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1975 Musicmaster Project (Cooterfinger)

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:04 am
by cooter
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Here’s the 1975 Musicmaster I bought from DaveB back in February of this year. The hardware store red enamel paintjob looked good from about 15’ away. Not DaveB’s work by the way, it had been spray painted before he got it.

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The face of the headstock had been sanded off and a Fender decal was added but whoever did it didn’t mask off the neck so there were runs down the sided and a couple of places that had run on the face of the headstock as well. It was definitely a candidate for a proper refinish.

All of the hardware and screws had a nicely aged look so I didn’t want a bright, shiny, new finish. After removing the pickguard I found that the original finish was Daphne so I decided to try and put it back to original. I sanded a small spot under the pickguard and was surprised to see the original finish was still there.

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At that point I thought I would just take my time and sand off the red enamel. Unfortunately the original blue paint was only under the pickguard area. The rest of the body had been sanded down to the sealer. A complete refinish was now back on the agenda.

I liked the look that rodvonbon and Dice were getting using Reranch tinted neck amber over their paint so I decided to go that route. I had bid on and lost this body off ebay.

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It looked like what I was after so I decided to try and replicate it to a milder extent. Once I had the body stripped and sealed, I shot it with blue.
After a few days of drying I screwed the bridge, control plate, neck plate and pickguard back on. Then I masked them off and shot the body with a couple of mist coats of tinted neck amber.

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Once I was happy with the color I removed the hardware and started the clear coats. Then I let it set for a few months while I was obsessing over a mandocaster build. I used fine steel wool to smooth everything out and skipped the polishing stage because I wanted the dull look of an aged finish.

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I refinished the neck with trans tint dye and tru-oil and applied a new decal and a bone nut. I had never used tru-oil before so I had a Squier mini strat neck that I refinished as a practice run. It came out better than any of the other necks I’ve ever finished using tinted neck amber and clear lacquer. And it feels smooth as silk.

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I’m extremely happy with how it all turned out and it sounds great on top of all that.

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Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:34 am
by taylornutt
I am so Jealous. I got a 1966 Musicmaster bridge for the Fiesta Red Musicmaster Body you sold me.

Do you know anything else about that body you sold me?

That neck you have is making me drool!

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:11 am
by robroe
this has my vote for best looking guitar of the year.


after my bronco

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:54 am
by taylornutt
robroe wrote:this has my vote for best looking guitar of the year.


after my bronco
Daphne is a hot color. That's why I picked it for my Tele project.

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:20 am
by hotrodperlmutter
good god damn, coot. that's easily the best looking aging job i've ever seen.

what a beautiful guitar.

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:13 am
by Grant
Stunning. Aged Daphne fits these guitars so well.

edit: also this:
that's easily the best looking aging job i've ever seen.

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 8:45 am
by James
Very, very nice. Good jorb.

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 12:27 pm
by porterhaus
Excellent work!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 2:46 pm
by cooter
Thanks guys. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Hey robroe, second place to your Bronco is cool with me. Although, I just might give you a run for your money in the near future. I have a Bronco project stashed under the bed.

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 3:18 pm
by Gabriel
Thats gorgeous :shock: very very very nice

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:23 pm
by broncobuster80
wow.. I hope my duosonic comes out looking anywhere near that good!

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 7:50 pm
by Thom
Beautiful, really great job!

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:08 am
by Phil O'Keefe
I would LOVE to know where you got that decal - please PM me!!!

Very nice job BTW! 8)

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:17 am
by taylornutt
Phil O'Keefe wrote:I would LOVE to know where you got that decal - please PM me!!!

Very nice job BTW! 8)
+1. The decal you sent me for my Tele was great. I would also love to know where you got them from.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:30 am
by Mike
beautiful.

Looks ten times better than Rob's ugly Bronco.

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:12 pm
by Dave
Holy crap. Absolutley mint!

I've been hearing the Offsetters getting hot for this Tru Oil stuff and it sure looks good on that neck. - do you apply it to the unfinished wood or is applied after a sanding sealer coat (I assume not being oil)?

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:50 pm
by Phil O'Keefe
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I really like the satin matte finish you got on this. Did you use 0000 steel wool? Was the clear lacquer satin, semi-gloss or gloss?

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:54 pm
by kadium
Thanks for posting cooterfinger, it looks really nice.

Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:56 pm
by stewart
i agree with kadium.

Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:12 am
by hotrodperlmutter
i agree with kadium and stewart, but not mike.