# How to costom top and stain your guitar



## romper_stomper (Aug 22, 2009)

Hey guys! This is going to be a guide as to how I did my RG7420. 

Topping and staining isn't really that hard. It's all the tips, tricks and small things that are in between every process that really counts. The more attention you pay to these small details, the better it will come out in the end. This is not something that can take a day or two. Sometimes this can take several weeks if your broke and don't have all the materials before commencing this project.

So I compiled a list of items that I used for mine for your future reference. Most all of these items were purchase through ebay, but if you have a pretty good hobby store nearby, take some time to walk in and see what they may have.



-Titebond II wood glue
-All purpose sand paper (60,100,150,250,1000 grit)
-Steel wool grade 0000
-Minwax wood finish (your color of choice of course)
-Veneer (I got 16 sheets @ 7"x29" on the bay) standard thickness (about 1/30"
-Palm sander
-Dremel contour sander (extremely useful)
-Hobby cutting knife set (exact-o-knife)
-*Minwax laquer aerosol (clear satin)*
-Hand roller


*Do not ever mix lacquer with urethane finishes. I chose lacquer because it dries WAY faster (5-20 min), as opposed to urethane.



First you'll need to sand the guitar down to the wood. I sanded using the palm sander and starter with 60 grit and worked my way up to 250 grit. THE DARKER THE FINISH, THE MORE YOU WANT TO SAND WITH 250 GRIT. The reason is because the darker stains will show every sanding mark (even though you may not be able to see it before you put the stain on, you will after.

Also keep the corners (sides of the body) completely 90 degrees. Don't round them off just yet. We will get to that later (very important).








Lay one half of the veneer on one even side of the guitar. I measured between the puckup and trem cavity and made a couple small dots and used them as my "halfway" point. 






You'll then tape the veneer to the body and which will kinda make a page like form on the body. 

Flip the body over (face down) and start to trace a line around the body onto the veneer. I suggest a pencil but really you can use whatever you want. Allow about a 1/2" gap around the body when you're tracing. 













Then remove veneer and then trim!












Once trimmed you'll repeat what you just did on the other side.






Now you will start by attaching once side of your freshly cut veneer exactly where you tapped it before. Be sure to tape it. Apply glue to the body. Don't go trigger happy with the glue though (because it WILL bleed through if done so) just a nice thick coat of glue will work. I used a foam brush to distribute the glue evenly on the body. 






Then flip the veneer down like a page from a book and take your roller and carefully roll on the top to get a good contact.

If you see glue running down the sides, don't sweat it, just leave it. If you try to wipe it off, it will dry and leave a small layer of glue which you will have to re-sand later because it won't take the stain. If you let it drool down, you'll be able to just pick if off later once it has dried.

After glue is applied and rolled, almost immediately I took some books and covered that half of the body to hold the veneer down good. Let set for about 30-60 minutes and then remove books and check for bubbles. I then always flip the body over and put tons of shit on the back of it to hold it down. As long as its on a completely flat surface, you should have no problems.






And as for the other side you will do the exact same. You want to make absolutely sure that you butt the veneer up against the other piece when laying it down so that you don't have a small gap running down the top of your body.

Also on the arm contour, you'll want to use a bag of sand. It will assure that it gets sealed properly. Its the hardest part when laying the veneer on that side. I used books for the top part and then a sand bag just for the arm contour. 

Again glue, lay, and set all the stuff on top of the veneer and wait for about 30-60 minutes. Check for bubbles and then flip over. You can do this is a single day but I recommend that you let sit face down over night.



Then it's time to trim. Always cut down, and never against the grain. Cut as if you are pushing the grain. Remember the better gluing you do, the least likely veneer will chip on you. Once you get the hang of the body, don't be scared to cut the cavities by hand either. Just be careful.











Once all trimmed we can do a little sanding. I used 150 grit on the palm sander and lightly evened out the top, making a smooth surface and prepping as if I'm about to paint. 






Now for the edges. I waited until last minute to round off the edges. I used 150 grit paper and went around the guitar at a 45 degree angle. This gives the edges a real super clean look and removes any excess glue that's tucking under the veneer top. 












If you do it like mine, I stained the back and sides first, Then rounded off the edges and then stained the top natural. 

Now it's time to stain...

Use a rag and dip it into the stain and rub it on the body, like you're rubbing lotion in your skin, but along with the grain. Do one coat first. If you use a flamed maple top or similar, you'll stain, let dry, use steel wool and rub the veneer down, then stain again, and steel wool the top again, and repeating the process until you're satisfied with how hard that maple looks (deep).











And now the finish.

I used a satin finish but minwax has a gloss available as well. So if you want to go that rout, it's there.

You will put a few coats on and then allowed to dry. Then I lightly sanded down to get that glass-like finish. The more times you do this, the better finish you will end up with. If you have a few flaws (bubble spots, etc.) the more coats you will want to apply. I like to think that the more coats and more time spent with the finish, the more flaws will cover up. 

I used the palm sander with 1000 grit paper. and got the finish I wanted.






Some others I have done...











And now we have something that YOU wanted, something that you finished and maybe you can take a little more pride in your guitar like I did. And when you have a problem come up (blemish, bubble, etc.) don't flipp out. It's cool and completely fixable. I will admit that my RG7420 was a total pain in the ass and somehow never found its way into the dumpster.

And this method is not the best way of doing it. It's just the way I have done it with little materials I had. 

I hope this was helpful and feel free to contact me for any questions..

-Chris


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## technomancer (Aug 22, 2009)

Very cool, though this belongs in the tech section.


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## romper_stomper (Aug 22, 2009)

technomancer said:


> Very cool, though this belongs in the tech section.



I tried but I wasn't "authorized" or some crap..


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## drmosh (Aug 22, 2009)

so gorgeous! thanks


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Aug 22, 2009)

great job man. could you take another pic or 2 of the flame top you just did? I'm actually getting ready to clear coat a incomming guitar, but i was on the fence about the satin coat instead. I like that look better i think and would like to see some other angles


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## leandroab (Aug 22, 2009)

Nice tutorial.

Thanks for sharing!


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## romper_stomper (Aug 22, 2009)




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## TMatt142 (Aug 22, 2009)

Nice stuff Chris! I'll be redoing mine soon!


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## Andii (Aug 22, 2009)

The back looks so good.


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## romper_stomper (Aug 22, 2009)

Thank you guys!


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## thedonutman (Aug 23, 2009)

Did you veneer the back of that too?


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## romper_stomper (Aug 23, 2009)

thedonutman said:


> Did you veneer the back of that too?



Yeah.


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## Konfyouzd (Aug 23, 2009)

nice... i'm doing this now (no veneer, though). thanks for the tutorial!


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## Fred (Aug 23, 2009)

Beautiful work and helpful guide, dude! Seriously considering doing this to my 7321... Not sure at the moment, though.


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## romper_stomper (Aug 23, 2009)

Fred said:


> Beautiful work and helpful guide, dude! Seriously considering doing this to my 7321... Not sure at the moment, though.



Cool dude! Be sure to share the progress with us!


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## thedonutman (Aug 23, 2009)

romper_stomper said:


> Yeah.



How do you get it to go around the forearm contour and the AANJ - do you have a vacuum press?


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## ToniS (Aug 24, 2009)

Excellent tutorial, cheers buddy!


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## daybean (Aug 24, 2009)

i have a s7420 i added a veneer top as well. it looks very much like yours. the front of the guitar looks great.


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## romper_stomper (Aug 24, 2009)

daybean said:


> i have a s7420 i added a veneer top as well. it looks very much like yours. the front of the guitar looks great.



Did you post pics of it a few years ago? I think I may have seen it.


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## synrgy (Aug 24, 2009)

Nicely done, man. Looks great! Thanks for sharing.


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## DriftHappy (Aug 24, 2009)

thedonutman said:


> How do you get it to go around the forearm contour and the AANJ - do you have a vacuum press?



He used sandbags. I'm sure a vacuum press would make things 10x easier, though.

BTW: Great job, Chris. The top looks flawless!


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## daybean (Aug 24, 2009)

romper_stomper said:


> Did you post pics of it a few years ago? I think I may have seen it.




yeah, i had a few threads and progress pics everytime i had questions about something? ss.org was very helpful.  

here is one pic


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## romper_stomper (Aug 24, 2009)

/\ This.


What method did you use? sandbags or suction?


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## daybean (Aug 25, 2009)

romper_stomper said:


> /\ This.
> 
> 
> What method did you use? sandbags or suction?



something like sandbags. i used a 10 lb bag of dear corn, and some weights around the edges of the guitar. it worked out great. i had done it two times before and i kind of learned along the way. the reason for the bag of corn was because it was large enough to cover the whole guitar.


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## romper_stomper (Aug 25, 2009)

daybean said:


> something like sandbags. i used a 10 lb bag of dear corn, and some weights around the edges of the guitar. it worked out great. i had done it two times before and i kind of learned along the way. the reason for the bag of corn was because it was large enough to cover the whole guitar.



I've always wanted to do an S series, or maybe even a LTD MH series.


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## dboulders (Nov 5, 2009)

love it!!!!! i cant wait to start a project like this when i get my first seven..


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## guitarplayerone (Nov 6, 2009)

belongs on the workbench. awesome stuff!


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## zindrome (Nov 6, 2009)

Best looking S7 IMO
that came out STUNNING!!!!!



daybean said:


> yeah, i had a few threads and progress pics everytime i had questions about something? ss.org was very helpful.
> 
> here is one pic


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## Stealthdjentstic (Nov 6, 2009)

Wow, good work man


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