Squier JMJM Refinish

[Ben17e]

Love the color. I think it would look lovely with just a parchment guard because the color itself is so pretty.

[gutter rock]

I know charcoal frost is hard to peg down accurately and that you said it wasn't close to charcoal. But, in some of those pics it does resemble charcoal frost quite a bit. Especially the version of charcoal frost that fender put on modern American Standard strats a couple of years ago. Those had more of a blue hue to them it seems. Either way, that guitar is stunning. Congrats!

[PixMix]

I know charcoal frost is hard to peg down accurately and that you said it wasn't close to charcoal. But, in some of those pics it does resemble charcoal frost quite a bit. Especially the version of charcoal frost that fender put on modern American Standard strats a couple of years ago. Those had more of a blue hue to them it seems. Either way, that guitar is stunning. Congrats!

Thank you for the kind words. This color has proven to be taught to photograph correctly. It has a tendency to look a bit more blue-violet than it in fact is. I didn't really shoot for charcoal frost or any particular historic color. I just liked the color and thought it would make for a unique piece.

I did however look at some of the gray variations that Duplicolor makes and I think Grey Storm Metallic (I think it's a GM color) with a very lightly tinted (yellowed) clear coat would come close to my idea of vintage charcoal frost in good condition (not excessively yellowed). But you are right, there are variations among what Fender labeled as 'charcoal frost' over the years.

[HNB]

Great job! It was fun to see the start to finish pictures.

[wademp]

I really love that color, and the pickguard!
Cool idea with the painting jig that you made, too!!

[megamaeng]

Wow, this thread was getting me so inspired until I read that you are a painter by trade haha. Do you think that someone with no experience, but has patience and can follow instructions well can pull off a half decent job?

[PixMix]

Wow, this thread was getting me so inspired until I read that you are a painter by trade haha. Do you think that someone with no experience, but has patience and can follow instructions well can pull off a half decent job?

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it'd definitely possible to do a great job without much experience at all. If you're going to do what I did here (paint over a finished body), it might be a bit easier, as you wouldn't have to worry about prepping the body, but even a prep isn't all that difficult. I am going to buy a new unfinished body (hopefully I will have time later this month or early September) and start a new tutorial-style thread with proper explanations of the process per each step.

But yes, it's definitely doable and not that difficult at all. Reranch forum is a good source and so is TDPRI (tele forum) Finely Finished section. And you can always get a small piece of poplar or maple from Home Depot, a can of primer, a can Dupli-Color paint, a can of clear coat, and run some tests to just get the feel for materials. It would cost maybe just over $20 and you could use the leftover paint and clear on the actual project.

[megamaeng]

That is a GREAT idea, do a little test piece first.

And since it would be a JMJM, I think I'd follow your lead and go over the existing finish. Were your choices in paint and clear coat based on experience with other paints like the reranch stuff?

and again, the finished guitar looks AMAZEBALLS

[PixMix]

That is a GREAT idea, do a little test piece first.

And since it would be a JMJM, I think I'd follow your lead and go over the existing finish. Were your choices in paint and clear coat based on experience with other paints like the reranch stuff?

and again, the finished guitar looks AMAZEBALLS

I have used Reranch in the past (two bodies) and it's great material too use, but it's pricey, limited in color range, and it can take forever to receive the shipment (shipping is also pricey). Dupli-Color and MinWax Lacquer are locally available, relatively inexpensive, produce the same finish (you cannot tell the difference to touch, smell, and feel), they both come with great quality nozzles that don't clog, spray wide and even and will not start "spitting" until you're at the very bottom of the can. And, to be honest, as much as it's fun to replicate the vintage colors (Reranch is a good source for this), I like the idea of staying true to Leo Fender's concept of using car colors that look cool and "click" with the body shape the best.

[megamaeng]

got it! All those reasons sound very reasonable. I'm not a vintage purist so the dupli color route can definitely work for me.

Looking forward to your unfinished body tutorial! It looks like I might go that route as well. I'll let you go first tho haha.

[spaceritual]

That is a GREAT idea, do a little test piece first.

And since it would be a JMJM, I think I'd follow your lead and go over the existing finish. Were your choices in paint and clear coat based on experience with other paints like the reranch stuff?

and again, the finished guitar looks AMAZEBALLS

I have used Reranch in the past (two bodies) and it's great material too use, but it's pricey, limited in color range, and it can take forever to receive the shipment (shipping is also pricey). Dupli-Color and MinWax Lacquer are locally available, relatively inexpensive, produce the same finish (you cannot tell the difference to touch, smell, and feel), they both come with great quality nozzles that don't clog, spray wide and even and will not start "spitting" until you're at the very bottom of the can. And, to be honest, as much as it's fun to replicate the vintage colors (Reranch is a good source for this), I like the idea of staying true to Leo Fender's concept of using car colors that look cool and "click" with the body shape the best.

I'd be interested in your knowledge about paint curing times and also interactions between long dried (or so I thought) paint and the foam on guitar stands or textured surfaces!!

[PixMix]

That is a GREAT idea, do a little test piece first.

And since it would be a JMJM, I think I'd follow your lead and go over the existing finish. Were your choices in paint and clear coat based on experience with other paints like the reranch stuff?

and again, the finished guitar looks AMAZEBALLS

I have used Reranch in the past (two bodies) and it's great material too use, but it's pricey, limited in color range, and it can take forever to receive the shipment (shipping is also pricey). Dupli-Color and MinWax Lacquer are locally available, relatively inexpensive, produce the same finish (you cannot tell the difference to touch, smell, and feel), they both come with great quality nozzles that don't clog, spray wide and even and will not start "spitting" until you're at the very bottom of the can. And, to be honest, as much as it's fun to replicate the vintage colors (Reranch is a good source for this), I like the idea of staying true to Leo Fender's concept of using car colors that look cool and "click" with the body shape the best.

I'd be interested in your knowledge about paint curing times and also interactions between long dried (or so I thought) paint and the foam on guitar stands or textured surfaces!!

I really don't have much actual knowledge on the reactions between nitro and foam, but unfortunately i do have some experience with that. I have a strat that I left for a long time (7-8 months) in a cheap gig bag with a black lining of sorts that managed to leave some black marks on the body. This is an Olympic White Reranch one I did 6-7 years ago. I also had a Gibson LP Tribute (original finish) that I left on the stand as I was playing it daily, and the neck got a little dark reddish mark where the foam on the stand made contact with the finish. I actually didn't realize that until the day I met someone to sell the guitar to, it was a bright day, and it made the stained mark a hit more visible. I have no knowledge on the chemistry of this reaction.

Drying times; first body I did, I waited 7-8 weeks for the clear coat to cure before wet-sanding. The second 5-6, the third one about 4. This one I think barely over 2 weeks. I will be a little more precise and careful about measuring time between steps in the process and running a few experiments with other brands of clear lacquer. I really, really like the Minwax brand, it cures site fast, it goes to a glass-like finish, it feels really wonderful (very different from a rubbery/plasticky poly).

[spaceritual]

Thanks, about to refinish a tele to sell so will experiment!

[clef051]

Wow that is a beautiful guitar.

[preservation]

i can say that PixMix' advice is 100% spot-on.

the only thing i didn't do well was the final wet-sanding & polish.
i started at too heavy a grit (1000).

in hindsight i should've started at 1500 and moved straight to 2000 (b/c i didn't have a billion coats of lacquer on in the first place).

always start on the BACK of your guitar (glad i did).

when it comes to buffing, get your pimp hand strong. it's gonna take a while.
i stopped short of a mirror finish b/c i just really wanted to put it together and play.
some of the anal retentive among us would be aghast to know i did this, but i'm a punk at heart.