RG7421XL refinishing

klutvott · 01-09-2009, 07:04 PM

Some of you might remember this guitar. I bought it from zimbloth a while back. The guitar is awesome and actually looked pretty good as it was but it had some damages to the paint and i thought it would look much better in black. Before starting the painting i did some modifications. It now has a new hipshot bridge, neutrik jacksocket and new string ferrules(i lost some of the old ones lol). It will also be getting straplocks.
This is the first time i'm doing this but so far i think it's starting to look pretty good. It's not done yet but i'm almost there. I will be updating with new pictures as i go along.

This is what it looked like before. Most of the paint chips are on the back.

Hipshot bridge:

Neutrik jacksocket:

New logo:

Everything else:

Sanding off the old paint.

Fast forward. All holes and dings filled in. Done with masking

Headstock. Sanded and masked. I have also applied sealer

Sealer on body

Primer

More Primer

First black coat

5-6 more black coats

Headstock with new logo

Protection

First clearcoat on headstock. shiiiiiiny

First clearcoat on body.

Headstock wetsanded, buffed and polished.

I have sanded the body with 320 and 400 grit.

Done with the sanding and started polishing the body. I'm using Colortone medium and fine polishing compound.

IT HURTS!

It's done.

I think it looks pretty good. Some flaws here and there but it's ok. I have definitely learned ALOT and if i do this again i'm sure i will do a much better job.

djpharoah · 01-09-2009, 07:06 PM

Thats pretty gangsta

Rick · 01-09-2009, 08:01 PM

So far, so good!

gatesofcarnage · 01-09-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djpharoah

Thats pretty gangsta

.........

ZeroSignal · 01-09-2009, 08:05 PM

Looking good, bro! Keep us up to date!

Where did you get that Hipshot bridge and how much did it cost?

EDIT: Never mind! I found out! Silly me!

Bobo · 01-09-2009, 08:06 PM

Black is beautiful....just don't scratch it heh. Why the bridge change?

Wi77iam · 01-09-2009, 08:19 PM

yes i love black guitars, ibanez should have made all their guitars available in black this year.. black is just f**ken metal !!

Elysian · 01-09-2009, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by william93

yes i love black guitars, ibanez should have made all their guitars available in black this year.. black is just f**ken metal !!

more like boring

i'm glad this one has the green accents, thats a huge improvement over just plain ol black. should dye the fretboard black and green dot the board too...

Wi77iam · 01-09-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian

more like boring

i'm glad this one has the green accents, thats a huge improvement over just plain ol black. should dye the fretboard black and green dot the board too...

no, you should have given it a black ibanez logo, black pickups and dye the fretboard black and black dot the board

BLAAAAAAAAACKKKK!

Harry · 01-09-2009, 11:12 PM

Looks fantastic dude, good work

klutvott · 01-10-2009, 09:18 AM

Thanks guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeroSignal

Looking good, bro! Keep us up to date!

Where did you get that Hipshot bridge and how much did it cost?

EDIT: Never mind! I found out! Silly me!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

Black is beautiful....just don't scratch it heh. Why the bridge change?

For several reasons. The old one had some rust and i really wanted a higher quality bridge. The hipshot feels better, looks better and sounds better IMO. It has a clearer, brighter sound and gives the guitar a little more twang(which i like).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian

more like boring

i'm glad this one has the green accents, thats a huge improvement over just plain ol black. should dye the fretboard black and green dot the board too...

If it wasn't for the green stuff i would probably not paint it black.
I like the contrast between black and green. Makes it look almost like a universe.
Black fretboard with green dots would be awesome but i don't know how to change the dots.

Mr. S · 01-10-2009, 09:28 AM

Epic man

Neil · 01-10-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

Black is beautiful....just don't scratch it heh. Why the bridge change?

Personally I think any hardtail that isnt a hipshot looks tacky, hipshots are damn sexy

Sweet guitar man, nice work!

vampiregenocide · 01-10-2009, 10:49 AM

Looking awesome, I look forward to seeing it all put together.

Stengah_2012 · 01-10-2009, 11:11 AM

That looks really, really good man, especially for your first refinish.

Did you wet sand the body/headstock between coats?

Ippon · 01-10-2009, 11:12 AM

Sweet refinish! Will the headstock logo have the "check" thingy?

Izebecool · 01-10-2009, 12:16 PM

Lookin good! Cant wait to see what it looks like when its done.

Bobo · 01-10-2009, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klutvott

For several reasons. The old one had some rust and i really wanted a higher quality bridge. The hipshot feels better, looks better and sounds better IMO. It has a clearer, brighter sound and gives the guitar a little more twang(which i like).

I was considering changing a bridge on one of my guitars, and it seems like Hipshot gets a lot of love. I do like the looks of their bridges too.

I guess the stainless steel saddles should give a little more highs (like SS frets?), and that'd probably be a good match for my mahogany guitar

But of course how to swap from a trem to a hardtail may be more difficult than what I'd want to attempt.

Elysian · 01-10-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

I was considering changing a bridge on one of my guitars, and it seems like Hipshot gets a lot of love. I do like the looks of their bridges too.

I guess the stainless steel saddles should give a little more highs (like SS frets?), and that'd probably be a good match for my mahogany guitar

But of course how to swap from a trem to a hardtail may be more difficult than what I'd want to attempt.

yeah, swapping from trem to hardtail is no easy task, you're almost better off just buying a hard tail guitar, unless you just love the guitar that much you're ok with doing the work or having it done. i've done it before, and it is definitely no fun. have you considered a tremel-no?

Bobo · 01-10-2009, 01:15 PM

I've yet to look closely into tremelo-no. I figured it's about $50, and bridge is about $100, if the work to change it isn't too much, maybe the bridge is the better deal. I have some friends who do a lot of wood work, but not sure they've done any guitar stuff.

Trems can be a bit of a pain, and I never use them, but I love everything else about this guitar.

Elysian · 01-10-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

I've yet to look closely into tremelo-no. I figured it's about $50, and bridge is about $100, if the work to change it isn't too much, maybe the bridge is the better deal. I have some friends who do a lot of wood work, but not sure they've done any guitar stuff.

Trems can be a bit of a pain, and I never use them, but I love everything else about this guitar.

tremel-no is the better route, because its reversable if you ever figure on selling it, and when the tremel-no is in full lock, the difference is huge, and its almost as good as having a string through fixed bridge. to make a trem guitar a fixed bridge you have to fill the back cavity and the top recess for the trem, as well as the in between area where the sustain block goes, its a bunch of work, and unless its done for free, it gets to be pretty pricey.

klutvott · 01-10-2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stengah_2012

That looks really, really good man, especially for your first refinish.

Did you wet sand the body/headstock between coats?

No wetsanding. The only sanding i've done is sanding of small runs etc. Wetsanding/buffing will be my last step.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ippon

Sweet refinish! Will the headstock logo have the "check" thingy?

No "check". I have considered it carefully and decided that i wanted just the letters. Originally i planned to do it without a logo. Didn't know i could actually buy them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

I was considering changing a bridge on one of my guitars, and it seems like Hipshot gets a lot of love. I do like the looks of their bridges too.

I guess the stainless steel saddles should give a little more highs (like SS frets?), and that'd probably be a good match for my mahogany guitar

But of course how to swap from a trem to a hardtail may be more difficult than what I'd want to attempt.

Right. It gives it a little more highs. It was a pain in the ass just to swap the Ibanez bridge to this one. Every hole had to be drilled and the holes through the body for the strings came out aaaalmost inside the old ones. I had to fill it and drill it, fill it again, sand, fill, sand and more filling and sanding.

For a trem i would just go with the tremol-no. It will feel like a hardtail and sound more like a hardtail. I have one on my rg7420 and it works perfectly.

First post updated with a couple of new pictures. I have sanded down some small runs that were left on the body and covered it with another black coat.
I have also sprayed one coat of clear on the headstock.

Bobo · 01-10-2009, 03:11 PM

Well sorry to kinda derail the thread, but thanks for the info Elysian and klutvott

Mattmc74 · 01-10-2009, 03:15 PM

Nice! Its going to look like my guitar now! Black and green looks sweet!

klutvott · 01-10-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo

Well sorry to kinda derail the thread, but thanks for the info Elysian and klutvott

No problem, man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattmc74

Nice! Its going to look like my guitar now! Black and green looks sweet!

I saw your pictures of it. looks very nice!

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01-09-2009, 07:04 PM	#1
klutvott SS.org Regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tromsø, Troms, Norway Posts: 565 Thanked: 5 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	RG7421XL refinishing(IT'S DONE!) Some of you might remember this guitar. I bought it from zimbloth a while back. The guitar is awesome and actually looked pretty good as it was but it had some damages to the paint and i thought it would look much better in black. Before starting the painting i did some modifications. It now has a new hipshot bridge, neutrik jacksocket and new string ferrules(i lost some of the old ones lol). It will also be getting straplocks. This is the first time i'm doing this but so far i think it's starting to look pretty good. It's not done yet but i'm almost there. I will be updating with new pictures as i go along. This is what it looked like before. Most of the paint chips are on the back. Hipshot bridge: Neutrik jacksocket: New logo: Everything else: Sanding off the old paint. Fast forward. All holes and dings filled in. Done with masking Headstock. Sanded and masked. I have also applied sealer Sealer on body Primer More Primer First black coat 5-6 more black coats Headstock with new logo Protection First clearcoat on headstock. shiiiiiiny First clearcoat on body. Headstock wetsanded, buffed and polished. I have sanded the body with 320 and 400 grit. Done with the sanding and started polishing the body. I'm using Colortone medium and fine polishing compound. IT HURTS! It's done. I think it looks pretty good. Some flaws here and there but it's ok. I have definitely learned ALOT and if i do this again i'm sure i will do a much better job. Last edited by klutvott; 02-17-2009 at 06:53 AM. Reason: IT'S DONE

01-09-2009, 08:01 PM	#3
Rick SENSUAL CAPTAIN Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 16,113 Thanked: 101 Feedback Score: 6 reviews	So far, so good! Head of Agile Gestapo Line 6 XDS95-->Line 6 POD X3 Pro-->Matrix GT800FX-->Line 6 Spidervalve 4x12 cabinet https://www.facebook.com/thealphaandtheomegamusic

01-09-2009, 08:05 PM	#5
ZeroSignal Appreciates Kwolity Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 7,108 Thanked: 71 Feedback Score: 4 reviews	Looking good, bro! Keep us up to date! Where did you get that Hipshot bridge and how much did it cost? EDIT: Never mind! I found out! Silly me! "I'm back, babeh!" ಠ_ಠ

01-10-2009, 09:28 AM	#12
Mr. S tacos? Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 2,566 Thanked: 29 Feedback Score: 7 reviews	Epic man Knights that say

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01-09-2009, 07:06 PM	#2
djpharoah Awwww Yeaaaah • Super Moderator • Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Cali' Posts: 13,175 Thanked: 320 Feedback Score: 117 reviews	Thats pretty gangsta

01-09-2009, 08:06 PM	#6
Bobo SS.org Regular Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: TN Posts: 1,743 Thanked: 20 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Black is beautiful....just don't scratch it heh. Why the bridge change?

01-09-2009, 08:19 PM	#7
Wi77iam Ibanez fanboi Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,739 Thanked: 20 Feedback Score: 8 reviews	yes i love black guitars, ibanez should have made all their guitars available in black this year.. black is just f**ken metal !!

01-09-2009, 11:12 PM	#10
Harry Doom man of Doom. Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Greater Melbourne metropolitan area, Australia Posts: 8,246 Thanked: 59 $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ $Harry is rather kvlt and tr00. \m/$ Feedback Score: 4 reviews	Looks fantastic dude, good work

01-10-2009, 10:49 AM	#14
vampiregenocide A Chap Called Ross Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hertfordshire, England Posts: 15,096 Thanked: 273 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Looking awesome, I look forward to seeing it all put together. My Photography Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/rosswildishphotography Dissonant Media - The news source for new alternate/progressive music! Check us out: http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Sawbridgeworth-United-Kingdom/Dissonant-Media/126448677394107 http://www.youtube.com/user/DissonantMedia#p/a http://dissonantmedia.tumblr.com/

01-10-2009, 11:11 AM	#15
Stengah_2012 Major League Infidel Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Tempe, AZ Posts: 427 Thanked: 2 Feedback Score: 0 reviews	That looks really, really good man, especially for your first refinish. Did you wet sand the body/headstock between coats? Eat healthy, exercise hard, and die anyway.

01-10-2009, 11:12 AM	#16
Ippon INTJ Grappler Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: USA Posts: 176 Thanked: 0 Feedback Score: 3 reviews	Sweet refinish! Will the headstock logo have the "check" thingy?

01-10-2009, 12:16 PM	#17
Izebecool DeathShredder Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Statesboro, GA Posts: 378 Thanked: 12 Feedback Score: 10 reviews	Lookin good! Cant wait to see what it looks like when its done.

01-10-2009, 01:15 PM	#20
Bobo SS.org Regular Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: TN Posts: 1,743 Thanked: 20 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	I've yet to look closely into tremelo-no. I figured it's about $50, and bridge is about $100, if the work to change it isn't too much, maybe the bridge is the better deal. I have some friends who do a lot of wood work, but not sure they've done any guitar stuff. Trems can be a bit of a pain, and I never use them, but I love everything else about this guitar.

01-10-2009, 03:11 PM	#23
Bobo SS.org Regular Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: TN Posts: 1,743 Thanked: 20 Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Well sorry to kinda derail the thread, but thanks for the info Elysian and klutvott

01-10-2009, 03:15 PM	#24
Mattmc74 SS Contributor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bay City, Michigan Posts: 13,939 Thanked: 325 Feedback Score: 14 reviews	Nice! Its going to look like my guitar now! Black and green looks sweet!

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