NGD / Project: Epiphone Dot

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 12:12 am

That's a sweet deal, man. I don't mind the red, and the grain is nice. Painting over binding is simple with the pinstripe 3M tape. I use blue, but I have heard green has a better tack. Some people even paint over it and scrape, but that's extra work.

With practice it isn't the nightmare I once thought. A Jaguar is wide open, but the wiring order is crazy. Train your hands and use workaround tools. You can tape a guitar string to the pot and string it inside and out through the hole. Humbucker holes make it easier because you can fit more fingers. Another tool I make good use of is a long, skinny screwdriver. You can fit that in the pickup hole and use it to push on the pickup from inside. Once the tip pops out you can grab it and don't let go. I put together a Vox Bobcat that had three single coils. I could not fit shit in that thing.

The other thing to your advantage is that the harness is already built. I use plastic zip ties to make it a semi-rigid structure that I can orient it into place. You don't want loose wires getting tangled around each other. I just opened a Mosrite Celebrity that used extra wire and just tied it in a knot to bundle it. That cannot be good for the signal. At least it's nylon, not cloth shielding.

Oh, and you want to watch the ground wire that pops out the bottom at the tailpiece. If you don't have to pull the harness all the way out, then don't. Otherwise you can tie or solder a longer wire to it and pull it through. It's not defusing a bomb.

Dillon · Post by **Dillon** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:23 am

Yeah, it really is a pretty guitar, but red just isn't my thing. That's why I was considering just selling it and getting something that fits me better. But then, I already have this, it's a player, and it didn't cost me much. I think I'm gonna go for it.

Anyone have tips on removing the bridge / tailpiece posts? Maybe I'll just paint over them and sand the paint off later.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Oct 07, 2011 9:44 am

I just masked them off on one guitar where it was a cheap and rough project not worth the hassle of removing hem the scraped or sanded of any 'bleeding' under the tape.

Justin J · Post by **Justin J** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:08 pm

DGNR8 wrote:Painting over binding is simple with the pinstripe 3M tape. I use blue, but I have heard green has a better tack. Some people even paint over it and scrape, but that's extra work.

do you ever have to go back and scrape spots? or are you able to mask it completely?
i wonder if masking would be more or less tedious than scraping.

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 6:38 pm

Scraping is pretty easy because the nitro chips off. When in doubt, cut a line along the edge. I use a stewmac scraper, but have also use palette knives, and other bendy tools.

Oh and for that neck, I would split off a chip of rosewood from a scrap piece with a chisel. Then sand the bock to get some dust. From what everyone says, the dust is really bad for you though, so wear a mask. Then just make some superglue paste. I think it would be useful to have some scrap rosewood laying around for just this purpose, or filling in fret gouges.