Melody Maker refinish - project log

[culturejam]

2014 Melody Maker in this weird trans-black-blue finish. The goal is to strip it down, refinish (sunburst of some kind), and reconfigure for a pair of mini humbuckers. I have no idea what I'm doing. But it's fun.

So the finish is paper-thin and came off the back very quickly. I used a palm sander with 120 grit sandpaper. It was so easy that I think I might do the sides and front by hand to make sure I don't change the carve contour accidentally. I've found that power tools make it very simple to ruin something quickly.

The back looks like 2 pieces. Or at least I can only see one seam. It's pretty wood. Unlike like most years of Melody Maker, this one is a maple carved top. Here's to hoping it's got a nice figure to it.


Before hardware removal



After hardware removal




Finish off the back

[Dandolin]

..

[Dandolin]

love the Melody Maker as a platform for change.

The back looks amazing for something that was covered in black paint....

[Chankgeez]

[Hyphen Nation]

Great Project. Can't wait to see the outcome. Agreed on previous post, and looks of that wood. Is it a single piece of wood? Amazing!

[culturejam]

Is it a single piece of wood? Amazing!

I see one definite seam on the back. It's near the middle of the control cavity, but you may not be able to see it in the photos. But I couldn't find another, so it might actually be a two-piece back.

The top is definitely at least two pieces, and maybe three. But we'll see in the near future. Not sure if I'll have time do more sanding this week, but I may be able to get the sides done one night soon.

[antennafarm]

i have one of those guys, it's such a great guitar - and CHEAP. although that finish -- yeah, so thin, i've torn through mine already.

mine is heavily modded. new tuners (got a set of those gibson roto-tuners which are actually pretty cool. even if you don't use the robo-functions, the tuners themselves are good), new pickups (BKP stockholm, TV Jones Powertron+...had to hack the body a little). bigsby b7 (the part that sits on the bottom of the body is too deep so it isn't flush like it would with a regular LP). replaced the wraparound bridge with a pigtail bridge. new electronics, of course.

thing is a screaming beast. i liked the p90's it came with, but that stockholm.... holy shit. i like it almost as much as my LP standard!

[echoraven]

i have one of those guys, it's such a great guitar - and CHEAP. although that finish -- yeah, so thin, i've torn through mine already.

mine is heavily modded. new tuners (got a set of those gibson roto-tuners which are actually pretty cool. even if you don't use the robo-functions, the tuners themselves are good), new pickups (BKP stockholm, TV Jones Powertron+...had to hack the body a little). bigsby b7 (the part that sits on the bottom of the body is too deep so it isn't flush like it would with a regular LP). replaced the wraparound bridge with a pigtail bridge. new electronics, of course.

thing is a screaming beast. i liked the p90's it came with, but that stockholm.... holy shit. i like it almost as much as my LP standard!

pics and soundclips please or it didn't happen...

[culturejam]

Yeah, I think it's probably the best platform for modding that I've seen in a long, long time. If you're into the Les Paul shape and set neck mahogany guitars, that is. For <$500, you get a USA-made guitar that is pretty much good to. The stock pickups are quite nice, and there's a mounting plate in the cavity to accept P90s or mini humbuckers with no mods needed (and no drilling directly into the wood). Tuners are decent, electronics are fine. I may end up changing the bridge, but it's not necessary. Fretwork is pretty good as well, and the nut on mine was cut pretty well.

My mission is to get the rest of the finish off next Saturday, and then I'm going to try a simple two-tone burst with some dyes. Then I'll most likely shoot some rattle can nitro for the finish.

[antennafarm]

i have one of those guys, it's such a great guitar - and CHEAP. although that finish -- yeah, so thin, i've torn through mine already.

mine is heavily modded. new tuners (got a set of those gibson roto-tuners which are actually pretty cool. even if you don't use the robo-functions, the tuners themselves are good), new pickups (BKP stockholm, TV Jones Powertron+...had to hack the body a little). bigsby b7 (the part that sits on the bottom of the body is too deep so it isn't flush like it would with a regular LP). replaced the wraparound bridge with a pigtail bridge. new electronics, of course.

thing is a screaming beast. i liked the p90's it came with, but that stockholm.... holy shit. i like it almost as much as my LP standard!

pics and soundclips please or it didn't happen...

i'll think about soundclips.

[skullservant]

This is great and that wood is super promising

[antennafarm]

culturejam, if you put in aftermarket pickups, you may have to remove that plate. when i put in the stockholm, i couldn't get the action low enough without contacting the pole screws until i did.

[culturejam]

culturejam, if you put in aftermarket pickups, you may have to remove that plate. when i put in the stockholm, i couldn't get the action low enough without contacting the pole screws until i did.

Thanks for the tip! I'm probably going to go with GFS mini humbuckers. I've heard good things about them, and I don't have the cash just now for Duncan Antiquities (not that they are all that expensive). I think they might be small/short enough to fit with the existing plate, but I guess I'll find out when I get them. GFS just announced a sale, so I think I shall strike while the iron is hot.

[culturejam]

Got a little more done today. Almost done with the sides, and then it's on to the neck and top. The finish is paper thin and comes off very easily. Shouldn't take much longer to get it cleaned up and ready for staining.

I now see that the neck is maple. Interesting.

I've done something of an about-face on the finish colors. Some of the blue is just deep in the grain and won't come out without very aggressive sanding, and I'm not confident I can do that without mucking something up good n' proper. So I'm going with a blue-burst type of finish (similar to my Les Paul) using locally available wood stains (Mixwax). I'm also going to shoot it with spray poly for the clear coat (and maybe supplement with wipe-on poly as necessary). Nitro is retro-chic, but I think poly will ultimately be a better finish in the long run.

[antennafarm]

you could always poly the blueburst and then do a nitro clear-coat over top. kind of a best of both worlds? then you'll get the sloooooow transition to green, too, over time!