Restoring my Warmoth LP

Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

KeeperOS said:
Wow, that cleaned up surprisingly nice!!!

I wish to reiterate my suggestion to go with a clear back of body/neck, the grain looks phenomenal IMO.
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That was my plan all along.

Here's what will happen:

BODY:
- Top will get blue dye
- Back and sides will get no dye or tint
- Whole body will get hard clear coat

NECK:
- Front of headstock will get deep brown stain + hard clear coat
- Everything else will get tung oil
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

ratherdashing said:
...Last task was to get a mounting ring screw out whose head broke off. I tried everything I could come up with ... eventually just had to dig it out. Argh... Oh well - that part's under the mounting ring anyway.

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Great project! That flamed top is going to look fantastic when you're done.

I have snapped the heads off many a screw, and stripped the heads of so many others. The one trick that always works for me for extracting damaged wood screws is to grab the head (or shaft) with a pair of vise-grips and then just un-screw it. It can be difficult to do without marring the wood, but the trick has worked for me every time I've needed it.
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

Dr. Vegetable said:
Great project! That flamed top is going to look fantastic when you're done.

I have snapped the heads off many a screw, and stripped the heads of so many others. The one trick that always works for me for extracting damaged wood screws is to grab the head (or shaft) with a pair of vise-grips and then just un-screw it. It can be difficult to do without marring the wood, but the trick has worked for me every time I've needed it.
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Tried that, failed miserably. Also tried loosening it up with oil, and just yelling at it real loud.
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

Try yelling at it through a 4x12, that usually helps with any loose screw or nail in a 20 yard radius, and is rumored to loosen them up to 50. Works great for tooth fillings and against stuffed up ears, too. :D
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

Progress continues!

I took crusty's advice and used lacquer thinner to flush all the remaining paint from the pores of the mahogany. Here's a close-up of the result:

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Here's a block of scrap maple I used for dye testing. The darker one is the one I will use.

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Since I only intend to dye the top, the next step was to brush on a bit of clear coat to seal the edges of the maple. Water-based dye will just bleed right under masking tape, so if you want a clean edge this is the best way to do it. I masked the top to make sure I didn't get poly anywhere I want the dye to soak in.

Photo 2013-02-09 8 32 38 PM.jpg

I just used a little paintbrush to apply the poly. It doesn't matter that it goes over the mahogany a little - it will all be sprayed with clear pretty soon anyway, plus I will sand it level once the dye is done. I used Minwax fast drying clear gloss polyurethane.

Photo 2013-02-09 8 32 49 PM.jpg

Next up: time to dye!
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

First coat of dye! It's Peacock Blue aniline dye from Lee Valley Tools.

Photo 2013-02-10 11 01 50 AM.jpg

After the first coat dried, I sanded it back a bit with the 320 sanding block.

Photo 2013-02-10 11 56 51 AM.jpg

Second coat applied, still a bit wet. It's very close now.

Photo 2013-02-10 12 03 08 PM.jpg
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

Looks mint as good work..There is something so satisfying about doing a custom finish on a guitar.
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

Looks awesome!!!! I was wondering about the binding and how to keep the stain from penetrating into the "binding" - thanks!
 
Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

I let the dye dry overnight before deciding whether or not to do a third coat. Here's the result:

Photo 2013-02-11 4 36 25 PM.jpg

Photo 2013-02-11 4 36 37 PM.jpg

The poly did a great job of keeping the dye out of the maple, but I was a tiny bit sloppy and got some on parts of the mahogany; only tiny traces though. A quick hit with some 220 then 320 along the sides took care of the marks.

Photo 2013-02-11 4 37 33 PM.jpg

My work on the body is now done. It will be shelved awaiting a clear coat (which will be early March last I heard).

Next up is the headstock. That will be much easier, but no less nice.

PS: yes I still have a Christmas table cloth out. Only god can judge me.
 
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Re: Restoring my Warmoth LP

ratherdashing said:
PS: yes I still have a Christmas table cloth out. Only god can judge me.
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Hey, at least you don't still have your lights up...

I hope.


Anyways, that looks killer. Absolutely killer. Are you going to do gold hardware? If not, go for black. Chrome would look... blargh.
 
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