I am seriously considering out-sourcing this one. I did some digging through the paint, there's at least four layers. That's gonna be fun to strip. Not.

If it were up to me I'd leave it as is, but the gear junkies tell me that I must do something else with the finish. And a new body isn't a option - it's that hofner 189 bass I got a month or so ago and it's rarer than rare (not valuable, just rare) - worth refinishing...I guess.

Keep us updated!

G-Man

V8 wrote: Out of curiosity, you bought this from Gerhardt?

Nah it was tbrough gumtree, I'm not sure if they're on Gfsa but I thought I'd cover myself in case somebody recognised their ex guitar in a thread ?
Kinda rude haha

G-Man

I found another rg7321 and I see it's ferrules are straight but mine are kind of staggered? Is this dependant on the bridge?

shaundtsl

Hey G-Man, cool project, I love those guitars. I had an RG7321 a few years ago and honestly is the one guitar I regret letting go the most...

Regarding your question about waterslide decals, I bought waterslide decal paper a few years ago from these guys

http://www.jgelectronics.com/

I know they in JHB (its seems also bloem and CPT) which is a distance from you, but I also battled to find it and these guys were the only place I could find that sold it.

You print the design onto the paper and transfer it onto your surface. Works well.

Good luck with the project and keep us posted.

studmissile

Waterdecals

There's was a guy called Zane Jacobs try admin@zane.co.za , he specialized in model decals and did stellar work. If I remember correctly he used to do guitar stuff for Andy McGibbons. PE BAsed. He has one of those special printers that prints white.

G-Man

Thanks guys I'll start poking around for prices ?

Jayhell

Please don't do what I did and follow some online tutorial about creating your own decals with transparency paper. It should all work in theory but the result is very angle based. Hold it up like this... looks great, but if the light catches it wrong its just a dull spot on the neck.

Live and learn my man. If you don't f(*& it up some how along the way, you are not learning anything.

G-Man

Hi guys

So I started stripping the neck and have taken some pics.

What would you guys recommend for the headstock? Think it will look cool if I left it with the natural finish and just applied a transparent decal or should I spray it the same colour as the body once that has been decided?

Was going to use the white as a base coat but it was a pretty uneven spray job, and only one thick coat as it turned out.

Still trying to figure out what the hell the previous owners were trying to do here.

Anyway here are the stripped neck pics

Gearhead

Matching colour headstocks associate with cheap guitars to me, the six piece neck looks more than good enough to go clear lacquer.

Wizard

Stripped & striped ?

My psyche tends to think that paint is there to hide something.
It's a good look.
I support Gearhead's clear lacquer proposal.

G-Man

Jayhell wrote:
Live and learn my man. If you don't f(*& it up some how along the way, you are not learning anything.

Very very true!

Im going to start looking for some decal ideas for the headstock but now some other things to consider.

Would oiling the neck be sufficient as I have used boiled linseed oil previously on my bass build. I never did put a clear coat over it I just applied as many coats of oil as the wood could take. Or should I rather just spray the clear as is? Lots and lots of options. I have been toying with the idea of stripping the body and just leaving in natural but it looks like lots of hard work.