Squier JV neck restoration project

Kyri · October 28th, 2009, 01:39 PM

I got hold of an old JV Squier which I received today. I already have an 89 neck thats very similar. Some pics have both side bys side, note the walnut on the JV is more 50's shape, and that the grains are also similar.

I plan to try and restore it, although it may be more work than I thought as I may need to strip the whole thing - any opinions welcome. The easier thing would be to flatten the neck and take the headstock down to the wood, and redo the front. (I can then get my prefered frets put on). The alternative and possibly best for completeness is to sand down the whole thing down to the wood and start again with nitrocellulose. I would have to find the right decal, as people dont seem to have that particular one as restoring squiers is not the done thing. I will use this thread to update any work I do on it over the winter period. I am very excited at the thought of a very playable, good looking, worn in neck and I even have a body which seems to fit it well. EJ strat on the cheap maybe.... here are some pics:

Kyri · October 28th, 2009, 01:42 PM

More pics

T-Bodz Terry B. · October 28th, 2009, 02:23 PM

Hi Kyri,

Thru browsing Strats on Ebay recently I came across a few guys there that will make
whatever logo, font, etc ... decal for your guitar headstock. Maybe you can reach out
to them with a scanned copy of yours with some measurements to at least get you in
the ballpark for accuracy during your restore / project. I think it's great that you're
trying to restore it the way it was / appeared .... two thumbs up Bro!

Terry

AllroyPA · October 28th, 2009, 03:46 PM

You could commision an artist and add a little bling into it like gold-leaf the Squier or something but make it look like the original... hehe

stratagem · October 28th, 2009, 04:19 PM

Is that legit wear-and-tear on the second fret?

Great aged color btw.

Kyri · October 28th, 2009, 04:28 PM

I don't think the wear is from playing, I suspect there was a chip or two and someone had a go at chipping it away... there is not too much wear in the frets and the lacquer is pretty thick, until it gets a chip in it and can flake off. Who knows, the history of it.

I will likely get it refretted like the other one in the picture, as that will sort out all the issues with the front of the board. The guy who did my first one did such a good job, that I trust him to do this one. It would be pretty nice then.

As for the back, I really can't decide whether to strip it all off or not, it will be a bit of work but if I don't then matching the front and back will be difficult...decisions decisions. The aged colour is nice though, would be a shame to lose it.

Kyri · October 28th, 2009, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

You could commision an artist and add a little bling into it like gold-leaf the Squier or something but make it look like the original... hehe

I could do that, its a great idea (noted

) but I may do it on another neck, as this one is so blackie-like and 50's correct that I will either give it a Squier JV logo or a 57 one, although likely the Squier. However I am having trouble getting images of a high enough resolution, as I don't have a picture of an intact one apart from what I found on the internet. I need to provide whoever makes the decal with a picture as they just don't do off the shelf squier decals. Maybe this is a first

If anyone can help me it would be appreciated

regards

Kyri

AllroyPA · October 28th, 2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyri

I could do that, its a great idea (noted

) but I may do it on another neck, as this one is so blackie-like and 50's correct that I will either give it a Squier JV logo or a 57 one, although likely the Squier. However I am having trouble getting images of a high enough resolution, as I don't have a picture of an intact one apart from what I found on the internet. I need to provide whoever makes the decal with a picture as they just don't do off the shelf squier decals. Maybe this is a first

If anyone can help me it would be appreciated

regards

Kyri

Rockape is your man, he's can get you all the pics you need. Ever see his collection, quite supreme.

Rockape · October 28th, 2009, 08:06 PM

I'll have a dig through my archives.......see what I can find.

Kyri · October 30th, 2009, 04:19 PM

I have been having some fun... wanted to check and adjust the truss and general state of the neck before getting it refretted. The sunburst body although very nice, is not a good fit for this neck. Of all the bits I have a squier affinity which is an almost perfect fit. Should be ok until I source a nice black or sb mij body from the ’80’s. The tightness of the neck / red body is not quite as tight as my other mij strat, but not bad at all. I strung it up, and found that after a brief setup of the truss (must have been loosened for storage well done previous owner) it plays very, very well. So well, that I am wondering if the cost of a refret is worth it. I have even cleaned up frets 2 and 11 as best I can. The headstock is cleaned up and if I can match the colour I might just leave the rest as is.

I got a 57 guard (from my 89 mij) and put some a seymour duncan aps2 in the neck, ssl-2 in the middle and ssl3 in the bridge, with the tone pot wired to the bridge, not middle pup. Should sound nice. Anyway enough of my thoughts here are some pics:

Kyri · October 30th, 2009, 04:21 PM

A couple more pics:

Kyri · October 30th, 2009, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Rockape is your man, he's can get you all the pics you need. Ever see his collection, quite supreme.

Thanks for that , I had a look, quite a bit of eye candy (I bet they play well too

)

AllroyPA · October 30th, 2009, 04:22 PM

Not surprising they were built like a brick s*ithouse. Lucky they loosened the truss nut!

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 12:04 PM

Here is the latest - after playing the neck for a while I decided I quite liked its playability. So the refret will wait a bit, in the meantime I stripped the finish using a special blade and 400 to 1200 papers. The markings on the neck were left intact.

First spraying wettened the wood to a nicer yellow than when dry, but since I went down to the grain the first few sprays will absorb a lot of nitro.

Here are some pictures:

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 12:06 PM

The spraying will take a few coats (I will do LOTS of thin coats) but here are the first couple of sprays, notice how it is absorbed by the wood as it dries:

AllroyPA · October 31st, 2009, 12:07 PM

No fret protection ? I guess you'll just wool it ?

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 12:25 PM

I'll sort the frets out later, the nitro will flake off quite easily. Also I won't do as much spraying to the front because it will have a new radius and frets at some stage. I am waiting for the coating to be hard enough to start wet sanding, its just about sealed now after about 5 coats.

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 03:46 PM

A few more sprays with wet sanding in between, its looking like a playable neck now. The 2nd and 11th frets seem fine, most of the problem was on the surface, as was the cig burn (not sure if that was real or an attempt to relic it) In any case with nitro on this neck it should relic naturally with playing. There is a nice flame to the back that I didn't notice before, maybe the aged lacquer hid it.

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 03:48 PM

The front, back, end and close up of the flamed bit:

Kyri · October 31st, 2009, 06:20 PM

A couple of hours later and the neck has had a few more light coats, had some buffing with a light cloth and had the surface of the frets scraped to remove nitro coating. Lucky I got this far as I have run out of spray...

Then I assembled the guitar, it was already setup in terms of truss, action and intonation which I did before stripping the neck. The red affinity body fits and resonates well with this neck, I am pleased with the result. I will play it for a bit and decide what to so with the frets, but it has such a sweet tone this neck reminds me what a difference a good neck can make to the tone.

In a while when the nitro has settled I may sand it some more, maybe put a decal under some more coats. This ones a keeper I think

regards

Kyri

tmenss · November 5th, 2009, 12:04 AM

Kyri Wow, the results are fantastic, as it seems are your skills and patience. Ca I ask what the "special scraper" is and did you use spray equipment or canned spray lacquer? I picked up a Standard squier for its maple neck. I was hoping to eventually refinish that neck and mate it to a cream colored Affiinity, I'd like to take the finish to bare wood, tone it then nitro finish.

Kyri · November 5th, 2009, 01:18 AM

Hi, tmenss, the special blade is designed for slitting tough plastic films and is made by a company called lutz in germany. It is tungsten carbide coated and 0.15mm thick, any thicker or softer materials and it won't do the job, you have to be very careful as these are lethally sharp!! You may be able to get something similar on your side of the ocean. It is a technique I discovered by accident, often depends on the lacquer) the scraping is less invasive to the wood than sanding. I dont think I actually removed any wood during the whole process so the shape of the neck is as it was.

As for the nitro it is a spray can that I buy from a guy locally. Much easier if you dont want to invenst in equipment, for the amount of times i do this it is worth using cans.
Hope that helps!
Regards

Kyri

tmenss · November 5th, 2009, 02:57 PM

Kyri, thanks..your technique seemed to do exactly that...remove laquer not material, beautifully I might add. Not sure if it would work the same on a Poly U removal. I have a nearly new and quite playable Squier Standard all maple neck. hardly any fret wear but want to take it to bare wood to stain and refinish. I almost sort of wish the frets were worn so I could justify a refret, I'd just sand off the finish to guaranty an even stainin of the wood. The sensible thing to do is mount it to the Affinity and play it till a refret is needed! Darn, I'll need to buy another Squier and practice the technique on a neck that needs it.

Kyri · November 5th, 2009, 03:11 PM

You could try a standard blade, a thick one as it would likely work pretty well. I only used the one pictured because I knew it wouldn't wear out (I did the whole neck with that one blade!) and also because I had access to it.
As for the pu you should try it somewhere on the back (maybe the heel) first. If you can get a cheap neck to practise on then all the better!
As for the fretboard if you get even pressure and work in a side to side motion then you use the frets to help you, it takes a bit of practise but you soon get the hang of it. Thing to remember is no sharp movements and a steady side to side scraping using the frets to stop limit the travel. dont press too hard and if the blade snags try to stop or you may cut into the board. Sounds like a lot of messing about but I got to the stage in post 14 before needing to use emery paper.

tmenss · November 5th, 2009, 05:27 PM

Yeah I was thinking of fashioning scrapers by burnishing the tips of smaller chisels. I've also seen some fancy work done with a pack of single edge razor blades. Definitely practice only on usles necks. Well its off to the pawn shop this weekend. Big thanks to for the suggestions!

Kyri · November 14th, 2009, 04:48 AM

Update - after changing to a very nice sunburst body that had an even better (tighter) fit to the neck, I have played it for a bit and just dropped it off for its refret, and should get it back in a week. I miss it already, but it will be worth the wait. In addition to jumbo frets the radius will be changed to 9.5 which will help reduce the choking on the e string. Will post some more pics when the I have resprayed the fretboard after getting it back. This 'winter' project is nearly complete, I found it hard to spread the work out over time...

AllroyPA · November 14th, 2009, 04:52 AM

Wow, it's really become an obsession ,,,, lol

Kyri · November 14th, 2009, 05:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllroyPA

Wow, it's really become an obsession ,,,, lol

I know, I must not to start any new projects and start practising instead

motoman45 · November 14th, 2009, 09:11 AM

very nice.... i have a fender decal if ya need one...

Kyri · November 14th, 2009, 12:05 PM

thanks for the offer, really appreciate it but I was tryng to find a Squier one like the original JV but no luck so far, as I would need to get a detailed high res image of one to get the right decal made. I still do the occasional search on the web but so far the images are not really detailed enough. The decal will probably be the last part of the project, and it will be vintage 50's one if I can't get the exact Squier one, I really hope I can get the right image though.

regards

Kyri

Rockape · November 14th, 2009, 07:24 PM

Hi Kyri,

Please email me at: paul@rumble8251.fsnet.co.uk

Kyri · November 21st, 2009, 07:38 AM

Well its back after the refret... what a great job, ever since I took a guitar to him the first time I always knew I would not take a guitar to anyone else, thats Matt Ryan (Matt Ryan Guitar Repairs)

The neck has a radius around 9.5 but still 7.25-7.5 near the headstock, so a nice compromise and no choking e string anymore. You can see the transition from the pics. I have since removed any remaining lacquer and started spraying, just need to colour match it with the rest of the neck and then I can play it later (had a quick play before taking the neck off... its amazing, removed any concerns I had about modifying a JV neck its much more playable now.

Kyri · November 24th, 2009, 04:43 PM

OK, a few more pictures. I managed to get to this stage a few hours after the last post, but since I have not been able to put the guitar down much since then I have not been updating the thread. I used tinted nitro to get the colour match right (compared to the original anyway).
I am going to do the final phase in some time, which will be the correct decal once I have sourced it. In the meantime I did some practising with a 50's one.
The next step might be the correct body from a 83 or at least a fujigen guitar if I can find one, no hurry as I have a guitar in playable order now, and at the moment the affinity body matches very well and as I said before... I can't put the guitar down!
regards

Kyri

Kyri · December 16th, 2009, 02:58 PM

Since playing this guitar every time I bend the g string at the second fret the string pops out of the nut. Not wanting to replace it I tried a repair using thin superglue and powder/water mix from a sanded down nut. A little crude but it worked, all I need to do is over spray the area to make the colour right. (May not bother, though). Here are some pics:

Kyri · December 16th, 2009, 03:03 PM

I applied the glue with a string as it is very runny and wicks into gaps very (too) easily... the tape was used to protect the finish. I graphited the string to make sure that after sanding down the top skin, it would come out without pulling out the powder/glue mix. Seemed to work. Now I can play it without the annoying popping out g string.

regards

Kyri

AllroyPA · December 16th, 2009, 03:14 PM

Nicely engineered Kyri

Kyri · December 27th, 2009, 04:38 PM

Here is a clip of the guitar in action, its my brother in law who is visiting all the way from minneapolis.

YouTube - scuttle buttin chris moody on kyris...

ratman · December 27th, 2009, 07:12 PM

Outstanding !

Kyri · December 29th, 2009, 07:59 AM

Well, on the final night of my brother in law Chris's visit, he played this strat a bit more in some different styles and pickup positions. This was just a bit of fun, but makes me pleased to have got hold of this neck to create this guitar - as it seems to play better than any of the others. Two new clips are a fun purple haze (neck pickup) and the hotel california solo (bridge pickup). Later I hope to get some clean tones uploaded and maybe some more fun stuff.

Here is the purple haze clip, the rest of Chris plus any new ones I add can be found here YouTube - KyriChristodoulou's Channel

Purple haze clip:

YouTube - Purple Haze, Chris Moody on a strat

Regards,

Kyri

mjpgolf1 · December 29th, 2009, 04:12 PM

Youve got yourself one very well put together and great sounding guitar there. You really did a nice job on that. Enjoy that guitar man! Congrats!