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Epiphone Casino Project.


Anthony_JB

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I'm starting a new thread because my old one was simply a question being asked.

 

This is also being posted as an example to other forum members. So people can get ideas and learn along the way.

Here goes!

 

So, I'm in the process of giving my Casino a full makeover a la ES330: black pickguard, trapeze tailpiece, Gibson style cherry burst, boutique P90s, high quality wiring, and refinish in nitrocellulose lacquer.

 

Basically, what we're looking at is:

2217115597_3cb6f3867d.jpg?v=0

 

And turning it into THIS:

es330_1964_01.jpg

 

So, Day 1 was yesterday 4/6/2010 and was my testing ground to get a feel for the Polyurethane. I started off with the neck and removed most of the poly. Some still remains. Then, I went ahead tackled the back of the guitar with sandpaper.

 

Started off with 100 grit. Took my time, then realized that the poly is laughing and me because all I was doing was scuffing it up. So, I sanded a bit of the horn and was done.

 

Day 2: 4/7/2010

 

I bought some coarse 80 grit sandpaper just in case I got around to sanding the top of the guitar. I didn't. I DID HOWEVER, make some pretty darn good progress with the back and I'm about 85% done with the back completely.

 

Here's what I have so far!

dscn0514y.jpg

 

What have I learned?

 

1) Poly is a b*tch to work with if you can't use heat. Unfortunately, I can't use heat.

 

2) My Chinese Casino is well crafted instrument. I'm quite surprised with the quality of the work on it. The wood work is top notch and is very sturdy.

 

3) The possibility of sanding through the veneer is high once the poly is off, but if you take your time and let the sandpaper do the work you will eventually end up with bare wood, sans stain.

 

Updates to follow. Stay tuned!

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2) My Chinese Casino is well crafted instrument. I'm quite surprised with the quality of the work on it. The wood work is top notch and is very sturdy.

 

Updates to follow. Stay tuned!

 

Looking forward to reading/seeing your progress.

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Keep the photos coming....

 

I am watching with baited breath..... Good luck and keep going slow. I will be most interested in how your going to go about creating the "Burst". It has to be the most difficult thing you are trying to do.

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Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been really busy with school and work, but today I worked on it!

 

Day 3 - 4/11/10

 

I finished up the back of the Casino and it's starting to look prreeetttyyy darn good. No sand through and I managed to get a lot of the cherry "freckles" off but in fear of sanding TOO much I just went ahead and left the back as is. Besides, I'm gonna stain it in Tobacco Brown so I doubt the cherry is gonna be noticable.

 

I started on the front of the Casino and I was even MORE careful. I remembered that I have a hollowbody and too much pressure will crack the top and that would end my endeavor real quick.

 

I managed to get a lot of the poly off and start showing some wood near the right "F" hole. I even managed to take of the bridge studs! Which begs a question!

 

Does anyone know of a place that sells replacement studs? I check Stew Mac and AllParts but they sell the Solidbody style studs which is basically a big screw instead of a small hole for Archtop guitars.

 

I did manage to find what I was looking for on the Gibson website but it's kind of expensive and I can't see a clear picture to be SURE it's what I need. If worse comes to worst, I just use the old studs.

 

So, here's where I'm at so far. I plan to work on it tomorrow and completely strip the top.

dscn0520h.jpg

dscn0519n.jpg

dscn0518.jpg

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dscn0514y.jpg

 

............My Chinese Casino is well crafted instrument. I'm quite surprised with the quality of the work on it. The wood work is top notch and is very sturdy.

 

 

 

Many Gibson owners will have you believe that Epiphones are built like some kind of Frankenstein's monster underneath that poly and veneer. From these pictures it is clear that this generalisation is far from the truth.

 

Yes a Gibson is generally made of finer woods and has better quality hardware and components but the wood grade makes a lot less difference to the sound of an electric guitar than the parts which can be upgraded.

 

IMHO, with a Gibby, a lot of the price differential is due to the country of manufacture, the nitro layers and the name.

 

Epis are great modding platfroms!

 

Alan

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Hey everybody! It's been awhile, I apologize for the lack of updates. I've been really busy with work and school STILL! Ugh, it sucks being a poor college student. Thank goodness for tax returns and financial aid refunds.

 

I've managed to sand ALL of my Casino. Front and back for no sand through of the Maple veneer. Maybe a tad bit where the control cavity is but I'm gonna stain it vintage amber so it won't be noticed at all. Plus, the pickup cover will be over it. Very minimal you have to look for it to notice it.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a camera other than the one on my phone so I'll go ahead and post some tomorrow when I get my camera back.

 

I will say this though. The front has some CRAZY GRAIN going on. I was kind of worried because it just looks excessive, but I'm sure that once I stain it and spray a topcoat over it, it'll look just fine. I figured that the grain that WILL show through the finish will look just fine so I'm not obsessing over it.

 

I ordered my stains and lacquer from StewMac today and I should expect it sometime mid week. I'll let you all know when I start spraying!

 

Thanks for support!

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I once spilled methal hydrate on a urethane finished (table) and what finish it didn't remove was easily sanded off. Don't know how a light application would work on poly or how it would effect the glue or if its guitar safe. Anyone know?

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The Prevail system can work good but be sure to properly thin (for spraying) your coatings &

have extra canisters for the "air".

Nothing worse than trying to "stretch out" a can & it's always right in the middle of the project!

I've got a long list of projects where I did not learn that lesson![crying]

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Thanks for the nice gesture StreakyPete, in all honesty, I'm way in over my head on this project and I don't want to fail at making my Casino into something really personal and unique!

 

Think about it! Who else has a reissue Casino with a Gibson style cherryburst? That's really my main motivation. I don't want it to be another "project guitar" I want it to be personal and mine only.

 

Here's a photo finally.

dscn0709n.jpg

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So, today my lacquer and dyes came in. Whoopie!

 

Sadly, I had to work all darn day! Boo!

 

But, tomorrow the kind of fun part begins. Staining, bursting, and glossing.

 

WOO HOO.

 

Here's a shot of all my stuff, in case you were wondering.

 

img0120sq.jpg

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