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this is the first attempt, done with a decent quality stanley blade - sharp and rigid
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/76141/through-neck-dc-junior-build/p2
this is attempt number 2 with a finer more flexible exacto blade
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/55672/build-thread-pancake-body-les-paul-deluxe/p8
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*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
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(formerly customkits)
Wez, I think yours look great!
There are pro's and cons to each method.
I can see why Gibson CS generally use the knife. Its a lot more controllable and you can accurately produce the kind of cracks people expect to see and want to pay for. Its also safer for the guitar since you don't subject it to extreme temperatures.
The freezer will produce natural cracks, but its totally uncontrolled - just like natural wear should be. The important bit here is that peoples perception of natural wear is often different to the randomness of actual natural wear.
If you do go for the freezer, consider adding a few dents before. You can still add more later if needed but cracks will form around the dents. You have to balance old wear and new wear with the fake life of the finish. Did the cracks appear when new, or after a few years of life on the road? did the guitar pick up more dents after the cracks first appeared? Did it continue t craze after this? There is no strictly right answer to these questions so no strict order to do things in - but you will get different results by adding some wear before freezing or after.
You will also need to let the lacquer properly harden for at least a month, possibly longer
Whichever method you do, fake wear always looks worse before it starts to look good
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One other question, if I may, when you say the fake wear looks worse before it gets better, I'm assuming that a good buffing will lessen that effect quite a bit - is that what you find?
yeah, for me its all about softening the damage so it feels like its not recent
Buffing it again will do that, but obviously if you buff with compound you will get some white residue in the damage - you can see a bit of that on my les paul as I had not cleaned it all off, I finally did it with a soft toothbrush. . depending on the level of gloss you want buffing with 0000 liberon wire wool and bri-wax will also work and not leave a white residue, but it can be a bit too satin for a truly vintage look.
If you are planning on rubbing a dark stain on you may need to do things in a different order. You can give a wipe down with stain after buffing compound, but not after wax. You can use a tinted wax instead though. You may also do stain straight after the freezer when the cracks first appear
I am still learning the ways that work for me, but it often takes a few goes going back and forth before I am happy with the level of wear and the level of sheen. I don't think this is a bad thing as it adds multiple levels of wear which make it less consistent/more authentic than the 3 stage relics built by the major custom shops
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My feedback thread is here.
(formerly customkits)
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The word "mint" is sometimes used in descriptions of used Custom Shop relics.
that can be frustrating for someone who posts methods and results including .... the warts and all stages. I am not saying my methods are correct or the best way, just discussing the way I have done it and the results I have achieved. I would welcome constructive criticism.
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I've never tried relicing a guitar, so it's all learning about it for me.
There I go contradicting myself again.
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