Thunder 1 Resto Project.

Hi there,

I've been repairing a body from a Thunder 1 guitar that I'm rebuilding as part of a project. I would like to refinish this in a clear colour top coat so the grain is going to be visible when complete, this meant wood filler wasn't going to work so I needed to try something else. I thought I'd take some shots of the damage and my attempt at repairing it


This is the earliest photo I have while the guitar, fresh from Fleabay and still in it's rattle can black finish. I've removed some of the paint to uncover the problem.


Here is a close up of the problem. I can't see how anyone playing a guitar normally could actually cause wear this bad to a factory finish known to be virtually bomb proof, it's got to be deliberate but god knows why?


This the state of it after attacking the area with a palm sander. The paint pigment stained the wood and it would not lift out of the grain. Also note that the damage extends over the walnut stringer and into the centre block.


The damage was quite deep....


I bought a pack of assorted veneer sheets from Ebay and the grain in these Ash veneers is a close match to the wood grain in the body....


...a very close match! It's not a 100% but close enough for me.


Lining up and marking it's position on the body.


The final shape of the patch ready to be glued.


This is after the first patch had dried and sanded flush. There was still a hollow in the middle so I repeated the previous steps and made a second patch. Here I'm marking out the area I need the patch to cover.


And this is the second patch after it's dried.


After it was sanded flush it looked like this. Some of the paint staining has reappeared at the edge of the veneer on the left of the pic. Also note that I have carefully carved out a channel where the veneer has covered the walnut stringer.


This also came from the same veneer pack. It took a few attempts to get a strip of wood a similar shade to the walnut. I glued in two strips stacked together to fill the channel


This is what I've ended up with. It's not perfect, some of the paint staining is still visible and there is a halo from the layers of glue which might have an effect of the finish of the guitar. The main thing is get the colour tone of the veneer to match the surrounding wood.

What you lot think then? Did it work, or pointless exercise. Any ideas are welcomed.

Thank for looking,

DAN.

Fantastic job.

That's a great recovery!! Right down to the grain.
If you have leftover veneer, perhaps trying a 'color wash' on a few pieces, in an attempt to match the color residue of the body?
(unbelieveable job mate)

Outstanding effort; that's a beauty, mate!!

Crackin' job Dan!!

You got a fair bit of luck with the grain match in your samples.

I reckon that you are going to pull this one off.

Hoax

Unbelievable Dan! You've gone above and beyond with this one.
I would have probably chickened out and filled it in and painted it over.

Very puzzling as to what the guy was doing to cause such damage in the first place.
So, does this mean you now have a ply...uh, laminate guitar?

Thats great stuff, if you need any more veneer dont buy any, Ive got about 20Kg of mixed off cuts.

Thanks for the replies lads!

I was tempted to just fill that damage but it seemed a shame to hide that grain. The original finish used a dark grain filler to enhance the look of the wood, that's why I tried to match the grain pattern.

I'm thinking along the same lines as DimensionIV-addict and I'm looking into colour washing the repair to blend it in. I'm trying to find anything I have lying around the house I can use on the cheap. So far it's old model paints from Tamiya and Humbrol as well as some reeeeeally old Ronseal wood stains! I going to test them and see what happens but I might have to take the plunge and invest in some proper stains or dyes to get the job done.

I was thinking of finishing the guitar in it's original clear red, but I'm now thinking a nice deep clear blue might work better with brass and gold hardware. It's early days so I will probably change my mind again.

Barry, if you think the body damage looked bad check out the neck


The only thing I can find on this guitars history is the words "Arts In Corrections" scratched into the bridge plate and rear control cover? It was either used in a U.S. style jail based music class, or it's just an arty farty college band trying to look cool!!!

No idea.

DAN.

That's coming out very nice indeedy.

It's a tinted lacquer they used, 2 pack poly

Holy flooking schnit! awesome job dan!
imo a dark chocolatey brown might hide it better, looks great with a nice thick clear coat.

looks like a cloven hoof played that for 30 years

Wow - thats a good of a match as you can get - and looks awesome - great work eh

That fretboard is gonna need to some serious work though - hope ya document that on here - would love to see it

DuoFuzz wrote:...I'm now thinking a nice deep clear blue might work better with brass and gold hardware...

Oh yesssss! In a trans finish top coat as Damian directs.

Barry, if you think the body damage looked bad check out the neck

Holy roller Batman! What in hell was playing that poor guitar!?
Really puts the "roll" in Rock n Roll eh?

What do ya think Graham, is this a candidate for your CA + sawdust "fix". Or is it too much?

I think I've found a pic of the previous owner...

Well he should of cut his fingernails, Barbarian !

Barry wrote:

DuoFuzz wrote:...I'm now thinking a nice deep clear blue might work better with brass and gold hardware...

Oh yesssss! In a trans finish top coat as Damian directs.

Barry, if you think the body damage looked bad check out the neck

Holy roller Batman! What in hell was playing that poor guitar!?
Really puts the "roll" in Rock n Roll eh?

What do ya think Graham, is this a candidate for your CA + sawdust "fix". Or is it too much?

Superglue, sawdust and patience should work for the board. Unless you want to remove all the frets and do a board level and refret.

http://fingerlakesguitarrepair.com/fender-jazzmaster-fretboard-wear/


Hoax

punkyjam67 wrote:I think I've found a pic of the previous owner...

Ha! That's what I was thinking, maybe The Thing from the Fantastic Four!

Thanks for the link Hoax, I'll save that to my repair file. The fretwires are buggered anyway so It's going to need a refret, that would give me a chance to level the board and save the dust I get from it.

The thing is the fretboard is greasy. I'm not sure if the last owner(Shrek perhaps?) had really nasty sweaty paws. That or somebody oiled the Rosewood with vegetable oil or 3-in-1!?!

I'm not even sure I'll use this neck on the finished guitar, I have other plans so the neck might be kept as a spare. I still want to repair it if the board isn't to far gone, I can use it as practice for my other guitars that need finishing. I have a Korean made Thunder II that has had it's fretboard sprayed with primer..... Happy days!!!

DAN.