Members Xodiac Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 I have an electric guitar which I recently aquired that was built over 20 years ago. This model guitar DOES NOT USUALLY have a pickguard, however this one did. After removing the pickguard, yep you guessed it, the swimming pool was uncovered. My plan is to fill the 'pool' completely, sand it out smooth, AND THEN re-route new pickup cavities. At this point I just finished sanding the neck and body (neck-thru-body guitar) down to the bare wood. So filling the 'pool' is the next task on the list. I've been doing the regular websearches using Google and have seen many 'different' examples for guitar repair and so forth. I do plan to use a solid color when refinishing the guitar, so it doesnt have to look pretty, as long as it can be sanded/drilled/routed like normal wood. What compound, epoxy, resin, or wood filler is best for this occasion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ECFan Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Stewart-MacDonald Epoxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Xodiac Posted May 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by ECFan Stewart-MacDonald Epoxy any clue how many of these i may need to fill a fender-style pickup/electronics cavity? ...and are there disadvantages to using standard wood putty? just curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shocker Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Why not sand down the finish on the inside and glue in a piece of alder or whatever it currently is? It can't be any worse than trying to fill it with glue. //S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Twangzilla Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by Shocker Why not sand down the finish on the inside and glue in a piece of alder or whatever it currently is? It can't be any worse than trying to fill it with glue.//S This is what I would reccomend. Then use the filler to blend it in around the edges so you dont have lines show up after paint. Kyle G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headless Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by Xodiac I have an electric guitar which I recently aquired that was built over 20 years ago. This model guitar DOES NOT USUALLY have a pickguard, (neck-thru-body guitar) filler is best for this occasion? OK, I'll bit. What kind of guitar is it that's over 20 years old, with neck through construction and no pickguard? B.C. Rich? Carvin? Alembic? Moonstone? By the way, I've seen bowling ball material used for such "fill-in" projects. A custom ball maker could help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mistersuperfly Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by headless OK, I'll bit. What kind of guitar is it that's over 20 years old, with neck through construction and no pickguard?B.C. Rich? Carvin? Alembic? Moonstone?By the way, I've seen bowling ball material used for such "fill-in" projects. A custom ball maker could help with that. BOWLING BALL MATERIAL?!?! Wow, wouldn't a block of maple/mahogany/alder work? It wouldn't even have to be perfect, just fill the sides of the cavity with wood putty, plop it in there and sand it down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members botakyam Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 I would agree with just filling the route with the alder or whatever material the whole body is made of and then work on it from there. Wood + Wood makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Xodiac Posted May 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by headless OK, I'll bit. What kind of guitar is it that's over 20 years old, with neck through construction and no pickguard? it's a 1981 USA made neckthru BC Rich Mockingbird - there was a limited run of a certain model back then which came with a fender pickup config (3 single coils) and pickguard, as well as a fender tremolo bridge and fender style reversed headstock. the pickup cavities have the wiring trench that runs through them, and then into the electronics cavity. i plan to fill all this, including the electronics cavity, then re-router for dual humbuckers, relocate electronics cavity to back, and already have the back spring cavity there, so i'm retrofitting an original floyd rose on it, which will require a small amount of routing on the top for recessing it. i do plan to take some photos of my progress on this, and i'll post them once this project is completed. it will give you a better image of where the instrument came from, and where its going, eventually. i dont work on it every single day, but i make a little headway on it every week, so its gonna be a little while. also im glad that im not in a rush to complete it, because i dont want to make a wrong turn that i'll regret later. im fairly competent with woodworking, however i dont claim to be a luthier and have never done anything like this before. wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zac102 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 honestly, I think what you're planning on doing to that guitar is a mistake. you might d best to sell that to someone, and just buy a guitar closer to what you actually want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shocker Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 ^ I agree. BTW, I wouldn't worry too much about a swimming pool route. You could always get a PG with dual HB's. But, it is your guitar, so, vaya con dios. //S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mixedxboy Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 if you're thinking of filling the pool with epoxy that's definitely a big mistake. it would undoubtedly be expensive at over $7 for four ounces! i don't think it would be very good for routing the pickup cavities and sanding/finishing/etc., not to mention the drastic effect that a big hunk of plastic-type stuff in the middle of your guitar would have on tone. people are definitely on the right track with using a block of wood and then this epoxy to fill in the gaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitArtMan Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by zac102 honestly, I think what you're planning on doing to that guitar is a mistake. you might d best to sell that to someone, and just buy a guitar closer to what you actually want. Finally someone is talking some sense here. What do you think filling the swimming pool route will do? Why bother? Sell the guitar and get one that is set up the way you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 I also wonder why you would bother to go through all this work and expense when the most logical move is to just sell the thing and grab a guitar configured more to your prefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chiro972 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 This sounds just like the kind of stupid project I would undertake. I'd spend lots of time and too much money to decide it wasn't worth it and go spend more money buying something else. Hope you have more stick-to-it'ness than I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aclarke Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 i've posted this link before here, and you might want to take a look at it. it's a tutorial on filling a trem cavity, but it's pretty much the technique you're looking for. http://projectguitar.com/tut/tht1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members robt57 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by zac102 honestly, I think what you're planning on doing to that guitar is a mistake. you might d best to sell that to someone, and just buy a guitar closer to what you actually want. I agree, extra glued seams are bad enough, but to load the cavity with epoxy... I think you might be flirting with makeing it sound like {censored}.Not to mention adding weight you may not want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by zac102 honestly, I think what you're planning on doing to that guitar is a mistake. you might d best to sell that to someone, and just buy a guitar closer to what you actually want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hollow body Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 No one's mentioned Bondo (auto body filler). I use it on wood under solid finishes all the time: bonds well, sets fast (sandable in like 10 minutes), easy to build up. And real cheap. Only thing is it isn't too strong -- probably stronger than wood filler, but way weaker than epoxy. However, I agree it's probably better to fill the hole with wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zac102 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 bondo(and every other filler for that matter) shouldn't be used to fill big holes, it should only be used as a final and very thin skim coat to hide wrinkles, seams, and other small blemishes. I'd also imagine that it would crack horribly if you tried to machine it. however, a few more things to consider. If you're planning on doing a "restoration", and the guitar came with a swimming pool route, you should leave it alone. If this is a rare type of BC Rich, what I would do is e-mail Ed Roman about it and see if you can trade him the guitar for one of his custom shop pieces. He seems to blow his load at the mere thought of those types of guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by zac102 bondo(and every other filler for that matter) shouldn't be used to fill big holes, it should only be used as a final and very thin skim coat to hide wrinkles, seams, and other small blemishes. I'd also imagine that it would crack horribly if you tried to machine it. Bondo can be used to patch and fill, if you do it in thin layers with fiberglass fabric embedded between the layers. Nasty work...sanding releases fiberlass microfibers that can get in your skin, eyes, lungs. I'd get another guitar. Someone probably wants that one just like it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zac102 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 still, I can't think of any practicle application where you would want to do that. with wood working, you can always fill with wood, metal, there's always welding patch panels, in most applications, fiberglass is just a thin sheet. but I wouldn't want to be the guy to work with fiberglass that deep, and I've done a lot of repairs with glass. A few years ago, I helped my grandfather strech a fiberglass kit car body 5 inches, widen it 6, and add on some fender flares. During the cutting and sanding, I was wearing a full resperator(not just a dust mask) and it still took a lot out of my lungs. The guy that originaly made the body made the firewall about an inch thick, so trying to do the wirring harness was a real pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members k4df4l Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by jerry_picker Bondo can be used to patch and fill, if you do it in thin layers with fiberglass fabric embedded between the layers. Nasty work...sanding releases fiberlass microfibers that can get in your skin, eyes, lungs.I'd get another guitar. Someone probably wants that one just like it is. The only thing that gets you with bondo or some expoxy products is the number of fills that you see pop over time due to the different rates and degrees of expansion & contraction (or lack there of) of the two radically different materials and lack of transition that most people leave between the patch and body when the instrument gets exposed to humidity changes. There are expoxy fillers made to be more flexible and cope with some movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zac102 Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 also, if the guitar looks like this, I really wouldn't touch it, its one of the more attractive bc richs I've seen. http://homepage.mac.com/bcrich/vintage_file/85849/e.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted May 2, 2005 Members Share Posted May 2, 2005 Originally posted by k4df4l The only thing that gets you with bondo or some expoxy products is the number of fills that you see pop over time due to the different rates and degrees of expansion & contraction (or lack there of) of the two radically different materials and lack of transition that most people leave between the patch and body when the instrument gets exposed to humidity changes. There are expoxy fillers made to be more flexible and cope with some movement. Oh, I agree! I was just trying to make a case for NOT doing this on a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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