1962 Jazzmaster Project

[dinosaur]

Well, I'm really dragging my feet with this small project/restoration so I figured I'd start a post to force me to work on it.  I'm finally more or less settled after a year of traveling around and not really having a home, so I'm gonna get to work on this one.

About 3-4 months ago I picked up a JM that had a replacement aftermarket strat neck and had been rewired.  All other original parts are there, including the neckplate.  It had been severely painted over and stripped and sanded, but I love what is left of the original sunburst

Issues I can see so far:
1) Someone put in two extra holes in the pickguard by the bridge.  No biggie, and I have an extra vintage one if it bugs me.

2) They also added in two screws in each of the pickup shields, which I'm assuming I can just remove.  All of the shielding is painted over in red, so I'll strip that off.

3) The lettering on the knobs is also painted red, so I'll clean that off, though I'll  lose the color all together.

4) All of the wiring has been replaced with thin plastic stuff, but I'll redo it with cloth and ground it properly

And I have a 62 neck and single like klusons waiting for her.

Here are some exterior pics from me and one interior shot from the previous owner:

[fullerplast]

What a cool project!

I really love that finish as-is...     

[zhivago]

I agree, looks like a great project, and the finish looks cool

[Jazzprod]

...oh god, i need another project  :-\

Looking  good!

[PorkyPrimeCut]

...oh god, i need another project  :-\

Looking  good!

Yup. I know that feeling.

Another victim of the Phantom Red Sprayer!!

[mcjt]

VERY NICEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
I'll get back to work on my JM if you do too on yours....
but i just bought two cool bike frames and i am investing heavily there too
(OUCH)
todd

[daydreamdelay]

great project! the finish definitely looks a lot better in your pics than the one the previous owner took.. are you going to keep it as is? 

there's a trick someone used a while back when turning black witch hats into white, to get the numbers black he rubbed shoe polish into the grooves and cleaned up the rest of the area around them and dusted on some clear to lock it in. they looked pretty good.. i don't know if you want to go that far, I'm not sure if I would either but it could work. just a thought

fwiw my last JM had the same holes behind the bridge.. i think it was from a midi pickup

[Pumpkin]

I'd keep it as is,looks fine!

[dinosaur]

Thanks everyone.  I'm definitely keeping the finish as is.  That's one of the main reasons I bought it, other than the price.  I love the way it looks, and it's the original sunburst as well.

As for the knobs, thanks for the tip.  I actually tried Doug's tip of a toothbrush and toothpaste and 90% of the red paint came off that way.  Of course, so did any of the original lettering.  Good enough for now, but that's a interesting thought about getting the dark pigment back.  The grooves are still there of course.  I'll think about it.

And the extra pickguard holes are underneath the bridge, and have what appear to be vintage correct screws holding them down.  I think they just wanted to prevent and/or correct some warping.  But at least they used the right screws.  The holes are even beveled correctly!  They stand out easily from the backside of the guard, as they are fairly rough, but you can't even tell from the top.  It was a good job at least.

I'm going to try and get some stripper for the brass shields today, if I can find the time.

[Marc]

metallic green eyeliner pencil in the lettering 'grooves' will restore it back to an aged gold/green.

The lettering on the knobs of some custom colours such as Candy Apple were in red but is very rare.

[daydreamdelay]

have you tried scraping the paint?  the red spray paint from my XII's shielding and other parts came off easily with gentle scraping with a few different sized flat head screwdrivers

[dinosaur]

metallic green eyeliner pencil in the lettering 'grooves' will restore it back to an aged gold/green.

The lettering on the knobs of some custom colours such as Candy Apple were in red but is very rare.

I did not know that.  This paint seemed very uneven, and I assumed it was to match whatever color is in the cavity, which I assume was used as a color coat at some point.  But that's good to know.

have you tried scraping the paint?  the red spray paint from my XII's shielding and other parts came off easily with gentle scraping with a few different sized flat head screwdrivers

I haven't.  I gave it a quick thought and figured the contours of the shileds would be a pain to scrape, but you're right, I should definitely try it first.  I could just try sandpaper in my fingers for those spots

[daydreamdelay]

I noticed with mine that it came off in big chunks so if yours is the same you might not have to worry about the contours too much

[dinosaur]

I managed to make a little bit of progress tonight.

The best thing about it - electronics seem fine and original, save wiring. Pickups need a little cleanup but work fine and are not rewound, at least I don't think. 

The worst thing about it - it was full of cat hair!  No joke.  Really odd.  At least 20-25 cat hairs.

Disassembly:

I love this guard!  Pity about the extra holes.


Green plastic wiring, with nutty grounding:




Stackpoles:




Crack at one of the rhythm circuit pickguard holes:


The crazy pairs of screws added to each pickup shield.  The body was so much lighter with these beasts out of there.


Yet another fun color under the shielding:


Shields before:


Shields after some scraping and scrubbing:


The main circuit tub wouldn't clean up too well.  I'm gonna get some paint stripper for it.  The others cleaned up well enough for this beater.  I just wanted the bright orange gone.

[StevenO]

Should be an awesome finished product. I really like that pickguard.