Pro I cabinet refinish

Instruments, mechanical issues, copedents, techniques, etc.

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Mike DiAlesandro
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Pro I cabinet refinish

Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

After years in the Southwest sun , this Sho~Bud Pro I faded from cherry red to a somewhat blotchy look...


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Stripped finish with 80 grit, and then sanded it to 220 and carefully sanded inlay.



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Next, I clear coated inlay only, masking the rest of the cabinet. After that I masked the inlay and sprayed the cabinet with Vintage Amber from StewMac.



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I attempted a tobacco sunburst finish, it was a learning experience, but I am pretty pleased with the results. Now to add the Sho~Bud water decal, then apply the final clear coats...

Thanks for the advice from Forum members that I gained from reading previous posts, it was quite helpful.



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Gotta say, sunburst finishes definitely require some artistic talent, which I have very little to none ... :lol:


Mike D
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Joe Krumel
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Post by Joe Krumel »

looks fine to me.When you get the hardware etc. back on,that thing is going to look great... good job!!
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Eric Dahlhoff
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Nice!

Post by Eric Dahlhoff »

Pretty cool looking sunburst :whoa:
I would be too timid to try that!
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Erv Niehaus
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Post by Erv Niehaus »

This is an Emmons I redid in a sunburst finish:
Erv

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Mike DiAlesandro
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Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

Joe and Eric - Thanks for the kind words, it's been fun. I kinda am up against the weather to try and get this finished before the weather here turns in Northeast Ohio, record highs the past few days.

Erv - Your Emmons looks great! I was hoping to leave more of the amber in the center as you did, but the tobacco brown kinda had a mind of it's own...

Here it is with the water decal, the unpolished endplates were for measurement purposes.



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Erv Niehaus
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Post by Erv Niehaus »

Mike,
You did good! :D
Erv
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Ken Mizell
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Post by Ken Mizell »

I think this looks quite nice. Once it is all dressed up it should look great, especially with polished end plates, changer, and key head. A black fret board with red and white card signs will set it off.
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Skip Edwards
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Post by Skip Edwards »

I think you did a really nice job. It's different from other bursts, and I like that.
Would you consider a white fretboard? Might really make it pop...
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Greg Cutshaw
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Post by Greg Cutshaw »

Looks awesome, keep posting progress pics!
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Mike DiAlesandro
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Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

Thanks Erv, Ken, Skip, and Greg. I am going to have a local furniture repairman spray the clearcoats of lacquer, the weather here has gotten too cold.

Skip - yes I am thinking a white fretboard might be the icing on the cake. I called Dawn Jackson a few times, but she hasn't got back to me. Jackon guitar has/had metal silkscreened boards. The dust catcher that was on there won't look right.

Greg - I believe I have a Telonics amp you previously owned. I received it on a trade from Mark Miller up in Buffalo. Great amp, I really like it.

Stay safe,
Mike D
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David Decker
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Post by David Decker »

Looks great Mike !!
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Ken Mizell
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Post by Ken Mizell »

Mike - Tom Bradshaw has Sho-Bud fret boards. Here's a link:

http://www.songwriter.com/bradshaw/fretboards.php

Get both colors and see what looks best.
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Bill Terry
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Post by Bill Terry »

Nice job Mike!

I built a Partscaster Tele a few years back and decided to try a sunburst. I used products from this company BTW, a great resource for DIY guitar finishes.

https://www.reranch.com/

I agree, a sunburst is an art form. I practiced on some scrap planks to get the fade just right, or more accurately, as close as I could to 'right'. It turned out 'ok'.

I've seen a few vintage Fender factory sunbursts that weren't all that great IMO. Like maybe they hired a new guy and he was still learning. :-)
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Skip Edwards
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Post by Skip Edwards »

Mike, also give Jim Palenscar a call at Steel Guitars of North County. He may have some.
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Billy Knowles
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paint

Post by Billy Knowles »

Mike, Great pain job
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my web site: http://www.steelguitareast.com
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Mike DiAlesandro
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Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

Thanks Billy, and David and Bill, I appreciate it. :-)

I ordered a white and a black fretboard from Jim Palenscar. Thanks for the heads up on that Skip, I didn't know that Jim sold fretboards.

Ken, thanks for the link, Tom contacted me. I told him I was hoping to find a metal board, which I was able to do. I will post photos of both color fretboards when I am finished to get some opinions on which looks best.

A few more coats of lacquer, and then 30 days to cure and I should be ready to start putting her back together again...
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Kevin Mincke
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Post by Kevin Mincke »

Beautiful Mike. Nice job bringing th ol girl back! Thanks for posting the progress pics.
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Mike DiAlesandro
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Fretboard Opinion?

Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

Well I had some time to do some reassembly, and try out 2 different fretboards courtesy of Jim Palenscar.

The opinion in these parts is that the black and silver board is choice one, but I am interested in other thoughts as well, the white board has a different look, but it's pretty nice looking in it's own right.

White board w/ flash.


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White board without flash.



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Black board with flash.



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Black board without flash.



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David Ball
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Post by David Ball »

I'll put in a vote for the white board--Both of my old Buds have white boards and I love the way they look...

On your guitar, I think the white board makes the sunburst stand out a bit more, which I like.


Dave
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Andrew Goulet
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Post by Andrew Goulet »

Wow nice job! Looks beautiful. Personally, sunburst is not my favorite finish but you did a great job on it.
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Colin Swinney
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Post by Colin Swinney »

I agree with David, that white board makes the guitar look even sharper than it does already. Can’t go wrong either way though, well done!
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Mike DiAlesandro
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Post by Mike DiAlesandro »

Thanks guys, little bit of a different perspective...

Gotta say, the photo's seem to point to the white fretboard as the one to go with.


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Greg Milton
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Re: Pro I cabinet refinish

Post by Greg Milton »

Mike DiAlesandro wrote:Gotta say, sunburst finishes definitely require some artistic talent, which I have very little to none ... :lol:
I think what you've done looks better than most sunbursts I've seen. The fact that it comes in a little bit unevenly makes it look more rustic, to my eyes anyway.

I vote for the black fretboard - it makes it look more distinguished to me
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Dave Meis
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Post by Dave Meis »

I have white boards on my LDG and my Mullen. When I got my Mullen, it had the black board on it, and I liked the LDG so well that I ordered a white board for the Mullen. When it arrived, I used a very small piece of double backed tape at each end to try it out, and I've never had a problem with the tape, so, now I have both! Easy to remove/reinstall!
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Edward Efira
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Post by Edward Efira »

A real beauty Mike, I think I like the black board even better!
<small><b>'75 Sho-Bud 4&4, '01 Zumsteel 8&8, 2012 Zum Hybrid 4&6</b></small>
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