SOS: My Pantera x300 needs parts and a re-finish.

Hello Westone enthusiasts.

I have a Pantera x300 that has been modified with an amateur paint job and has some missing items. I'd appreciate some guidance.

1. The neck and body have been painted with a cream finish. The last owner said that originally it was pearl white with a satin black neck. Beneath the neck plate I can see the original pearl white finish. The newer paint appears to be quite thin. Is it possible to remove that newer paint and get down to the original without damage or should I just remove all of it and refinish?
2. I'm missing the tremolo bar and the collar that the tremolo bar winds into.
3. I'm missing all of the stringnut fasteners/holders.
4. I'm missing the tremolo black cover on the back and its screws.
5. I'll need genuine decals.
6. I'm missing the Allen keys and the Allen key holder that is found on the back of the headstock.
7. The bridge humbucker pickup is not original to this model.

I think that's about it. So can I source these original parts, where, how and what should I do as far as the paint job?

I know some of you shared some information with me before in my first thread but now that I have the guitar I thought I would begin a new thread and centralise the information. Thanks a lot.

Hi there... in answer to your Qs..

1. Possibly. Try thinners on a part of the body that doesn't show and see what happens. Even sanding with wet and dry in the very smooth grits - 800, 1200, 1500, 2000 -  is an option...
When all else fails, re-finish in a 2-pack.
2. The wang bar is a stock part from Stewmac under Bars, 6mm, imported. The collar... not so much. They are peculiar to the Bendmaster Deluxe and are the very devil to find. Good luck with that!!
3. Bolts and lock washers are available from our very own Sgt. Vimes for the cost of postage; get 2 or 3 sets!! Bear in mind you'll have to cut your own shims from 1mm steel that go underneath the strings on the lock base!!
4. I suspect most of the people in here have made their own trem cavity cover from the likes of an old DVD case or similar! I know the Spectrum covers were markedly different to the Fender covers; I'll check the Pantera one and compare it. If it IS the same as the Spectrum, there's a post in technical early on with all of the measurements.
5. You won't get OEM decals. Simple as that. These guitars were made in the mid 80s and the company went tits-up in about 1988, so once again, 'rolling your own' or having them made is the only option there, apart from having an airbrush artist do them for you. I've made a few sets of decals now and they work just fine.
6. The Allen key holder can be obtained from Stewmac or one of the other guitar part wholesalers; find one that looks similar and away you go! Allen keys from Mitre 10.
7. These had an MMK45 with a cover peculiar to the model; they are fetching stupid money on the on-line auction sites but keep an eye on them anyway, bargains do occasionally turn up. One of the guys in here may have one spare??

Lastly, give us a look at the thing, eh?!  

Thanks Corsair.

1. I'll try wet and dry sanding first. If not I was thinking of the old acrylic automobile paint (water based) instead of two-pack. Isn't 2-pack too hard for a guitar body?
4. If I can get hold of the correct acrylic (which I have access to acrylic sheets) I could easily cut it to measure. I could even have it done via CNC (which I have access to as well).
5. What are the decal sizes and what were the originals made of? I suppose they were under the laquer?
6. These Allen key holders from Stewmac are the same size?
7. Original bridge pickup will be based on opportunity, there's no rush for it.

Yes, I'll get some pictures organised.

The original paint is 2 pack. Base coat and lacquer.

With care you'll be able to flat back and polish up the lacquer. Depending on what you find underneath???

corsair wrote:Hi there... in answer to your Qs..


2. The wang bar is a stock part from Stewmac under Bars, 6mm, imported. The collar... not so much. They are peculiar to the Bendmaster Deluxe and are the very devil to find. Good luck with that!!

Nothings impossible. Can supply a replacement collar and bar for the Bendmaster Deluxe/Bendmaster/and FT type trem. bridges.

My custom finish Avenger was done in 2 pack auto paint and the finish off the gun is nothing short of phenominal; it hadn't yet been final polished and the thing just gleams!! The painter reckons it's good enough to survive anything up to and including nuclear holocaust.

The decals we'll sort out when you're ready to go; I suspect they weren't just waterslide transfers but something tricky and commercial and yes, they're under the clear.

I can't remember where I got my allen key holder, but it was a dead ringer for the OEM ones; frankly, I think they're a waste of space; I certainly don't keep any Allen keys in them - they live in an old ashtray on my bench!!

I'll go and check the cavity covers tonight and let you know. I had some made and drilled/countersunk for pennies when I lived in New Zealand.

Damians' solution for the collar is to be recommended.... if you're interested, PM him.

Flame on!!

Looks ok.

Stick the pictures up for public eyeballs... 

Looking at the Stewmac tremolos, is the collar already part of it?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar_tremolos/Floyd_Rose_tremolos_and_parts/Tremolo_Arm_for_Floyd_Rose.html

Wrong part matey.
You want 6mm dia. import: CLICK HERE

Ah ok ... it's this one.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar_tremolo_parts/6mm_Tremolo_Arm.html

Ah...ya, right. hence the "Click Here"     

On ebay I found this Allen Key holder but looking at pictures of the x300 on searches it isn't the same.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Parts-Floyd-Rose-ALLEN-KEY-HOLDER-SET-for-Headstock-BLACK-/310831275887?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item485efcdf6f#ht_1142wt_1133

Don't buy any trem arm as yet. You haven't got anything to screw it into.

Let me check things tomorrow in the store.

ar8284 wrote:On ebay I found this Allen Key holder but looking at pictures of the x300 on searches it isn't the same.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Guitar-Parts-Floyd-Rose-ALLEN-KEY-HOLDER-SET-for-Headstock-BLACK-/310831275887?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item485efcdf6f#ht_1142wt_1133

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Vintage-Floyd-Rose-Allen-Wrench-Holder-/121241971346?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c3a95aa92

... hmmm, it's looks like they're not as easy to find as they used to be!!

Were the Westone Allen key holders a shape and size of their own?

They are like the one I linked to.... chamfered corners.

A couple of pictures.

I do have a shim beneath the locking nut. Looking at pics of other x300 guitars I know they have one square cover and two non-square covers on the end of the nut. I can't find those types on internet searches.

This is what I've discovered thus far with a bit of turps. It looks like there is 1 to 2 mm of paint over the original. I wonder if the decals lay intact beneath.

That stringlock is an aftermarket one, probably a Kahler so a visit to Kahler might pay dividends. The OEM Bendmaster ones tended to be fragile if handled heavily and this is maybe what happened tp the one on your guitar.

Part 197 + the screws, I guess....

http://www.wammiworld.com/x55xx.php

http://www.ebay.com/itm/String-Lock-Black-Plate-w-mounting-screws-and-wrench-/220847963591?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item336b907dc7

I was looking at Westbone's x300 Pearl White pictures in another thread. I assume that Westbone's is all stock standard.

Sorry Westbone ... see PM message.

This is the same message you PM'd me... 

Hi guys

I haven't disappeared. I'm still removing that paint layer and sealer. Will be back when I'm all done. I also just started work again, so it's slowed me down a bit.