Hey gang. I picked up an 80's NJ (the good kind) Warlock from eBay a couple months ago, covered in dings and full of old electronics and hardware. Now, I want to pimp her beyond all recognition. I want to revamp all the electronics, change up all the hardware, and paint the bastard. So I'd really like some advice here since this will be my first project guitar.
Specifically, I want to install a Kahler 2300 where there once was a Flyer (just a couple screw holes are different here), perhaps get rid of the neck humbucker and fill in the routing, get rid of all the knobs and the pickup selector switch, and possibly reposition the output jack while I'm at it, all before repainting. Since I'm only going to use this axe for high-gain heavy metal, I'm considering getting rid of all controls on the face of the guitar, even a volume knob, possibly in favor of a low-profile kill switch installed on the edge of the guitar where the output jack is, since I never bother with volume anyways. I would like best to reposition the output jack to the back face of the guitar like you see on Brian Moore guitars, so it's out of the way. What I'm going for is a clean look with this axe, at the cost of versatility because I don't intend to use it for very much outside of metal.
Now here's the advice I need:
1. I'm not 100% certain I want to nix the neck humbucker altogether; which pup could I use to accompany a hot bridge pickup like a Dimebucker, in case I want some cleans?
2. What kind of material should I track down for filling in dings, gaps, and perhaps a pickup routing while I'm at it?
3.How should I go about sanding the body?
4. Is automotive paint the way to go, and how many coats is approprate for the primer and base color?
5. I know nothing about applying clearcoat, how many coats I need, or anything. What's the best way to go about it?
If you can help me with any of these issues, I will be greatly in your debt.
For your info, I'm pretty sure the body is alder, neck is maple with rosewood fretboard, the nut is bone and the bridge will be steel. Thank you very much for reading.
Specifically, I want to install a Kahler 2300 where there once was a Flyer (just a couple screw holes are different here), perhaps get rid of the neck humbucker and fill in the routing, get rid of all the knobs and the pickup selector switch, and possibly reposition the output jack while I'm at it, all before repainting. Since I'm only going to use this axe for high-gain heavy metal, I'm considering getting rid of all controls on the face of the guitar, even a volume knob, possibly in favor of a low-profile kill switch installed on the edge of the guitar where the output jack is, since I never bother with volume anyways. I would like best to reposition the output jack to the back face of the guitar like you see on Brian Moore guitars, so it's out of the way. What I'm going for is a clean look with this axe, at the cost of versatility because I don't intend to use it for very much outside of metal.
Now here's the advice I need:
1. I'm not 100% certain I want to nix the neck humbucker altogether; which pup could I use to accompany a hot bridge pickup like a Dimebucker, in case I want some cleans?
2. What kind of material should I track down for filling in dings, gaps, and perhaps a pickup routing while I'm at it?
3.How should I go about sanding the body?
4. Is automotive paint the way to go, and how many coats is approprate for the primer and base color?
5. I know nothing about applying clearcoat, how many coats I need, or anything. What's the best way to go about it?
If you can help me with any of these issues, I will be greatly in your debt.
For your info, I'm pretty sure the body is alder, neck is maple with rosewood fretboard, the nut is bone and the bridge will be steel. Thank you very much for reading.
