If I want a Gotoh 510, but a DIY paint ready body…

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

Would it be easier to have Warmoth install the studs and just do my best to tape them off when painting, or try to install the studs myself after painting?

 

[rauchman]

It's pretty easy to hammer the studs in yourself. Personally, I'd complete the finish and then install the studs. After having done 3 unfinished to finished bodies, this is my preference.

If you put the studs in before you complete the finish, you'll have to tape over and protect the studs as your putting finish on the body. If you do the finish first, and then gently hammer in the studs, you won't have to worry about the studs getting finish material on it, and you'll reduce the likelihood of a non perfect finish around the studs.

 

[Rick]

either way works. I have them install the studs and then I tape over. Just one less thing to anxt over. The more anxiety I can outsource the better (for me.) YMMV

 

[aarontunes]

Would it be easier to have Warmoth install the studs and just do my best to tape them off when painting, or try to install the studs myself after painting?

I would have W install the studs and tape them over.

 

[Hodgo]

What kind of finish?

If you’re applying a poly I don’t think there’s any problem with installing studs post finish.

A thin nitro? A little riskier, but I’d still do it after

 

[ThisIsHuhWow404]

What kind of finish?

If you’re applying a poly I don’t think there’s any problem with installing studs post finish.

A thin nitro? A little riskier, but I’d still do it after

I was going to finish it with the Rustoleum can that says “clear satin.”

 

[Hodgo]

I was going to finish it with the Rustoleum can that says “clear satin.”

Assuming that’s enamel I say do the studs last. YMMV.

 

[MajorZ26]

I would have W install the studs and tape them over.

Curious, why would you recommend this? (I am in the exact same scenario as OP)

 

[aarontunes]

Curious, why would you recommend this? (I am in the exact same scenario as OP)

1. Installing studs into a painted body introduces the risk of damaging the paint. Do it pre-paint and that risk becomes nil. (Installing ferules and top-ferules carries the same risk, but this can't be done prior to paint.) With care and the right tools studs can be installed in a painted body without too much trouble, but....
2. Having W do it saves me having to install them myself. (Time = money.)

 

[sdeeg]

I haven't found installing the studs post finishing to be an issue. Clean out the hole with a bit of the appropriate size and chamfer the edge and you should be good to go. I use a drill press and guide for things like this, but you can certainly hammer (tap!) them in. I'd still recommend a guide though. My usual trick for situations like this is to cut the head off a bolt, jam a couple nuts on the threaded part with an inch or so sticking out, and slide the smooth side into the part I'm installing. This will give you something easy to tap on so you can skip the part where you tap on your fingers, and the shaft slipped into the stud will help keep it nice and vertical so it doesn't go all catty-wonky. And you won't risk denting the stud by banging on it directly.

Also, far easier (IMNSHO) and far less toxic is to hand rub shellac (AKA "French polishing"). When I do it I dissolve flakes into denatured alcohol and rub it on with a little ball made up of old t-shirt material. It's how I finished my strat (you can see a picture if you follow the link in my sig) and several necks. I watched a documentary on Carmine Street Guitars (in NYC) and the guy there used the stuff in a can and just paints it on with a brush. It's got a different feel and is a lot thinner, so it's not for everyone, but it's at least an option to consider and no homemade spray booth or painter's respirator necessary.

 

[MajorZ26]

1. Installing studs into a painted body introduces the risk of damaging the paint. Do it pre-paint and that risk becomes nil. (Installing ferules and top-ferules carries the same risk, but this can't be done prior to paint.) With care and the right tools studs can be installed in a painted body without too much trouble, but....
2. Having W do it saves me having to install them myself. (Time = money.)

Thanks! Sounds reasonable.
Warmoth installs the bridge anchors into the body, and the studs screw into those, right? My main worry is that the two studs jutting out from the body would make it more difficult to paint, finish and sand, but I can just unscrew the studs and cover the anchors with, say, a small circle of tape, correct?

 

[stratamania]

Thanks! Sounds reasonable.
Warmoth installs the bridge anchors into the body, and the studs screw into those, right? My main worry is that the two studs jutting out from the body would make it more difficult to paint, finish and sand, but I can just unscrew the studs and cover the anchors with, say, a small circle of tape, correct?

The bushings are installed into the body. The studs are supplied separately for you to screw in as part of the assembly process.

There would be nothing jutting out of the body during finishing. Just cover the top of the bushings when finishing.

 

[aarontunes]

...but I can just unscrew the studs and cover the anchors with, say, a small circle of tape, correct?

Correct.

As @stratamania points out above, the parts that stay in the body are called "bushings".

 

[MajorZ26]

Sweet. Thanks for clearing that up. Happy to give Warmoth the $25, one less thing for me to mess up on my first build

 

[Spud]

If you are a player, you will notice bushings are nowadays (compared to say the 70's) trimmed very close to the body so they don't get in the way of the finish.