My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

stevesmith1987

stevesmith1987

New member
The Victim!

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So i've had this Peavey Predator for a few years. A coworker of mine gave it to me for working a shift for him. It's been upgraded in and out several times, used on some of my band's recordings, ect. The original owner must of smoked, because it yellowed quite a bit. I was gonna make it white with a white pickguard, so I attempted to sand out the yellow. It was going well, but the finish was much thinner than I expected and I went down into the wood.

So enter this concept.

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So heres the one picture i got of the sanding. Unfortunatley my phone didn't save the 3 I got of it sanded down, the guitar features a poplar body with a alder veneer. I'm unsure what the purpose of the veener is, as far as i know, these were all painted solid, and with the contour the poplar was showing thus making it impossible to make transparent. Does a thin veneer affect the sound?

Anyway: The one picture of my sanding

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And heres coat one! I'm waiting right now for coat two, stay tuned!

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Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

No criticism, just a question.
Are you painting outside, then taking it in to dry.
Reason I ask is I see snow on the ground.

Veneer? Makes no sense to me.
Does nothing for tone, just prettys it up, but if they were painting.....no clue

So far, looks good, like the idea of a green burst.
 
Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

cool! looking forward to seeing this finished!

I'm gonna be refinishing my explorer bass in a silverburst soon. I'm guessing that the black burst edges will be the hardest part.
 
Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

CTN said:
cool! looking forward to seeing this finished!

I'm gonna be refinishing my explorer bass in a silverburst soon. I'm guessing that the black burst edges will be the hardest part.
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Oh I bet. I've got an Agile Explorer copy i've thought about shooting Silverburst, but I may do it in White and Hetfield it.

I've put some of the parts I have paying around on it and I can tell its gonna be sweet. I gotta grab a pearl pickguard and I may go with a set of Tex-Mex strat pups.

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Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

Looking very sweet so far. I love green burst.

I see you've also done a nice green burst on your cymbal stand.
 
Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

First of all, LOVE the thread and the concept. Keep us posted on the progress!

The Peavey Predator, as inexpensive guitars go, is an extremely underappreciated guitar (and modding platform). I have a Raptor Plus I tracked down for like $69 at Guitar Center, and the only thing I'm even changing on it are a TUSQ nut and a GFS Bridge pickup. The single coils are ceramic but they also kick freakin' ass! They are overwound with those oversized pole pieces, and I got a guitar that kind of sounds like it has Texas Specials for about 1/2 the price of what those pickups, alone, would cost.

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The "Predator", like you have, was the predecessor Strat-style guitar (the Raptor is thinner) from Peavey. I think a small guitar shop near me has an Arctic White one on sale for $99, and I freaking want it :)...even though I definitely DON'T need it. Seeing this thread makes me wonder if they still have it.

Question 1: - What website/program did you use to generate that predicted image for what the green refinish job (and other parts) would look like?! I've been looking for something like that to plan out mods!

Question 2: - Are you using Strat-sized replacement pickguards, or something else? I don't believe a Strat pickguard would fit on my Raptor, but the Predator's shape is more similar to a Strat, so perhaps it would!
 
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Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

GuitarDoc said:
Looking very sweet so far. I love green burst.

I see you've also done a nice green burst on your cymbal stand.
Click to expand...

Thats okay, it broke at the top and my drummer left it laying around my house, so it became a refinish stand. :D
 
Re: My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

I typed guitar simulator or something into Google to build that. I beleive I used this program but i'm not 100% sure now.

The pickguard is from my MIM strat. Funny thing is I essentially switched them. I used the original Predator guard on my Strat and the original white one is going on this one.

I'd jump on that $99 Predator. They're great modding platforms.
 
My first refinish project - Peavey Predator makeover extravaganza!

stevesmith1987 said:
I typed guitar simulator or something into Google to build that. I beleive I used this program but i'm not 100% sure now.

The pickguard is from my MIM strat. Funny thing is I essentially switched them. I used the original Predator guard on my Strat and the original white one is going on this one.

I'd jump on that $99 Predator. They're great modding platforms.
Click to expand...

Good to know about the pickguard!
 
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