Swinger restoration:

[wanderingjew]

A continuation from this thread

I have a Fender Swinger that looks like crap. It sounds like crap, and looks like crap. It's crap. There's a gallery of the guitar pre-restoration here.

The goal of the restoration is to re-do the paint, put a new pick guard on it (keeping the old one safe), replace the too-hot Dimarzio pup that's in there, and maybe get the neck plek'd, or at least set up really well.

I'm going for this aesthetic, Ice Blue Metallic and a tort guard:



I've already started getting the color off of the guitar. I've done this chemically before on other guitars, I've decided to do this mechanically. I'm using sandpaper and a scraper. So far on the part's I've finished, I've managed to save most of the sanding sealer. The scraper is very accurate and only takes off what I want to.

As I was scraping, I noticed this:



That was hard to photograph.

I knew that underneath the 'bronco/dakota' red there was a layer of blue. Thanks to the scraper, I noticed that there are actually two coats of blue: a regular, deep, student-guitar blue, and beneath that, ice blue metallic. hell yeah. I would have never noticed that before. It took a lot of scraping and paying attention to get to that point.

TL;DR: had a vintage guitar that looked like crap, arbitrarily decided on a color, started stripping it, noticed my arbitrary color was the original color.

[jcyphe]

Dude , did this really need a new thread your old thread was just made as in the same vain about the same guitar.

[wanderingjew]

Dude , did this really need a new thread your old thread was just made as in the same vain about the same guitar.

Seeing as how the first thread was a question about 'hey, does some dude restore guitars' and this one will be the process of restoring the same guitar...


Yes.

If you don't like it, just let the old one drop.

[Bacchus]

Meh, it would have been a lot handier and neater to just retitle the old thread, but anyway.

[SKC Willie]

I'm not one to complain about a guitar not being all original but . . . .


That finish looked stock to me and with this rare of a guitar there would have no way I would have ever taken the finish off of it.

[wanderingjew]

I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but here it goes anyway:

I stripped (mechanically, with sandpaper and a scraper) the finish. I was able to retain about 80% of the fullerplast/factory sanding sealer, making my job easier. I knocked the grain down with 100, then 150, and finally 220 grit sandpaper (sanding parallel to the grain) and started laying down a can of Deft lacquer sanding sealer. Right now the can is empty and the guitar is dry to the touch. I'm going to keep that protected, but inside my backyard shed where the temperature is.... warm, to say the least. I've ordered 2 cans of Ice Blue Metallic from reranch and am confident that I can do a pretty spectacular finish. I haven't yet decided on the type of clear coat (if I use one at all), but I'm leaning towards either Deft gloss nitro lacquer, or some sort of impenetrable urethane (I plan on doing some testing with the IBM with both clear coats subjected to the intense UV outside this month).

As for why I am doing this:

A guitar is a tool. A guitar is not a shiny bauble to decorate a family restaurant, an idol to show to other collectors, or something to buy as an investment. A guitar is a tool. Guitars can be beautiful tools, yes, but they are a tool first and beautiful second. I accept that refinishing a guitar is purely cosmetic, but carpenters dust off their tools from time to time, barns are painted, and truck owners take pride in their vehicles when they look good. A week ago, this guitar did not look good. This guitar looked crappy and broken. I intend to not only fix the voice of the guitar, but also it's image.

I know I'm going to catch hell for stripping what appears to be an original finish. I don't care because I would like this guitar to be the best guitar possible. I'm going to get a Novak or SD vintage reproduction pickup to put in there, if I can't find an original '68/'69 mustang pickup on my own. Within a few months, I'll replace the tuners with a set of reissue 'F' tuners if I can't find a vintage set. I'm having a little trouble finding a tortoise pick guard, so if anyone with a router table would like to make a few bucks, drop me a line.

If I didn't restore this guitar, it would have sat in someone's closet for 50 years. Now, it will be used for 50 years. I'm going to put every picture I have of this guitar, everything I've written and every post I've made on an SD card, put that in a static resistant Mylar bag and put that underneath the control shield. I'll accept if restoring this guitar was a dumb idea in 50 years, but I won't accept that idea now. I don't play it, and a guitar is a tool, not an object.

[Viljami]

I can respect that you want it to be used.
Still... ouch.

[MaMo]

I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but here it goes anyway:

I'm sure you'll catch hell for quite a few things, and needlessly refinishing a rare guitar is only one of them. Other things I can think of is starting two threads needlessly, being rather rude in the way you respond to other posters, and of course your incredible ability to ignore what everyone else has to say.

If a guitar is just a tool to you then you should have just sold the swinger to someone who would have appreciated it and done a refinish on something that has less history to it.

[Pacafeliz]

I can respect that you want it to be used.
Still... ouch.

+1

seriously and REALLY, i feel sick. like, when you want to throw up. REALLY.
that was a cool looking worn guitar. it had been used and that shows that it is/was a GOOD guitars. mint guitars are the ones that stayed in cases, cuz they sucked.

it MIGHT end up looking cool, but to me it's a bit sacrilegious what you did.

and i can't feel a bit responsible for it... had i accepted the deal for the jag it would be on its way to me. i would have loved it as is, with only replacing the pickup, maybe. still, i'm impressed you say it plays and sounds like shit. huh?

but it's your guitar. hope you like the end product and play it a lot.
but... wow, that was like painting a mustache on the mona lisa, no offense.

don't take it the wrong way, not trying to start a fight. just my 2 cents.
good luck!

Pat.

[stewart]

it looked cool as it was. please don't get rid of the guard if you end up getting another one made.

[hotrodperlmutter]

please don't get sand down the guard with the intent of finding the original color if you end up getting another one made.

[ChrisFFTA]

that si a bit of a bummer... i thought the days of people modding odl guitars were over? it was an orig finish yeah?

[SKC Willie]

I understand that, ultimately, it is your guitar and you should do what makes you happy.


But I just don't see how shining up your tools make them any less useable. You don't have to go through the big excuses. Just say you like the blue finish better and that having cosmetics you like will make you pick up the guitar more. Nothing wrong with that.

[wanderingjew]

It wouldn't be worth it for me to do this and not make a template:









It's not perfect (the route holes are damn near though), but I guarantee it's more accurate than the warmoth version.

The final product of this exercise will be a .PDF that will be able to be printed on a large format printer. Fuck it, do it in LaTeX. Right now for this template, I'll scan it (in several parts), stitch it together in Illustrator, and manipulate the outline to a hairline. Any further suggestions on what should be included in the .PDF?

As for this evening, I also 00000 steel wool'd the frets, lemon oiled and toothbrushe'd the 'board. The tuners for this guitar were replaced with Schallers sometime in the late-70's or early-80's. I know it's possible to dowel and re-drill the tuner holes for proper Fender 'F' tuners (and do away with the adapter ferrules, but is it worth it?

[cooter]

Any further suggestions on what should be included in the .PDF?

Maybe a list of route depths for the neck pocket, pickup and control cavities. I don't think there's a sticky in the Guitar Resources section for templates but if you post it there I'm sure anyone doing a search would find it.

[Mages]

I see what you did thar. very clever.

[wanderingjew]

I see what you did thar. very clever.

I try.

[sdgails]

ummm........I'm speechless

[iCEByTes]

if that is a original fender body

do a more durable Template.


example Plexy glass

[Sven]

I know it's possible to dowel and re-drill the tuner holes for proper Fender 'F' tuners

Swingers had the old Kluson tuners, not the "F" stamped Fender ones.