# Rgt6exfx first time refinishing



## steve1 (Apr 1, 2011)

I've been umm-ing and ahhh-ing about whether to strip my rgt6exfx back to a natural finish since i first found this site and was inspired by the great jobs some of you guys have done. 

So last night I attacked the back of it with some sandpaper in a small spot to ruin the finish enough to make me have to commit to the job.

My plan for today is to work on the back and see how it goes, as this is my first attempt I will be taking my time about things.

Im currently waiting for some paint stripper to do its magic on a test spot.

If anyone has any tips, I'm probably going to need them 

I'll update with pics when i've made some progress/destruction


----------



## steve1 (Apr 1, 2011)

so...paint stripper removed approximately three molecules of paint  

Sandpapering is going....slowly.


----------



## sk3ks1s (Apr 1, 2011)

Just wait til you get to the inside of the horns... fun.


----------



## MrMcSick (Apr 1, 2011)

Paint stripper does nothing to guitar paints. Get yourself a dual action air sander and a big compressor and it will take no more than 20 mins to do the front and back of the guitar done all the way. Inside the horns fn sucks to sand. Good luck and keep posting pics.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 1, 2011)

sk3ks1s said:


> Just wait til you get to the inside of the horns... fun.



I'm contemplating leaving the sides and the neck black, depending on how it looks and how lazy I feel.



MrMcSick said:


> Paint stripper does nothing to guitar paints. Get yourself a dual action air sander and a big compressor and it will take no more than 20 mins to do the front and back of the guitar done all the way. Inside the horns fn sucks to sand. Good luck and keep posting pics.



I don't really want to spend the money on equipment, I'll see if anyone i know has something i can borrow, or maybe hire something.

thanks for the advice.

I've definately jumped into this without much pre-planning, right now i'm thinking i should have started on the front, and *only* done the front lol


----------



## MrMcSick (Apr 1, 2011)

hahaha I left the sides and the headstock painted on my bass due to lazyness. It doesn't look so bad. Defintely try to borrow that stuff, no need to buy it if your never going to use it again. It sucks when you come to the point of realization of how much time this task is going to take and regret ever starting lol.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 1, 2011)

Not a massive amount of progression but i'm done for today. Work resumes tomorrow when i've got a mask, i've breathed enough dust for one day.
It feels a little strange unleashing hell with sand paper after years of trying to treat my guitars carefully


----------



## steve1 (Apr 2, 2011)

Feels like a pointless update, I'm still not progressing very quickly but heres where i'm at


----------



## astm (Apr 2, 2011)

wow!

it actually looks really nice!


----------



## MaxStatic (Apr 2, 2011)

Keep at it, looks like the wood under there is puurdy. it will be worth it in the end.


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 2, 2011)

Always wanted to see how the wood looks underneath the paint on these guitars! Turns out it looks really good  I wanna see how this turns out!


----------



## jymellis (Apr 2, 2011)

fire will take that paint right off


----------



## BlackMastodon (Apr 2, 2011)

I think that would look really good if you manage to strip all the paint off. Though that would be a ton of work.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 2, 2011)

So, a long way to go but reaching this point feels like a little victory 






I thought I'd share what i have learnt so far:

1. Wrapping up the wiring, selector switch and pots with a plactic bag because you don't want the hassle of doing a bit of soldering is counter productive. everything is going to need a super mega clean, and I've broken some solder joints on the selector switch anyway.

2. Manic sanding with all of your strength leads to nothing but arm ache and more damage to the sand paper than the paint. This is a marathon not a sprint. For reasons I cant explain on some tough spots being super gentle was more effective than sanding the shit out of it.

3. Don't pick the guitar up by the neck (which you havent decided whether you're going to strip down or not yet) with the same hand that you are holding your sand paper with.

4. Only work when you're in a good mood, put some music on and enjoy it.

Thanks for the comments guys, I hope i can do this guitar justice and give it a decent finish.


----------



## le_meneghini (Apr 2, 2011)

will be beautiful guitar with just finishing with varnish, will highlight the Neck-thru.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 2, 2011)

le_meneghini said:


> will be beautiful guitar with just finishing with varnish, will highlight the Neck-thru.



I've been wondering about this, I jumped into doing this without a plan. I think i want to keep it as natural as possible, or maybe a really subtle stain or something. If anyone has suggestions and product recommendations I'd love to hear your ideas.


----------



## JamesM (Apr 2, 2011)

Orange stain.


----------



## TRENCHLORD (Apr 3, 2011)

Maybe Thompsons water seal?


----------



## MrMcSick (Apr 3, 2011)

Looking good. I just used this minwax rub on stain/sealer in walnut. Put about 5 coats on and then did about 3 coats of spray can satin polyeurothane. Poly took at least a full day to dry though.


----------



## devolutionary (Apr 3, 2011)

Oh my, I'm working on stripping my warlock back right now, but you're getting me tempted to work on the RGT as well...


----------



## TRENCHLORD (Apr 3, 2011)

Nice to see what that 5-piece neck looks like underneath. I have RGT HRG1 with H.R. GIGER paintjob.


----------



## apiss (Apr 5, 2011)

Looking good there, man!

I can't wait to see the whole guitar stripped! From the pictures of the stripped back, I'm expecting good end results of this project!

Damn, this thread makes me wanna find a used RGT6EXFX just for the sake of stripping it down!


----------



## musikizlife (Apr 5, 2011)

Wow the wood that lies beneath is really nice, cant wait to see how this comes out!


----------



## youheardme (Apr 6, 2011)

Awesome... i'm gonna keep an eye on this one


----------



## steve1 (Apr 6, 2011)

I've finally got round to starting on the front this evening, I'll post some pics in a bit


----------



## steve1 (Apr 6, 2011)

apiss said:


> Damn, this thread makes me wanna find a used RGT6EXFX just for the sake of stripping it down!



I actually found this one in the second hand section of my local shop at a pretty damn good price, it was absolutely mint, didnt look like it had ever been played. not that it matters now lol
If you can find one at a reasonable price I'd say give it a go.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 6, 2011)

I started on the front this evening, just couldn't find the energy to get rid of the last couple of areas of paint.







I'm really happy with the results so far 

Now it is time for beer.


----------



## theo (Apr 6, 2011)

mmm tasty!


----------



## adrock (Apr 6, 2011)

dude, that wood look gorgeous under the finish. keep it up man


----------



## BlackMastodon (Apr 6, 2011)

Almost there!


----------



## S-O (Apr 6, 2011)

SAND THE NECK!

Lookin good man!


----------



## steve1 (Apr 6, 2011)

S-O said:


> SAND THE NECK!
> 
> Lookin good man!



I dunno, I'm nervous about messing up the feel of the neck. Sure i can sand paint, but i don't know if I'm any good at getting a nice smooth final finish yet. I guess I'll keep working on the body and see where my confidence is once i've sanded to finer grits etc.


----------



## S-O (Apr 6, 2011)

steve1 said:


> I dunno, I'm nervous about messing up the feel of the neck. Sure i can sand paint, but i don't know if I'm any good at getting a nice smooth final finish yet. I guess I'll keep working on the body and see where my confidence is once i've sanded to finer grits etc.



Tru-oil ought to do you right, provided you dig that kind of finish.


----------



## jmvirgil (Apr 8, 2011)

Wow this is looking great! I'm actually starting this process on my s430II and I agree... the sanding is a pain-in-the-ass, but it definitely provides the best and cleanest result. I'm going to attempt a dragonburst with a blackburst finish on mine. This would look sick with a good blackburst!


----------



## simonXsludge (Apr 8, 2011)

steve1 said:


>


who could have thought that those are looking that nice under the paint. i'd love to get one, just to refinish it, hahaha.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 8, 2011)

shitsøn;2424384 said:


> who could have thought that those are looking that nice under the paint. i'd love to get one, just to refinish it, hahaha.



I know! why the hell do they slap boring black paint on these things?!


----------



## simonXsludge (Apr 9, 2011)

steve1 said:


> I know! why the hell do they slap boring black paint on these things?!


that is a very good question. it will look ten times better with just an oil finish, any stain or even just clear coat. excited about updates, man! good luck with the project. i'd love to see it all stripped.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 10, 2011)

I can't tell you how good it feels to be covered in sawdust rather than paint dust. Still don't know if I'm going to do the sides and neck, I'm struggling to find the time to work on it and as this is my main guitar I want it up and running again asap. Will post a pic when I've cleaned up and all that jazz


----------



## steve1 (Apr 10, 2011)

slowly but surely getting there....


----------



## Dionysian (Apr 10, 2011)

steve1 said:


> slowly but surely getting there....



Looking really, really, really great man! I fucking love my RGT6EXFX to bits man, although I hate the fact that it's a boringly black guitar. I would love to refinish it. Mine is an older model though, it has basswood wings instead of mahogany, wonder if it looks as good.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 10, 2011)

Eskil Rask said:


> Looking really, really, really great man! I fucking love my RGT6EXFX to bits man, although I hate the fact that it's a boringly black guitar. I would love to refinish it. Mine is an older model though, it has basswood wings instead of mahogany, wonder if it looks as good.



Only one way to find out


----------



## devolutionary (Apr 10, 2011)

To be fair, that guitar almost deserves the black with white binding treatment based on its actual specs. Saying that, the mahogany is a nice look with the neck through. It reminds me of an Aria bass we used to have with red stained maple wings and oil finish on the neck through. Looked glorious. Could do something similar here.


----------



## adrock (Apr 10, 2011)

I know you're probably dying to play it again. but that wood looks so good under the finish, I really think you should strip the whole thing...


----------



## Dionysian (Apr 11, 2011)

adrock said:


> I know you're probably dying to play it again. but that wood looks so good under the finish, I really think you should strip the whole thing...



Agreed. Not to mention the fact that the neck is going to be both thinner and less sticky when you've peeled off the paint.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 11, 2011)

S-O said:


> SAND THE NECK!





adrock said:


> I really think you should strip the whole thing...





Eskil Rask said:


> Agreed. Not to mention the fact that the neck is going to be both thinner and less sticky when you've peeled off the paint.


















working on it, seems silly to put all the effort in and give up on the neck and sides.

its tempting to start on the blackjack at some point too.....


----------



## S-O (Apr 11, 2011)

Oh man, looking killer! Tru-oil it all up!


----------



## BlackMastodon (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes, this pleases me.


----------



## powerofze (Apr 11, 2011)

Makes me want to strip mine down! But I have the blue chameleon finish..Hmm such dilemmas or i could sell it to one of you folks


----------



## adrock (Apr 11, 2011)

yes!! that looks so damn good man. these guitars are the reason I started building, it's great to see them in their natural beauty. not covered with a layer of black paint.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Apr 11, 2011)

Is the discolouration in the wood because of the sealer?


----------



## cerfew (Apr 12, 2011)

BlackMastodon said:


> Is the discolouration in the wood because of the sealer?



Yeah- the sealer is the darker parts. Had that same issue when I refinshed my friend's ibanez. I swear, the sealer is harder to get through than the paint itself.


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 12, 2011)

^ Sealer is a pain in the ass. It can be really thick on some guitars, and, since a small part of it is absorbed by the wood, you gotta sand down the wood itself in order to completely get rid of it.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 12, 2011)

Yeah the sealer is being a bitch, it creates a shit ton of white dust that clogs up the sandpaper really quick. It's coming along though. Currently struggling with the contours at the heel of the neck, then I'll be attacking the inside of the horns. Wish me luck....updates later tonight


----------



## steve1 (Apr 14, 2011)

Progress has been slow, but I've taken tomorrow off work and I hope to get the guitar ready for finishing at the weekend. My local store only has teak oil, Linseed oil and varnish. I believe the oils have additives for faster drying, maybe oil based wiping varnish rather than pure oil?

Any opinions on these finishes? Linseed looks like it would give a darker colour, teak looks like it would give a more yellowy finish. If I go for varnish it will be satin.

Any thoughts?

I can travel to a bigger store if anyone has suggestions for products that are widely available in DIY stores


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 14, 2011)

I used Formby's Tung Oil to finish my Washburn's neck, and it feels godly smooth. I seriously recommend searching for that one


----------



## theo (Apr 14, 2011)

Tung or Tru oil are probably going to be the two most suggested finishes, look em up and make your choice


----------



## steve1 (Apr 15, 2011)

Well my plan.to get the guitar ready for finishing failed miserably. My day off got filled with mundane bullshit instead. I did get my finishing product though. I chose Danish oil. Was going to get tung oil but with a 24 hour drying time and the need for let's say at least 3 coats, I thought no, fuck that. Fuck that to hell and back, and then back to hell again.

Feeling pretty frustrated, but tomorrow is another day. Hopefully a good one.


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 15, 2011)

^ I agree on the drying time for tung oil. But it depends on the brand and the chemical composition of the oil. The more "drying agents" it has, the faster it dries. Formby's, if I remember correctly, takes about 12 hours to dry each coat, and I applied 4 coats of it.

I hear good things of Danish oil, too, and I really want to try it some day. Isn't Danish oil what's used on Blackmachines? For some reason, I have the idea that I read that somewhere before.

EDIT: Don't worry, once you start applying coats of oil it becomes much easier. Just buff out with a little steel wool, apply, and then wait for it to dry. It takes time, but the prize is sooooo worth it


----------



## ibanezRG1527 (Apr 16, 2011)

ive got an idea. what about putting a vaneer over the wings only (like, some quilted maple) and stain the wings one color and just out some oil on the neck thru part? i think it would look killer. matching headstock as well (flamed maple or the walnut stripes. whatever floats your boat)


----------



## Thep (Apr 16, 2011)

I'm really considering doing the same for my RGT42. Did you have any trouble with sanding the clear from the neck when it goes over the binding?


----------



## CrushingAnvil (Apr 17, 2011)

This looks great. The guitar looks far more valuable


----------



## steve1 (Apr 17, 2011)

Thep said:


> I'm really considering doing the same for my RGT42. Did you have any trouble with sanding the clear from the neck when it goes over the binding?


 I'll be honest, I tried to do that bit carefully but then gave up and took a more violent approach but with a finer grit paper



CrushingAnvil said:


> This looks great. The guitar looks far more valuable



Haha I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to sell it


----------



## Thep (Apr 17, 2011)

steve1 said:


> I'll be honest, I tried to do that bit carefully but then gave up and took a more violent approach but with a finer grit paper



Any chance of pics of that area? How did it turn out?


----------



## steve1 (Apr 17, 2011)

Thep said:


> Any chance of pics of that area? How did it turn out?














its not too bad, obviously the careful approach would be better though


----------



## simonXsludge (Apr 18, 2011)

^i was curious to see how that would turn out. its not too bad, dunno how one could have done much better.


----------



## MikeH (Apr 18, 2011)

Reminds me of my favorite RGT.


----------



## theo (Apr 18, 2011)

that looks lovely! is that a tung oil finish?


----------



## steve1 (Apr 19, 2011)

Easter is coming, that means a four day weekend, which means i might actually get this damn guitar finished.

For the first time in my life I'd like to say a big thankyou to Jesus for dying for ours sins to give us this holiday. Cheers Jesus


----------



## Dionysian (Apr 23, 2011)

This thread needs moar pics!!!


----------



## steve1 (Apr 23, 2011)

Eskil Rask said:


> This thread needs moar pics!!!



i know i know  i'll post new pics tomorrow. just got the insides of the horns to do and a few spots of sealer that are being a bitch. I didn't want to post more pics till I'd got to a significant stage.


----------



## ShiftKey (Apr 23, 2011)

steve1 said:


> Easter is coming, that means a four day weekend, which means i might actually get this damn guitar finished.
> 
> For the first time in my life I'd like to say a big thankyou to Jesus for dying for ours sins to give us this holiday. Cheers Jesus


We get next Friday off for the royal wedding as well...the only thing about the wedding I paid attention to...hehe 2 four day weekends in a row in the U.K. from now on!!!!


----------



## steve1 (Apr 23, 2011)

i made the mistake of telling my boss that i dont give a crap about the royal wedding, now he wants me to work that day


----------



## ShiftKey (Apr 23, 2011)

Well thats you Shankled then


----------



## adrock (Apr 23, 2011)

all i can say is, don't rush the finish. let the coats dry plenty if they need to, or you'll have way bigger problems in the end.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 24, 2011)




----------



## aiur55 (Apr 24, 2011)

Looking good, almost there!


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 24, 2011)

Looking great so far  that sealer is a pain in the ass!

Also, if you're planning on sanding the headstock... Good luck. The tight curves and angles where the headstock joins with the neck are small, but they're freakin' hard to reach.


----------



## steve1 (Apr 24, 2011)

Alberto7 said:


> Looking great so far  that sealer is a pain in the ass!
> 
> Also, if you're planning on sanding the headstock... Good luck. The tight curves and angles where the headstock joins with the neck are small, but they're freakin' hard to reach.



headstock is staying black  i dont want to sand off the serial number and stuff. just in case i ever sell it. and i hate sanding near binding 

hoping to have it ready for the first coat of oil tomorrow


----------



## Alberto7 (Apr 24, 2011)

steve1 said:


> headstock is staying black  i dont want to sand off the serial number and stuff. just in case i ever sell it. and i hate sanding near binding
> 
> hoping to have it ready for the first coat of oil tomorrow



Haha good! I did it on mine, and, not only did I lose the serial number (thank God I took photos of it before sanding it off), but my fingers hurt for quite a while after doing it, and I almost sanded through the binding.

I want to see this finished already


----------



## MaxStatic (Apr 24, 2011)

Umm.....will it have my babies?


----------



## theo (Apr 26, 2011)

bump for progress!


----------



## Tristoner7 (May 1, 2011)

Cant wait for this to be done !


----------



## ZXIIIT (May 1, 2011)

Looking good !

You should try something like this on the headstock






Maybe end where the volute starts? just a suggestion for a smoother transition into the painted area.


----------



## Pikka Bird (May 1, 2011)

^Yes, do that. No choice, just do it.

And don't wuss out on that sealer. Show it who's boss. I've sanded my Cort down completely and thankfully it didn't have too much filler. The veneer front, on the other hand... Talk about gumming up the paper. This was the case on my friend's Ibanez SAS32FM too. Veneer fronts are apparently soaked through with glue, so it's impossible to get through without clogging up lots and lots of paper.


----------



## steve1 (May 16, 2011)

its been a long time, but yesterday i finally got that sweet taste of dust in my mouth again.

This guitar gets finished at the weekend.


----------



## BlackMastodon (May 17, 2011)

steve1 said:


> its been a long time, but yesterday i finally got that *sweet* taste of dust in my mouth again.
> 
> This guitar gets finished at the weekend.



Not how I would describe it . Glad to see updates though.


----------



## Metalus (May 17, 2011)

Cant wait to see the finished result


----------



## Ryan-ZenGtr- (May 17, 2011)

Project Guitar.com :: Guitar Project.com

bit late now, 'spose.


----------



## LetsMosey (May 18, 2011)

This thread is full of so much win. I want to see more pics!! 

I'm in the process of refinishing my oldschool Ibanez s430II, so I love getting ideas from these threads you guys make.


----------



## Diggy (May 18, 2011)

Very Nice! I did my ESP LTD M307 couple years ago..got lazy and left the neck and inner horns finished tho.


----------



## steve1 (May 20, 2011)

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this won't be finished any time soon http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...ight-through-my-neck-f-ing-angry-content.html

edit: unforeseen circumstances were dealt with quicker than expected


----------



## steve1 (May 22, 2011)

First coat of oil is frying now 






edit: lol at my typo. drying, definately drying. no frying involved.


----------



## Reion (May 22, 2011)

That looks really good!


----------



## Solodini (May 22, 2011)

That looks SO much better! Congrats on your hard work. It looks like it paid off.


----------



## BlackMastodon (May 22, 2011)

Once again this begs the question: why in all holy hell do they paint these guitars entirely black? Looks awesome dude.


----------



## simonXsludge (May 24, 2011)

steve1 said:


>


hot, damn!


----------



## Hyliannightmare (May 24, 2011)

that is going to look great man, keep it up and keep posting all those pics


----------



## Mindcrime1204 (May 24, 2011)

Really happy to see you tackle the neck problem like you did, looks great!


----------



## steve1 (May 24, 2011)

thanks guys.

I actually reassembled the guitar so i could test whether the truss rod would stay in the neck when under tension. I'm glad to say that it was fine.

I won't post pics yet, still got a couple more coats of oil to do. I don't want to post a pic of it all built up now, it feels like it would take away from the excitement of seeing it actually finished lol


----------



## MaxStatic (May 24, 2011)

Looking really good, glad to hear the truss rod situation has been resolved.


----------



## steve1 (May 28, 2011)

Quick update. I did two coats of oil last week, my mum warned me that Danish oil drys with a slightly tacky feel to it. And it has. Whether that's because I've wrong, I don't know. 

Anyway, I've gently sanded and the stickiness seems to have gone and I'm finishing it off with a couple of coats of satin varnish. First coat is drying now.

Now I need to go buy some Allen keys, typically the one I need is the one missing from my set. I totally didn't think about the fact that getting rid of the paint would fuck up the action on the guitar lol


----------



## Curt (May 28, 2011)

sometimes the most minute things can mess a guitar up, it seems.

as for the allen keys. i'm ALWAYS missing the one I need to restring my floyd equipped guitars. >.>


----------



## steve1 (May 28, 2011)

I was nervous how the varnish would feel on the neck, but it feels great! Second coat of varnish is drying now. Might do a couple more as drying time is so fast.


----------



## steve1 (May 28, 2011)

Its finished!






















will try to get better quality pictures later, I'm off to play the damn thing first


----------



## Solodini (May 28, 2011)

Now you just need to ditch the EMGs 

Can we get a shot of the back of the headstock to properly see what you did with the volute?


----------



## steve1 (May 28, 2011)

Solodini said:


> Now you just need to ditch the EMGs
> 
> Can we get a shot of the back of the headstock to properly see what you did with the volute?



i kept things nice and simple


----------



## Solodini (May 28, 2011)

It looks like your guitar's wearing a mud pack... not that I'd know what one of those looks like...


----------



## theo (May 29, 2011)

AWESOME work man, looks stunning.


----------



## ZXIIIT (May 30, 2011)

You ended up taking off the serial number and model? might as well sand the black off the back off the headstock lol

Looks good man.


----------



## steve1 (May 30, 2011)

ZOMB13 said:


> You ended up taking off the serial number and model? might as well sand the black off the back off the headstock lol
> 
> Looks good man.



yeah, i managed to scratch up the back of the head stock while sanding the neck so i just gently sanded the scratches away lol 

I figured there's no way i'll be selling it so I don't need the serial number.

I'm fairly happy with it despite numerous imperfections (and one blindingly obvious filled hole in the neck), its by no means a good refinish 

Next time I want a guitar with a natural finish, I'll buy a guitar with a natural finish.


----------



## scherzo1928 (May 30, 2011)

Looks awesome! Great job man, and great save with the truss rod thing.


----------



## simonXsludge (May 30, 2011)

good stuff, man!


----------



## MaxStatic (May 30, 2011)

That turned out real nice. Good job.


----------



## ZXIIIT (May 30, 2011)

steve1 said:


> yeah, i managed to scratch up the back of the head stock while sanding the neck so i just gently sanded the scratches away lol
> 
> I figured there's no way i'll be selling it so I don't need the serial number.
> 
> ...



Might as well sand all the black off and just leave the face of the headstock as is ?


----------



## Benson X (Nov 7, 2014)

Not trying to resurrect this thread, but I wish the pics would still show. Weird thing is, Google saved them in their Cache, so I can see the thumbs when searching Google Images, but the source files are gone (so no full-res images). 

I am hopefully picking up a mint RGT6EXFX next week for a steal ($200) and am considering stripping the entire thing and maybe scorching it and finish with a light trans. black stain. 

Need to see exactly what model it is: 2006-2008 (MIK) are basswood wings / 2009-2010 (MII) are Mahogany w/ the Gibraltar Standard bridge. Hope it's Mahogany, but concerned about the build quality since they moved production to Indo. in 2009 for this model.


----------



## Pikka Bird (Nov 7, 2014)

^The quality of the Indo RGTs is very good. Mine feels awesome. The frets are smooth as hell and it sustains considerably better than my 1570.

Also, please don't scorch it unless you know very well what you're doing. Pardon my French, but most of the scorchmarks I see on refinishes looks like absolute ass, but every once in a while something comes up where they're tastefully done.


----------



## Benson X (Nov 7, 2014)

Pikka Bird said:


> ^The quality of the Indo RGTs is very good. Mine feels awesome. The frets are smooth as hell and it sustains considerably better than my 1570.
> 
> Also, please don't scorch it unless you know very well what you're doing. Pardon my French, but *most of the scorchmarks I see on refinishes looks like absolute ass*, but every once in a while something comes up where they're tastefully done.



Definitely agreed... and thanks for the re-assurance on MII models - I am not an elitist tone-boner, as long as it is in good shape and sounds good that's all I care about. 

This job is what piqued my interest in scorching. The turnout mainly depends on the wood/grain pattern. Whatever I do (strip, refinish, natural/stain, scorch) will depend on if it's Basswood or Mahogany and the grain pattern (if I do strip it down).


----------



## Pikka Bird (Nov 7, 2014)

If you can make a basswood body burn like that then go right ahead. I think you'll need to use a less aggressive flame (like a propane torch with low feed) and hold it at quite some distance from the body. 

HOWEVER: this is usually done with bodies that can be detached fully. With a neck-through I fear a proper effect might be difficult to attain without putting the fiddly bits on the neck in danger. Generally the neck is the part you don't wanna heat up due to all sorts of wood/glue/fret issues.


----------



## Benson X (Nov 10, 2014)

Pikka Bird said:


> If you can make a basswood body burn like that then go right ahead. I think you'll need to use a less aggressive flame (like a propane torch with low feed) and hold it at quite some distance from the body.
> 
> HOWEVER: this is usually done with bodies that can be detached fully. With a neck-through I fear a proper effect might be difficult to attain without putting the fiddly bits on the neck in danger. Generally the neck is the part you don't wanna heat up due to all sorts of wood/glue/fret issues.



Yes, all valid points and factors that I have considered. I love the look of a well flamed body, but I am also leaning towards a trans. black dye, sealed, grain filed and poly coated to get a nice dark-to-light trans black finish. 

These are all just "ideas" at this point, as I haven't even purchased the guitar (yet) nor do I know what type of wood the wings are. 

Thanks for the concern and feedback Pikka!


----------

