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A few days ago, my father found this Teisco guitar for $5 at a garage sale. I had been wanting to start a petrified archtop guitar (preferably an old Harmony or something) for a while now, but this will work. The neck is very comfortable and small, and the guitar weighs hardly anything. I really like it.



The bridge was missing, and I didn't have any extra strings to test the sound out; but I did plug it in -- everything works.

I loved the green finish that was on the guitar, but I hated it mixed with the black. I've never liked those kinds of sunbursts. I stripped all of the paint off, which turned out to be really difficult. I couldn't use a heat gun like I had used on my Jagmaster project, so I used Zip-Strip paint stripper in an aerosol can -- this stuff is truly brutal. I hope I never have to use anything like that again. The paint on the front of the body was super thick -- I must have used half of the can just on that.




Because I liked the original green, and part of me felt bad for removing it, I did keep the powder that was left after removing the paint. I am going to sprinkle it on parts of the body.



This particular petrified look is going to be based around a few different examples that I really like -- they are rare pieces because they include chromium, which gives the pieces a mint colour. I'm going to merge these examples.






This is a very rough/awful drawing of what it will look like (before I decided to use green wood) -- I'm just going to heavily improvise this one:



The front of the body will be flat "white/blue white" -- the same colour I used for the prehistoric Mustang. The rest, including the fretboard will be petrified wood. I am either going to move the inlays to the top of the fretboard, or not have any at all. The hardware will be copper, as will the body binding. I am not yet sure about the pickguard. I might make one out of wood and paint it the same colour as the body. I would like to use copper but it did not look right in any of the drawings that I did. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the original headstock badge on there, and just copper leaf it, or make an entirely new one. I kind of like the idea of continuing to acknowledge that this is a Teisco.

I will post pictures of the progress.

You have a very excellent, unique style. I'm sure you'll make this thing into a work of art! Will deffinately be following this one closely.

Already looks brilliant. Loved the Jagmaster & Mustang, can't wait to see this.

Just to give everyone a hint as to how beautiful copper and flat "white/blue white" look next to each other, here is a Gretsch lap steel that I started a few months ago but never finished:

Preview of the paint so far:

looking good. What are you planning on doing to the control plate?

Between this thread and duosonicboy's picture of the Teisco he stripped and painted black, I'm tempted to get one of these myself and have a go, I always see these things for sale in my area, though the necks are often screwed.

I might make it out of wood, or maybe copper. I think a copper plate might be a bit too much. I was thinking about painting it white as well, and relicing it so the copper shows through. I could also do the same with the wood, or just leave it all white.

I think a copper plate would flow nicely, and maybe if you did to it what you did to that copper guitar pick you made.

Yeah, I was thinking about that as well. I would probably try the battery acid method for aging the copper rather than waiting 5-6 months again.

Its coming along quite nicely! can't wait to see more

I am considering which clear coat to use. I want to use Krylon's Triple-Thick Glaze (acrylic lacquer) because one coat of this stuff equals three of a normal clear coat. However, this stuff is not non-yellowing.

How long does it generally take for a lacquer to start to yellow? Would it matter if there was a non-yellowing lacquer over top of the Triple-Thick Glaze?

Maybe someone knows of an alternative to this product that is as cheap or similar in price, and is non-yellowing?

On second thought, should I opt for some sort of poly paint? I just need the clear coat to be as thick as possible as I have some major depth to cover this time.

I should note that the base paint for the petrified wood is acrylic.

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looking stellar man.

can't wait to see it finished.

wtf are you watching bro

guitar looks crazy good.

Thanks.

I was watching Ryan's Hope -- a 70s/80s soap opera.

What kind of truss rod is this? How is it adjusted? I've only ever adjusted Fender necks before. I assume a hex key will fit in the hole? I've tried all of the sizes that I have, but I am missing a few so I can't be sure.

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I removed and sanded the fretboard, and saved the dust. I used the dust to cover he holes left from removing the inlays.

The fretboard near the nut area was coming loose, so I figured I would remove it. Removing it will also make it easier to copper leaf the binding and will allow it to be perfectly straight rather than relying on masking tape, which would most likely bleed considering the neck currently does not have a finish on it.

that paint job technique is really cool

Narco Martenot wrote:I removed and sanded the fretboard, and saved the dust. I used the dust to cover he holes left from removing the inlays.

Sneaky & innovative! From the video it looks like it never had inlays, but how well does it blend in person?