Headstock binding repair - Westone Prestige 250

Sarge

Ok, so I bought this Westone Prestige 250 in a well battered state


it cost £50, plus another £50 for a set of original AII MMK-75 pickups
the reason it was £50:


it has had a nasty break at the heel, but repaired pretty well, in that the neck is dead-on with the body and it plays beautifully.
But......under that awful cover-up spray job:


yeah, I know, ugly innit?....but this is beside the point, more of this later....

This is my next issue that needs attention:



pretty rough huh.
Now I've already bought the binding, couldn't find the zebra/laminated type to fit so went with individual black and ivory abs lengths, I'm unsure of a few things, should I remove all the existing binding and redo the whole 'stock, or replace the missing bits? a personal choice I know, I also know the right answer but its a lot more work...so convince me to do the latter !

I pretty much have to refinish the back, sides and neck, partly to try and cover the break at the heel and all the "mojo" around the body's bottom edge, do I attach the binding before I sand off the original finish? I think yes, so as to get a nice flat finish without extra scraping/sanding.

The chips out of the headstock front lacquer don't bother me too much, I'm probably just going to dye and CA dropfill.

I have only done one binding job before, on a full Shergold Marathon bass neck for my father-in-law, there were some bits I could have improved on but he was happy enough.

Sarge

Just a couple more pics to show the quality of these top-end Westones, and why I want it looking better.

Nice ebony board:


Really nice top:


"roadworn"


these are every bit as good as any LP I've played, if not better...

jimmyguitar

This process looks similar:

hope it helps!

Sarge

That's interesting, thanks for that @jimmyguitar !

Sarge

Glue is another query of mine, CA glue, actetone "melt" or something else?

WezV

Take it off up to the corner joins at least

I use ca glue with modern plastics, scrape each side first to aid cohesion and wet the wood first to stop it soaking in quicker than you can glue it.

If you do it before removing finish it is easier cleanup, but just make sure the thicknesses are right to leave you some binding after cleanup

You can tape it I place in a few spots and wick thin ca down the join between the tape, but I prefer to glue it all at once and tape if needed

Sarge

WezV said:

Take it off up to the corner joins at least

I was hoping you wouldn't say this, damnit!

so removal of existing binding, fix a steel rule to the top and score the join with a blade?

Sassafras

It'd be easier to take it down to the corner joins than try to blend it in with the ragged bit of binding that's already on there.

Sarge

Yep, but no further as the heads binding tucks under the fretboard a wee bit.

Sarge

Update:


My binding strips were too thick (thinnest I could find) so managed to scrape them down a tad, this pic is before final scraping of the outter binding, I've mixed up a dye from powders (Keda Dyes) for the chips on the face and you can see the wet CA glue.
The misaligned binding ends will be filled with a glue made from the binding in acetone, then a tuxedo black pen touch up.



Almost done, just some final filling and flatting/polishing to go, in the meantime I'm refinishing the body back and neck....



Used a heat gun on a low setting to get the back Imron finish off, saanded the neck and sides so the heat wouldn't melt the binding.
the dark strip in the middle of the back is a huge splinter caused firstly with the scraper digging into the mahogany then my palm sander caught the prominent fibers inbetween the sandpaper and pad, before I knew it I had tore this piece out, about 3mm deep!!!
so sanded it all back, no bad thing as this is one really heavey bastard!#



The join aint so bad once the finish is off.


A couple coats of Keda dye I mixed, close enough to the original colour, Oh theres a natural grainfiller underneath fo somee lighter highlights, didn't really come off, hey ho.


After a couple coats of Tru-Oil, the grainfilling was a waste of time, I made 2 applications mixed with white spirit but I obviously needed more/better application!

I'm abouit 9 coats of oil in so far, with 2 rounds of 0000 wire wooling inbetween, still plenty of grain evident, wasn't what I was aiming for but I like it.

WezV

the tru-oil wont fill the grain just by applying normally, it tends to build up around the grain instead and can even make it look more prominent

that's why i go for a wetsand with the oil to really push it into the grain, but that 's pretty risky on a stained finish as its very easy to go through and not easy to add more stain once its oiled.  but really I never try to get fully filled grain with oil finish, its not what its about for me

Sarge

Yarp, I'm not trying to fill the grain now, I'd be at it for months! I just want a nice thickish finish.

Andyjr1515

This is looking really good, @Sarge. I love Westones - worked on two or three basses recently and they are very well made. Nice to see a good example of a 6 string like this

Sarge

Thanks!

I couldn't afford a Prestige 250 in decent condition (£600/700) so have to bodge the mistreated, only set me back £110 so far

Sassafras

Nice job. Looks lovely.

Sarge

All done, in a couple of weeks I'll flatt off the back a little and re-buff. but for now it looks played, feels wonderful with the recrowning and sounds fabulous with the Alnico2 pickups.

cruxiform

That is an excellent job, looks very professional. What a bargain at £50 too!

Sarge

Cheers!

best £50 I ever spent!

usedtobe

Looks fantastic. Lovely looking guitars, them!