'Driftwood" Strat getting a new look, New Pics

[scartozi]

I wasn't an easy decision to come to but after doing my last MIM strat remodel and seeing how the ebony fretboard stain worked on the body and grain I decided that I would redo Driftwood. Back when I had my original idea for Driftwood I wanted it to be mainly black with dark brown grain showing through....to match the wenge neck.

For the project I originally purchased minwax ebony stain. After applying the stain it became apparent that the "ebony" stain was more of a brown. So that's the direction I took for the rest of the build kinda disappointed that it wasn't more black. I still loved the way it turned out and thought everything worked well together. BUT, now I know that by using the ebony fretboard stain and sanding slightly through the stain I can obtain exactly what I was originally looking for.

So....I'll be refinishing the body and the wooden pickguard to mimic the look of wenge or striped ebony. Guitar is already disassembled and in the garage. Should have it sanded and maybe even stained tonight. I can't decide weather or not to use black pickup covers and ebony knobs or aged white pickup covers and aged knobs...guess I'll have to try both.

if all goes well I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow....depending on how things go tonight. With all the coats of tung oil I have to do I should have it completed and playing by next weekend....hopefully

 

[DangerousR6]

You still thinking of using the aluma-gridge on it, or is that for another project.. :icon_scratch:

 

[scartozi]

Doug...I thought about that tonight but I'm going to use it on a future build. If I had a hardtail it would work but since it's a trem I'd have to drill the 6 holes in the front of the bridge to mount it.

The body is sanded and the ebony stain applied and I'll let it sit overnight then start applying the tung oil tomorrow. Can't wait to get the oil on as see the grain pop. After the first coat of oil I'll polish it with some 0000 steel wool to get the transparency I want. I also sanded and stained the wood pickguard, buffed it with a cloth, coated it with tung oil and buffed, pretty anxious to see this come together. Pics coming tomorrow

 

[scartozi]

This has got to be a record time for me refinishing a guitar. I started yesterday evening and it's pretty much done. I'm letting the final light coat of tung oil sit for a day or two then I'll give it the final polish. Meanwhile here are a couple pics.

it turned out exactly how I originally wanted it to look way back when....black, weathered, dents dings...etc. The finish looks like ebony, meaning that if you look at it in the sunlight it's black with some grays and browns but in most light it looks black. I could have sanded the stain more and went for a slightly more glossy finish and the grain would have come through even more but I think that would have taken away from the ebony look. I had some flat black pickup covers I put in but it was to much black. I also thought about using white knobs but i think it took away from the theme. It does however look pretty good with a white aged pickgard, pickup covers and knobs.

I'll post more pics when the finish is completed.

 

[rapfohl09]

Not to say anything against the original, but I like it MUCH MUCH better this way :icon_thumright:

 

[scartozi]

Me too!  :icon_biggrin: I wish I would have discovered the ebony fretboard stain last year....could have saved myself some time. I thought the minwax ebony stain would be..well...ebony, but it was brown and I just went with it and was happy with it until I recently got the fretboard stain to dye my MIM rosewood fretboard and then wondered how it would look on a body. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

 

[Nando Vallart]

It's looking really really good!

 

[dmraco]

looks cool...but i like the original better.

 

[NQbass7]

looks cool...but i like the original better.

I'm with this too. I liked the brown wood look with the black, gave it a nice contrast. Not that it looks bad now though, just my preference.  :dontknow:

 

[scartozi]

I agree that the brown and black worked well together and it's not like I didn't like the way it looked. Last year when this project started I wanted the body to match the wenge neck and the ebony fretboard...like the body and neck were made from the same woods. I also wanted a weathered look so when it came out brown I wasn't disappointed at all but I was hoping for more of a black than brown.

 

[Slylock Fox]

Man!  this looks killer.

The original Reminds me of my old beast:

Those look like some pretty beefy strings.  I'm gonna guess 12's.  Flatwound?

Anyway, Many kudos!

 

[scartozi]

I like "the beast".......the strings are 11-58 GHS SRV signature.

I knew there would be those who like the old and those who like the new.....whagonnado

 

[Slylock Fox]

knew there would be those who like the old and those who like the new.....whagonnado

You do what you like.  arty07: :guitarplayer2: :guitaristgif: :guitarplayer2: arty07: :guitaristgif:

 

[Disco Scottie]

looks cool...but i like the original better.

I'm with this too. I liked the brown wood look with the black, gave it a nice contrast. Not that it looks bad now though, just my preference.  :dontknow:

I'm in the "liked the original better" club. The new look is great, but I really loved the way it initially turned out. Been used to seeing it in your sig for so long, it's weird to see it looking so different.

 

[scartozi]

OK, OK ......I'll be honest. I was just looking for a change and for less than 4hrs of work I got a "new" guitar. I have 3 strats.....2 MIM's and 1 MIA. I always have to make due with what I have and if I want a "new" guitar that means one of them is getting refinished. Since having a child and another on the way everything I do has to be for little or no money out of pocket. I remember a time when it was OK for me to spend thousands on guitars but those times are long gone. Since I do have a superwide neck laying around I'm hoping to get the green light to order a body....someday. that's one of the reasons I love the strat, with little money you can change the whole look of a guitar....pickup covers, knobs, pickgard....etc. so for me it was just wanting something new to look at, something fresh. I need to post some pics of it in the sunlight....once it stops raining.

 

[mayfly]

Nice work.

Exactly what was the ebony stain that you used?  The fredboard stuff from Stu Mac or something similar?

 

[scartozi]

Nice work.

Exactly what was the ebony stain that you used?  The fredboard stuff from Stu Mac or something similar?

Yes....the ebony fretboard dye/stain from Stew Mac

Hope to have some new pics up this weekend....been a busy week.

 

[scartozi]

Here are some pics after the final buffing with 0000 steel wool.....silky smooth

 

[scartozi]

....and some more pics

 

[Cagey]

That's an interesting look. I like it better than the last finish.