Stripped and re-finished my Les Paul.

breakstuff

Well the neck and back at least. 

Bought this new in 2013 and it's been a bit of a modding platform ever since. In fact, the only parts that are still original are the actual body and the rear control covers. The back was originally all solid colour, and the front doesn't have binding, so I did the faux binding a few years back which improved the look immeasurably, however I was never really happy with the colour of the back and prefer the more natural look, so having time on my hands I set to work changing it. The neck is maple and the stain was pretty ingrained but I didn't sand down all the way through stain as I didn't want a perfectly new looking appearance. The gold top is pretty thin so has worn in nicely, especially after I glossed it up from the flat finish it was originally.

Anyway, this is what it looked like before I started. 

 
 
  

breakstuff

So set to work with a palm sander, then loads of sanding by hand, whack a bit of grain filler on and, because I had it laying around and have had good results with it before, I gave it several coats of Tru Oil, a couple on the neck and four up to now on the body to keep the finish nice and thin. Put it back together (had to use the old strings as I'm awaiting a delivery of new ones) and here it is, the finished article. I'm well pleased with how it turned out and I think I'm finally done with the mods, other than looking at the wiring I put in as it's got a bad earth somewhere. 

 
 
 

breakstuff

 
 
And one of how it looked when I bought it. 

 
Edit - Moved to guitars because M&M can be a bit of a wasteland and I want more of you to see the fruits of my goddamned hard labour 

p90fool

That looks fantastic, a proper tough rock and roll guitar.

sgosden

Very nice job. 
I start sanding down the neck on a PRS SE yesterday as a practice project before doing the back of my S2. 

Natural mahogany back just looks great. Why cover it up?!?!

Kittyfrisk

That looks lovely, great job.
Really nice to see a maple necked LP too.

Teyeplayer

Looks great. Do love a natural finish, there’s just something about the grain that appeals. 

Tru oil always looks great but I struggle with just how thin that finish truly is. What about a clear nitro for a bit more protection? 

breakstuff

Thanks guys, appreciate your comments. 

@Teyeplayer I've never used nitro before so didn't want to take the risk of cocking it up. My LP is one of my most prized possessions because I've put so work much into it. Like I said, I've had good results with Tru Oil before and like the finish I can get with it. I can always add extra coats easily if I need to. I'm not precious about keeping it immaculate as the front is far from perfect condition so don't mind a bit of wear here and there.

hollywoodrox

Dude that is really nice,it’s giving me gas lol. I bet that neck feels so much better. Absolutely wonderful

breakstuff

hollywoodrox said:

Dude that is really nice,it’s giving me gas lol. I bet that neck feels so much better. Absolutely wonderful

Thanks mate. The neck was already really smooth as it didn't have any finish on it other than a flash of nitro. Was nicely worn in, hence me only putting two very thin coats of oil on. I'll give it another day and give the neck a go over with some mega fine wire wool. It should feel pretty much the same as my Charvel once that is done, and you can't get much better than that IMO. 

pintspiller

I sanded and refinished my 74 SG Special years ago.

I sanded the serial number off and the car paint went all streaky. LOL.

Luckily mate of mine redid it. Looked so much better.

breakstuff

p90fool said:

That looks fantastic, a proper tough rock and roll guitar.

Thanks @p90fool ;. You can take some of the credit for it too mate 

Rocker

Lovely job.  One question: what is grain filler?  How is it applied and what effect has sanding on it?  Thanks.

SteveRobinson

Rocker said:

Lovely job.  One question: what is grain filler?  

Open-pored woods such as mahogany and ash require the pores (grain) to be filled prior to painting. If this isn't done, it's very hard to get a smooth finish and worse, the paint may form "pinholes" where it doesn't take on the open pores.

The idea is to pack it into the grain tightly and scrape off the excess before it dries to keep sanding to a minimum. Sanding blobs of hardened grain filler off the wood is hard work. Excessive sanding can cause you to sand through the filled surface and put you back at square one.

p90fool

breakstuff said:

p90fool said:

That looks fantastic, a proper tough rock and roll guitar.

Thanks @p90fool ;. You can take some of the credit for it too mate 

Haha thanks, it's definitely right up my street!