Taking on a 'project' when you have zero skills...

Funkfingers

McToot said:

I will need a new pickup surround,   

If the black on the pickup surround is permanent marker ink, alcohol-based hand cleaner gel should clean most of it off.

Any residue will look like plausible natural ageing. 

The pickup should be a V2 humbucker, 16k A5 rock beast with 3-con + shield output cable. A quick DC resistance meter check will identify which conductor is hot, ground or split. 

meltedbuzzbox

McToot said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

I'm fairly sure your neck is from another guitar looking at the pictures. As long as the scale is good its no drama. 

Interesting: what makes you think that? It looks pretty much identical to all the DT150 necks I've been able see online. Fits like a glove too... The below is from a listing on Reverb for an '83 DT150, which has the 'X Series' moniker like mine...




Thanks for all of the other comments chaps. 

This afternoon I've stripped it all down and am soaking all the metal bits in WD40. I will need a new pickup surround,a couple of knobs and will need to solder to pickup wires back together. The other irritant is that one of the saddle screws is completely knackered so I couldn't get it of the bridge plate. I guess I'll have to cut it off and get a new one. 

The neck has had an hour of lemon oiling and I even managed to get rid of the mysterious black gunk/paint that ran along the top of the headstock. It's looking pretty decent already.   

I thought mine was a dt150 
Its definitely an 83 from the serial number but mine has a black headstock, block inlays and I think it has 22 frets.
Might just be a natural difference between a rosewood board and a maple?
I will sling up a picture

meltedbuzzbox

To be fair a Google seems to show i was wrong in my statement 

I'll get back in my box

John_A

That’s one I’d get sorted and leave it as it is, it looks great

McToot

John_A said:

That’s one I’d get sorted and leave it as it is, it looks great

I am well on the way to getting it back in business and once I've done that and got it playing again I'll reassess. Thing is, while I don't mind a bit of good honest (natural) relicing, this looks like it's been used as a weapon in a dozen pub brawls.

The other factor is that my refinisher of choice doesn't appear to have the capacity to take it in anyway.

We'll see and I'll update here as things progress.

McToot

Well - it's cleaned up as well as it could be and put back together. The set up is not perfect and would benefit from someone who does that better than I but it plays reasonably well and actually sounds pretty decent. The pickup is hot, as you'd expect. I just need some decent knobs now. 

I just need to decide whether to push on and invest further or just to leave it as is - a bettered, chewed up 80s hair metal machine...

Here is 'Old Ibby' with Frankie the young pretender...
  



Especially pleased with how the headstock and tuners cleaned up. Thet work pretty well and smoothly. 

MattNovak

This looks great - I have a PGM500 in candy apple which is in a similar 'road worn' state, wouldn't change it for the world. Rock it as it is!



also, cool strap  

sawyer

I'd say that was finished. Looks cool as is.

McToot

@poopot ;

Further to our chat earlier...

  

Jalapeno

Persist and heap love and cash on it !  That purple spakle looked awesome !

McToot

Jalapeno said:

Persist and heap love and cash on it !  That purple spakle looked awesome !

That's the plan Jal, that's the plan. 

The whole idea of taking a fundamentally cheap guitar and making it quite a lot more expensive is a very McToot thing to do. I must be true to my nature...

hollywoodrox

Another vote for Rising sun , or bumble bee stripes 

poopot

McToot said:

@poopot ;

Further to our chat earlier...

  

https://www.specialistpaints.com/collections/kustom-canz-custom-aerosol-cans/products/flakes-canz

Oh my golly gosh

Danielsguitars

The bigger the purple sparkle the better imo, that would look lovely

McToot

poopot said:

McToot said:

@poopot ;

Further to our chat earlier...

  

https://www.specialistpaints.com/collections/kustom-canz-custom-aerosol-cans/products/flakes-canz

Oh my golly gosh

Oh FML, the purple, fuschia and 'Blurple' are all outstanding