Squier JV restoration project

[Kyri]

Well its time for a new project. After all the fun I had with that neck I restored, I have been on the lookout for a JV body and came across a guitar that had been modified quite a lot. It looked like I could do something with it so I started a thread to document the work which will be mainly on the body.

The guitar had been stripped to the wood. The pickups, pickguard, and switch had been replaced, with some seymour duncan lipstick pickups and what looks like an affinity pickguard. I will sell the pickups and replace them with something more suitable as I want to restore this to its original condition and colour.

[Kyri]

The guitar was originally white, and looks like 2 pieces. I had considered a translucent finish but due to the difference in colour between the two parts it will be a solid colour, I will try to match the existing one.

[zag1]

That's what it looks like now? (First pic)I mean......is this a before shot? It looks good.

[Kyri]

The pots are original, and I have already had a dm-50 switch 5 way switch (although the original would likely have had a 3 way as it is based on a 57). The rest will be changed.

[zombiebear]

I can't wait to see this process (:

[zag1]

Are those pups Lace sensors?

[Kyri]

Originally Posted by zag1

That's what it looks like now? I mean......is this a before shot? It looks good.

Yes it looks like that now - I agree it looks good but it has some 'issues' like some aggressive sanding which has lost the correct shape in some areas. Have a look at this...

[zag1]

Yep, I see what you mean.

[Stratty]

Good luck man! Excited 2 see what it will look like!

[Kyri]

Originally Posted by zag1

Are those pups Lace sensors?

They are seymour duncan lipstick pickups according to the seller. They sound pretty good actually. I may put them in another guitar or sell them, though.

[Kyri]

The neck is ok, frets are faily low but even, it looks like its been worked on a few times over the years. A nice natural yellowing and relicing to the neck. The back had some varnish removed (possibly as an alternative to shimming) but it does not seem to have removed any wood fortunately.
The neck date is June 83.

[Kyri]

The back is pretty even, although some of the edges are a little sharp. This will be resolved by sanding, I need to get the shape of this body to be as near perfect as possible before respraying.

The trem block is steel - I could not easily remove the old hard drive magnet that I used to see if it was steel or not

One bridge saddle had a screw missing. I tried to tap it out for a metric screw and my tap broke - thats some hard steel those saddles are made of!! Luckily I found a bolt with the right thread. I am glad it turned out that way as I am sure I will find the right screw in due course, if the tap had worked then it would have looked odd compared to the rest. This shortened allen bolt will do for now.

[Jimi Hendrix]

Nice project Kyri, look forward to seeing it progress.

[Kyri]

Thanks, I am looking forward to it too - I am eagerly waiting for some nitro sprays to arrive in the post, as I have run out at the moment, I have a tiny bit left that might be enough to seal the body when I have finished getting the shape right.

[Dshillhouse]

I look forward to seeing your progress it's great to have the pics to go with your explaination thank you

[Kyri]

Now to sort out the shape (or lack of it in certain areas...) I used wood filler that would allow an oversized application of filler to be sanded to the correct shape.

The correct shape was achieved by comparison with another japanese strat body that I have, heavily contoured (also based on a 57 strat)

[Kyri]

The edges of the body had been made a little sharp during the original removal of the finish, so I sanded in the relevant places to get the shape back to normal. Rough (80) down to fairly smooth (240/400). On the first picture you can just about see the edges being a little sharp, the second picture after the reshaping.

[Kyri]

The sanding was done with a soft block which is more forgiving and allows control of the pressure and angle. There were three main areas that needed rework, the small horn, the side of the neck poket and to a lesser extent the large horn. Here is the sanding of the filled areas.

[Kyri]

After all the sanding I have partly sealed most of the body with the remaining clear nitro that I had left, but it will need more sealing before applying the white. I have not sprayed colour nitro before but it is pretty easy to work with.
I will have to wait until next week before it arrives so in the meantime I will put the neck and bridge on, string it up and play it a bit.
I really like the contouring of the body its very shapely...

[Stratty]

Cool! looks like it has a Fender tremolo, that's a plus!!!

[Mech]

Very nice. Is that Alder or Japanese Sen Ash?

[cmcassid]

Its looking really good. Good luck!!

[T-Bodz Terry B.]

Looking good brother!

[Kyri]

Thanks for the comments - regarding the wood, I asked Rockape (who is a relative expert in all matters JV) through the forum on 21frets. He has seen quite a few of these over the years and said it was not likely sen ash but more likely a type of alder, with a slight possibility of it being poplar or even a grainy basswood (basswood not normally having any distinctive grain, so only an outside chance here). In any case, a common wood type for JV's. I have another body I stripped to the wood which is alder, and they do look similar. From the information and the look compared to an alder body, my guess is that it is an alder variety. If anyone knows for sure it would be great to know! Have a look at this page for more info on JV woods, it is a good read, and there is a picture of a similar body as well:
21frets.com - guitar information and ...ter and basses

[Kyri]

Originally Posted by Stratty

Cool! looks like it has a Fender tremolo, that's a plus!!!

Apparently the block is not an original JV part - as it is steel, the original would have been zinc and of a different shape

However, this block is pretty heavy and the guitar sounds quite resonant unplugged so I have no reason to change it. Also, the plate and saddles are original, and I prefer the wider spacing of the strings. I am sure I have seen a picture of the same block on a higher end JV somewhere. It is painted steel.

regards

Kyri

[Kyri]

Update - the cans arrived!!

I sealed the body with a few coats of clear nitro, then sanded with fine paper to get the surface smooth for the colour. I have never sprayed with a colour nitro before and found it really difficult... luckily I had a few spare nozzles from old empty clear cans, if I ever do this I will have to get the right equipment.

The colour is not perfect with a few areas of spotting and a couple of small particles. I think if I sand it down it will look poor as it will likely go to the wood, as the finish is quite thin and I only bought one can. Still, the colour depth is OK and the shade should be similar to the original once it has some clear coats on the top.
Here is a shot of it after spraying it prior to the clear coats, for\which I plan to do a few of and then sand/polish to get a gloss finish, who knows I may be able to cover up some of the imperfections.

[Kid Klash]

I can't believe my eyes... are you using a Strat clone neck for a paint stick? It must be broken... right?

Incidentally, if the color coat has a piece of dust or lint in it, just give that area one or two strokes of 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper to level it. If you go through the color coat, fog it in with a single press of the paint can button. For future projects, you should go to your local car parts store, and buy a can of white lacquer primer (or black, or red primer lacquer, depending on the color of the color coat) and use that instead of the clear lacquer, prior to shooting your color coat. If you do this, it will take much less color coat paint to get a good even color.

[Kyri]

This is certainly a learning curve... when I sanded the body it did help, and I had a nearly perfect finish for clearcoating.

During one of the clearcoats the nozzle stopped working so I changed it for one being soaked in thinner and then overdid a certain area on the back which melted the colour coat and went to the bare wood again at least the front is alright. I will try to fix it as I have a tiny bit of white left.

I take your point about the undercoat, it probably would have been easier.

And yes the old neck is broken

[kiwi]

The wood looks excellent.

[Kyri]

I know, if it had not been out of shape I would have left it in a clear finish, due to the filler it would look a bit strange.

I have nearly repaired the problem area as I had a little bit of colour left. Nitro lacquer is amazingly forgiving but my method of application is not ideal. Pics tomorrow when it is dry and clearcoated. The white is nearly opaque but not quite, if you look closely you can just about see the grain, nice, although its hard to pick up in a picture.

[Kyri]

Here is a mockup after the body has been sanded with a few coats of clear on the top. I will leave it to harden for a while (days, maybe weeks if I can wait that long) and then apply some more clear coats. The colour is more representative in this picture, than the previous one.

Does anyone know the most appropriate colour for the pickup covers and knobs, for a typical JV or similar strat of this age? I have a couple of options, new white (not preferred), aged/reliced white (some old ones that have seen a bit of use and have some dirt on the knobs) or some creamy ones similar to the CV squiers or classic mim 50's strats. The pickguard is a very white 8 hole single ply one.
regards
Kyri

[Kyri]

Whilst the body paint is hardening I spent some time on the pots and switch. The soldering needed sorting out, the volume pot in particular. I have also replaced the switch with an original DM-50 which makes it almost original (the originals may have had DM30 3 way but they often got swapped for the 5 way later).

I won't likely be able to find or afford original pickups (us pickups from 82-3) but for everything else I will try to make the guitar as original as possible. Here is the progress so far with the pots and switch:

[Kyri]

This refinish has not been as easy as I thought - mainly due to lack of experience in body refinishing, but thanks to peoples advice and reading around (plus messing around with that old jv neck previously) I got there in the end.

There were a couple of melt-throughs where the clear came out too much and melted back down to the wood, and some sanding burns which also needed touching up - luckily I kept some white spray just in case. I ended up using it all! I also used all the clear to finish the repairs. Nitro is amazing stuff I don't think I would have got away with those mistakes with other types of spray paint.

I still need to complete the soldering, drill some holes for the pickgaurd, and fit everything together. I have run out of time though but here is where I am up to; I have sanded down to 1500, and used some polishing compound:

[Kyri]

I fitted the neck and then put some other parts in place to see what it would look like. Must complete the soldering when I get time, but I'll leave the paint to harden before assembling. Try to wait, anyway

[Kyri]

I have been busy soldering, using the original pots, and a new 5 way switch. I usually shield and star ground strats as I find them a little quieter that way, but in the interests of originality I have gone with the stock wiring setup, thanks to various pictures of the insides other Squier JV strats on the 21frets website and the advice to use plastic coated wire for the connections.

I decided to go with the aged pickup covers and knobs - although I may change them later for more subtle ones (ie less aged). White, however, did not look right, so I left these ones on.
I hope to drill the body for the screw holes and fit it later.
regards
Kyri

[Kyri]

The guitar is now finished, its been fun Some pictures:

[Kyri]

The neck is naturally worn in places, it plays very well though.

[Kid Klash]

She's a beautiful! Nice job!!! If you ever get a wild hair and want to make it look more "sinister" a black pickguard would do the trick. Or if you wanted a vintage vibe, either a mint green or tortoise pickguard would look great too, especially with those cream pickup covers and knobs!

[T-Bodz Terry B.]

Looks great bro! Very sweet looking!

[peskypesky]

you have done wonders!! that is completely and utterly drool-inducing.