Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 10 - Headstock Decals

I had ordered vinyl headstock decals rather than the usual waterslide decals.  I'm not trying to pretend this guitar is something that it is not and I like the 3D look of vinyl decals.  I'm not all that keen on size of the word 'MODEL' but I will live with it!

Now I can start burying the decal in lacquer.  I will also cover the body with as many layers as I can manage and then let it dry for a couple of weeks before wet sanding and polishing before re-assembly.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 9 - Masking for Racing Stripes.

At last we are on to the fun stuff... I have marked a centre line and then carefully laid out the middle stripe then I'm using a 6mm piece of tape as a spacer for the outer stripes.

The front is now laid out, the edges of the guitar need some careful laying out as the edge is curved so the tape wants to wonder off line.  It was almost impossible to make the right hand thin strip run around the cut-out so I finished the line on the top and the back as neatly as possible avoiding the issue.

Once the front and back were masked up I put some newspaper over the rest of the body to prevent over-spray.

I wiped the exposed area clean and then tentatively started to apply the Ivory paint in thin coats giving about 15 - 20 minutes between coats.

I paid special attention to the edges and was careful not to spray the paint too 'wet' to avoid runs.

And finally the big reveal!!! Patient masking has paid off, it's important to use good quality masking tape.

The back looks fantastic as well.  I will let the paint cure for 24 hours then start the clear topcoats.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 8 - A Little Colour At Last!

I sprayed the neck and body using thin coats gradually building up ensuring an even coverage with no grey undercoat showing through.

I had to take the stick off the neck and used a bent tent peg to hang it up to dry between coats.

Telecaster Project - 2 - More Template Tuning

The last thing I did yesterday was to apply filler all round the edge to fill the voids and facilitate a smooth finish around the perimeter of the template. I didn't have much time after work today so I sanded round the edge until I was happy that a router but would happily glide round the edge.

Nice and smooth around the edge, I will have to seal the template in a more permanent way once I've finished refining it.

I also took the clamps off my 4 piece body blank - Perfect fit!

Well I'm excited to progress with this project... roll on the weekend!

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 7 - Design Ideas

So this is pretty much how the Epiphone Les Paul Special Model looked when it was brand new.  The one I bought looked slightly more battle worn than this!  I thought long and hard on how to refinish the guitar including an RAF target design.  I found a site which lets you create your own designs and these are some of the ones I came up with.

 Black with an off white racing stripe.

Gold Top with a brown stripe?

 Something with a swish!

Another variation on the 'swish' theme.

Finally I decided on the above colour scheme and trotted off to Halfords to find a similar colour.  I plan to spray with Auto paints as I don't have access to a compressor and spray gun.  The colours I chose were Ford Neptune Green and Ford Ivory White. Cant wait to see it finished now!

By the way check out the SC Guitar Editor here http://www.frankmontag.com/sc_guitar.htm

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 6 - Primer Coats At Last

At last the first tentative coats or primer are on.  Its then a case of waiting about 15 minutes then putting another thin coat on and gradually building up a solid layer of primer.

The body was then sanded down with 800 grit sandpaper, this revealed a few low spots which were filled and then sanded smooth.  The process is then repeated.

It is very easy to sand through to the wood at this stage especially round the edges where the paint is thinner.

Here I'm paying special attention to the cut out.  I only needed one can of primer to cover the neck and body.

Finally we have a smooth coat of primer on which is left overnight to cure.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 5 - Sander Sealer

 Ok so the next stage after rough sanding and removing all the old primer, paint and lacquer was to seal any grain I had exposed.  The better job I do here the better the final finish will be.

I bought a small can of  Sanding Sealer, it comes in a tin as a thick paste.  The idea is to thin it down with white spirit to a consistency which allows it to be rubbed in with a rag.  Once all the exposed grain is covered it is left to dry and then sanded smooth ready for the primer coat.

After repeating the process I attached a piece of wood with a hook on the end to hang the neck and body.  I also masked off the fretboard ready for primer.

Telecaster Project - 1 - Template

My ambition is ultimately build my own guitars from scratch.  I started the Epiphone Les Paul refinish project to get a feel for things, understand the skills and techniques I need to develop and practice finishing.  I decided to start by making a template based on Fender Telecaster style guitar.

I found a template on-line, downloaded it and printed it onto A4 size paper, then carefully cut each section out and glued them to a piece of hardboard. (MDF would have been better but this was lying around in the garage).  

Once the glue dried there was a lot of creases.  The lesson here is to use a thicker paper or light card to print the outline onto, or use a spray glue which doesn't wet the paper too much.  I don't think the creases will have too much baring on the final template.

I then used my Jigsaw to rough out the template.  I wish I had been a little more confident and cut closer to the line, I have left myself a lot of sanding and filing.

Using a combination of planes, files and sanding blocks I gradually refined the edges to the outline.

Then I applied filler all round the edge, I can get a better, smoother finish once it has dried.  I plan to varnish the template once its finished and hopefully use it over and over again.

I was looking around the garage and I found a piece of pine about 1 1/2" thick and 4" wide, I figured that I could build a prototype using the pine for the body (with something laminated on  the front to make up the required 1 3/4" body depth).  I cut it into 4 equal pieces and then sanded the edges and glued and clamped it all together.

I will let this set overnight and take the clamps off tomorrow after work! Stay tuned for more updates.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 4 - Sanding, Sanding and More Sanding!

That's all the rough sanding completed, there are some signs of filler both on the front and all round the edges of the guitar.

 The body is laminated so there is plenty of filler round the edge, I added my own filler where needed, there was a couple of dinks and dents but nothing major.  Once the filler has set it was sanded smooth and reapplied where required.

The headstock needed a little filler and some gentle sanding and shaping.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 3 - Power Tools and Elbow Grease!

 Firstly I used the power sander to take of most of the surface lacquer, black coat and primer trying to carefully avoid taking of too much of the sander sealer.

 Some careful clamping makes it easier to access the cut-out and rounded sides.

I finished rough sanding the front and back then concentrated on the sides. Close inspection shows the grain showing through by the control cavity.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 2 - Stripping The Paint

First things first, this Epiphone Les Paul Special Model had seen better days but still played great, so I decided to strip the paint right back to bare wood and fill any imperfections and then completely respray the body and the neck.  I also plan to replace some of the worn out and damaged hardware.

So it's out with the power tools and off with the finish!  There are several layers of lacquer to get through, followed by the black colour, primer and sander sealer (although I want to preserve as much of the sander sealer as possible to save work later).

There is a little damage on the headstock which will need filling, and a couple of dings on the body.

Epiphone Les Paul Special Model - 1 - Refurbishment

I would like to one day build my own guitars but before that I though I might try my hand at refinishing an existing guitar first.  I purchased a second hand battle worn Epiphone Special Model Les Paul similar to the one above.  Mine was also finished in black but I planned to change the colour and replace some of the hardware as well.

Stay tuned for pictures and progress reports over the next couple of weeks.