Telecaster overhaul

pinksoir

Howdy.

I've been thinking about getting a new guitar for ages now. Something semi-hollow, possibly a Duesenberg. I don't really have the money to spend (around about 1500 quid) and I was thinking, I really like my Mexican Telecaster. I like the way it feels, I like the action, and the sound is pretty alright. So I've decided instead to give it an overhaul. It's stock, so I'm looking for advice on what I should do. At the moment I'm really into surf-guitar sound, so I guess that's the type of aesthetic I'd be going for.

So, what are people's thoughts? Here's a few things I've been thinking of:

- I'd like to refinish the guitar. It's a horrible navy colour with mother-of-pearl effect scratch plate. I'd like to re colour it a turquiose or blue green colour. Does anyone know where I could get this done, if I could do it myself, how it could be done, and how much it'd cost?

- I guess next up would be putting in new pick ups. The ones on it are stock, they're not the best tbh, a little bit too twangy.

- Machine heads. Again, stock and pretty weak and crappy feeling.

- I like that surf sound, so maybe a tremolo arm would be an option.

- Knobs and switches. The stock ones are now loose and crackly.

I really have no idea about any of this stuff. I'm clueless. So any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot of history with this guitar, and when I think about it I really love it. I've had it for years so it'd be nice to bring it up to scratch rather than buying a brand new one. It deserves it!

Cheers.

Behind you Joey

Could you put up pictures of it in its present state?

pinksoir

I could and will. Tomorrow though. It's in fairly good shape tbh.

pinksoir

So here are some photos of my Tele:









And here's a few mock ups of some paint jobs I'd like to do...

Johnny Storm

"Too twangy" -is that even possible???
Just my random thoughts:-
IMHO, the way it looks now is way better than any of your suggested schemes (although I agree with you about those "pukescent" pickguards)
If your dying to do something to it buy a snips and cut off the excess string, The machine heads are probably OK. it (kind of) looks from the photo like you may have too many wraps around the tuners. Put the strings on this way:
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm
Changing the crackling knobs and fittings is a good idea.
The way the saddles are lined up looks a bit unusual - have you checked the intonation?

pinksoir

Cheers for the reply.

Wrt strings etc, don't worry about that stuff, I'm more interested in giving it a new paint job and possibly upgrading the hardware.

I'll be using it for gigging and I want it to look unique. I love the fiesta red (both with and without tinted lacquer) and both Soap Green and Surf Blue are quite striking. I'm just wondering how difficult it is to paint, or if I should get it done professionally. Or should I buy an unfinished body and paint that?

The saddles are a bit messy alright, I could definitely line them up better, but the intonation is actually not too bad. Obviously it could be a lot better but it'll do for now.

eoin5

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_172747_langId_-1_categoryId_212593

Ive only experimented a bit with the stuff but its pretty striking. Also if you're even with your spraying you could get it transparent.

pinksoir

Have you used it on a guitar? If you did, I presume you sanded the original colour off before?

I've had a look around t'internet and I'm kinda confused. There seems to be fanboyism over Nitro Cellulose, which is a kind of paint used on Fender guitars. But it seems to be pretty hard to come by over here. It's available from some dude in Manchester (who also refinishes guitars but charges £250 for the job), but he can't ship it over here cos of the pressure or something.

It looks like car paint would do the job too though. Though I wouldn't do flourescent orange. I'm kinda leaning towards Fiesta Red...

eoin5

pinksoir wrote: »

Have you used it on a guitar? If you did, I presume you sanded the original colour off before?

I've had a look around t'internet and I'm kinda confused. There seems to be fanboyism over Nitro Cellulose, which is a kind of paint used on Fender guitars. But it seems to be pretty hard to come by over here. It's available from some dude in Manchester (who also refinishes guitars but charges £250 for the job), but he can't ship it over here cos of the pressure or something.

It looks like car paint would do the job too though. Though I wouldn't do flourescent orange. I'm kinda leaning towards Fiesta Red...

I tested it on a sanded scrap of crappy deal, but yea you'd be best off sanding the thing down for refinishing. Cellulose is illegal now I'm pretty sure. Its pretty hypocritical that they ban the liquid form but allow it to come in on guitars, basically saying its not right to poison our country but encourage it in other countries by allowing the finished goods in. The acrylic spray can stuff works well, you should be able to get something close to that colour. Be prepared to buy a good few cans though.

pinksoir

I didn't know that. Weird. It's just illegal in Ireland or in most places? The guy in Manchester still sells it, and it's available in the States and Sweden too.

Cheers for the recommendation on the acrylic stuff, I'll look into it. Gonna be one hell of a job sanding the old finish off. I might be better off getting an unfinished body from ebay...

Now, pickups...

Anyone have any recommendations?

FruscianteFan

Im pretty sure Nitro isnt banned here! It just cant be shipped here as it is highly flammable and cant be brought over on planes. A year or two ago I tryed to get some over here and it can be bought but only in VERY large quantities. Like a few hundred litres or something and it comes as liquid so you need a spray setup. Nitro used to be used to spray cars but I dont know if thats the case anymore. When Leo Fender first started making the guitars he got all the colours out of Cadillac catalogues, he got the nitro from them.

I have used this stuff http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/categorydisplay_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_categoryId_165505_langId_-1 from Hlafords. It worked well. I didnt even wet sand or anything on that guitar, as it was for myself and I could wait to play it. But even still the finish came out well and you can get a lot of different colours. They also have clear coat so you can get it to a really high gloss finish if you want. Or if you could find a spray shop that does cars you could ask them to do the guitar for you.

That finish will be really tough to get off. It poly and is a few mm thick, which doesnt seem like much but really is. If you look around the internet you will find a few different ways of removing it. eg. Heat gun, sanding etc.

Are your going to refinish the neck too?

Banjo

Regardless of illegality it's pretty flammable stuff so you'll rarely find anyone willing to ship it.

pinksoir

I'm not gonna refinish the neck. I like it as is. It's got a little bit of wear on it which is quite nice.

I have an electric sander which I'll use to get the current finish off if I do go that route. From what I've read it seems like a bit of a job though, especially since it's a MIM. Something to do with the type of lacquer they use. But I'm leaning towards buying an unfinished body and going from there. They can be got in ash and alder from ebay for under a hundred quid inc postage. Obviously they aren't original Fender bodies, but they seem to be made by guys in their workshops, much like what you're doing on the thread you made today. Plus, I can use the hardware in my current guitar, and if I feck it up it's not all lost...

Have you ever stripped a guitar before? I'd quite like to make my own actually, I have all the tools. Where did you get that block of wood?

eoin5

FruscianteFan wrote: »

Im pretty sure Nitro isnt banned here!

It disappeared from every shelf, maybe paintdoctor or someone might clarify.

Edit: found this thread, I think I've been looking in the wrong places: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=66512134

FruscianteFan

Yeah even with an electric sander it will be a lot of work! I stripped a body before with a heat gun and even with that it was hard to get it all off and in the end I just left the body as it wasnt worth the work!

Id say your best bet would be a new body but thats just my opinion! There plenty of people who would do otherwise.

If you think you would like to make your own guitar you should go for it, especially if you have all the tools. Stuff like the nut and fretting can be a bit tricky but go slow and it will be grand, or you could bring it to a tech but I think you are better off trying stuff like that yourself, theres plenty of info around!

I was looking all over the county for boards wide enough to make one piece bodies and I found a few. I have only used one of them though. DH Timber in Malahide! They have a great selection and have wide boards available. I went into the back and looked around to find what I wanted! Only think is you have to get a full board, I dont think they would cut a bit for one guitar off. I got an 8ft board I think! Their number is 01 8483037

If theres anything you want to know about building let me know and as Im doing my build I can go into more detail in that, that goes for anyone!

eoin5 Cheers for that link. Theres a few places there I might call and see what they have, Im really liking oil finishes at the moment though! But I have always wanted a Fiesta red strat with rosewood fingerboard and maybe a Jimi Hendrix style Monterey Strat! :rolleyes:

pinksoir

Thanks man. I'm definitely gonna be keeping track of your build via that thread. I could see myself building my own in the future, I think I could really get into it. For now I reckon I'll go the pre cut route, just so's I can get a bit of a feel for it a little bit.

Connavar

FruscianteFan wrote: »

I was looking all over the county for boards wide enough to make one piece bodies and I found a few. I have only used one of them though. DH Timber in Malahide! They have a great selection and have wide boards available. I went into the back and looked around to find what I wanted! Only think is you have to get a full board, I dont think they would cut a bit for one guitar off. I got an 8ft board I think! Their number is 01 8483037

What kind of price were you charged for that board as a matter of interest?

FruscianteFan

Connavar I cant remember exactly as I got it a few months ago but I think it was about €60 or maybe a bit less! That was for a 14 in wide and 2 inch think piece of Mahogony though! You could get cheaper timer such a poplar or something. Or to practise making a body you could just get a 2x4 and glue a few pieces together! That way if you make a mistake or anything its only ~€5 gone on the wood. What type are you thinking of making?

Connavar

FruscianteFan wrote: »

Connavar I cant remember exactly as I got it a few months ago but I think it was about €60 or maybe a bit less! That was for a 14 in wide and 2 inch think piece of Mahogony though! You could get cheaper timer such a poplar or something. Or to practise making a body you could just get a 2x4 and glue a few pieces together! That way if you make a mistake or anything its only ~€5 gone on the wood. What type are you thinking of making?

Honestly all I know so far is that I would be trying to make a Gibson V style. Haven't done enough research on the type of wood I'd use yet and to be honest there is a good chance that I won't end up going ahead with it.
It's just something I have had a bit of an interest in doing for a while.

€60 euro wouldn't be too bad though. God knows I have spent more on some console games and only gotten around 5 hours out of them. This would give much more entertainment(I assume as I don't have the power tools and with no woodwork experience what so ever)

I admit i'd probably buy the neck though. Way too much precision required there for my liking

FruscianteFan

Connavar wrote: »

Honestly all I know so far is that I would be trying to make a Gibson V style. Haven't done enough research on the type of wood I'd use yet and to be honest there is a good chance that I won't end up going ahead with it.
It's just something I have had a bit of an interest in doing for a while.

€60 euro wouldn't be too bad though. God knows I have spent more on some console games and only gotten around 5 hours out of them. This would give much more entertainment(I assume as I don't have the power tools and with no woodwork experience what so ever)

I admit i'd probably buy the neck though. Way too much precision required there for my liking

A flying V wouldnt be the hardest of builds! You could do it no problem! Some bits of them can be tricky on set neck guitars with tune o matic bridges but there are plenty of easy alternatives to make it easier to do! Like do a bolt on with a recessed bridge so you dont have to have any neck angle!

Buying the neck for your first one is always a good idea because the neck can really make or break the guitar! If the neck is bad there can be some serious problems! But with a premade on you should be fine!