Refinish opinions & idea's - give me inspiration!

samzadgan

I was going to sell my Monson, but then thought against it as its a really nice guitar and the pickups that @TheGuitarWeasel made for me are amazing.

So, to revamp it, I'm thinking of refinishing it. FYI, the body wood is Cherry...and the neck is maple.

My first thought is to sand back the black and just oil the wood and leave it natural, as it would look nice with black hardware and cream pickups.

Anyone else have any cool idea's?

Guitar pics below...

revsorg

Can you take a photo from behind? I am trying to find out how the back of the neck is finished and how the neck joins to the body. 

samzadgan

revsorg said:

Can you take a photo from behind? I am trying to find out how the back of the neck is finished and how the neck joins to the body. 

@revsorg done...

fandango

I always wonder about people who want to muck around (mod) with their main guitar. Seriously, i would leave well alone and play the socks off it.

You might make a dogs ear of it. You want to take that risk?

samzadgan

fandango said:

I always wonder about people who want to muck around (mod) with their main guitar. Seriously, i would leave well alone and play the socks off it.

You might make a dogs ear of it. You want to take that risk?

its not my main guitar...it sits behind two other guitars...which is why i initially was going to sell it. But given not many people know about these guitars I would have had to sell it for a bargain, which didnt make sense to me.

so i want to refresh the guitar.

Also, the sanding i would do myself, but if i was to refinish in another colour i would get a professional to do it, so i dont screw it up.

Finally as for sanding...the paint is on really thin, so it wont take too much to remove it, and i plan doing it by hand so i dont fuck it up...i dont trust myself with electric sanders, not on guitars anyway

IvisonGuitars

Be careful on the sanding, there are lots of sharp edges on the guitar and a momentary lapse of concentration could lead to oversanding one of them and it might wreck the whole thing.

My main concern would be what lies beneath the black. Any way to tell if it's a one piece body? It might be 2 or 3 pieces of slightly different coloured wood which may not be what you are hoping for. There are exceptions but there's a reason a lot of guitars are sprayed a solid colour.

Not trying to be a naysayer but just a couple of things to think about before you dive in.

Andyjr1515

There's always a risk simply because you never know what's lurking under the paint.

But in terms of ease and risk, your options are probably:

• Sand down, tru-oil slurry and buff.  Low risk, no special tools needed, skills easily learned. Downsides is that cherry is often a bit featureless and that the body is probably multi-section.
• Many members here have been happy with the wudtone products.  Seems to take a bit of practice to get the degree of colour saturation and the wood is considered to need to be completely free of previous coating or filler residue
• Overspray in your chosen colour and clear coat.  Takes practice to get right and needs the right amenities and safety wear.  Probably won't end up looking as good as the black it already is.
• Sand down to bare wood but apply gloss finish.  Learnable skills for varnishing but takes a bit of practice to get it looking right...and gloss shows up every flaw
• Sand down, stain (I use ink but there are plenty of decent commercial stains around) and truoil slurry and buff.  I'm probably one of the few that do this...specific precautions needed to prevent slurring off all the stain, but I personally find it easy and very effective.  Even works for necks and I have regular players with stain-free hands to confirm
• Sand down, stain, gloss finish.  Comments as above ref gloss finishing.
• Sand down, veneer and either tru-oil or gloss, with or without stain.  Needs proven competence on a shape such as this...mainly because of that lower horn.
• Route 10-15mm off top and apply a figured top.  Easier to build or buy a new guitar.

I'm sure those cover most of the options.  I'm sure if I've missed any, there'll soon be folk filling in the gaps

samzadgan

thanks for the thorough detailed response...the wood underneath is 1 piece, but the builder did say it wasnt that attractive, which is why he painted it.

i may get it professionally refinished...but what other colour would suite this guitar?

GavRichList

Kill it with fire 

samzadgan

GavRichList said:

Kill it with fire 

maybe ill go goldtop @GavRichList ;

rlw

How are you going to fill the holes where the bits have fallen off..........

Sassafras

You'll have to come up with something pretty special to make that look acceptable.
  

Loobs

that's the most metal guitar ever

samzadgan

Seafoam green...perloid pickgaurd 

ICBM

It would at least give the opportunity to cut off most of that abomination of a lower horn. With something that echoes the shape of the upper bout it wouldn't look bad at all.

Then refinish it in black.

fandango

samzadgan said:

fandango said:

I always wonder about people who want to muck around (mod) with their main guitar. Seriously, i would leave well alone and play the socks off it.

You might make a dogs ear of it. You want to take that risk?

its not my main guitar...it sits behind two other guitars...which is why i initially was going to sell it. But given not many people know about these guitars I would have had to sell it for a bargain, which didnt make sense to me.

so i want to refresh the guitar.

Also, the sanding i would do myself, but if i was to refinish in another colour i would get a professional to do it, so i dont screw it up.

Finally as for sanding...the paint is on really thin, so it wont take too much to remove it, and i plan doing it by hand so i dont fuck it up...i dont trust myself with electric sanders, not on guitars anyway

Good to know you're not playing with your bread and butter tone machine. I'll sleep easier tonight.

Best of luck with your little project. Why not keep us posted with some as-you-go pics?

revsorg

Surely you're tempted by the Satchel-like finish on the Ibanez RG 565 by Sims Custom Shop.

BloodEagle

Get it cut into the shape of a les paul or strat, refinished in a nice racing green, then maybe learn some mark knopfler or dave gilmour licks to please the boring dad-rockers who,seem to get all harrumphy when something that isn't a design dating from the 50s pops up 

samzadgan

BloodEagle said:

Get it cut into the shape of a les paul or strat, refinished in a nice racing green, then maybe learn some mark knopfler or dave gilmour licks to please the boring dad-rockers who,seem to get all harrumphy when something that isn't a design dating from the 50s pops up 

Haha!

im looking into milk paint or Livos paint, that I can apply with a foam roller to get a textured finish too. Not sure how that will work on the edges...thinking a mid grey on the body...sanding back the neck and leaving it natural, and then putting perloid overlay on the headstock...

Basher

If you're going to the trouble of a refinish, why not make it something unique and personal?

samzadgan

@Basher that doesnt look half bad...could you photo shop a darker grey and a perloid overlay on the headstock??