Diamondjimi's Relic Project

[Diamondjimi]

So I walk into my local franchised music store and head immediately to the "used" section (naturally).
I spys a cheap ass Squire Strat for a hundred bucks. Deal!
Perfect to destroy for my first attempt (not including Frankie) at a relic job. I was originally going to do a relic'd replica of David Gilmour's #1 but instead opted to simply go for it....

It's original neck has a Mahogany fretboard, which is fine but I opted to throw on a cheap ass aftermarket Strat copy neck made by some bootleggers in China. No idea wtf it's made from, but it's got a great (flatish) fretboard and I'm gonna shape the back to my tastes... (I'll relic that fucker soon enough)...

I still have to relic the p/u covers, knobs and hardware. For tuners I slapped on a set of 25+ y/o Schallers I scored on Ebay for 25 bucks while searching for parts for my Frankie project last year..




Front before...



Back before...




For the initial finish dulling, I wetsanded with 1600 grit on the body. The "wear marks" were done while still in the wetsanding phase as to create a natural wear bevel on the surface of the finish.
Next, I steel wooled it with 00000 gauge dipped in water. I did the same to the pickguard with it's components left in. I should have held back a bit in the area where the strings pass, but I can always buff that area up a bit down the road...

For the dents, I simply beat the bastard with a dog chain and flecked out some of the paint in the dents with a buck knife.
I'm in the process of aging the jack plate and screws in my trusty solution of water and chlorine. Should be ready in a few hours.


Anyway....

Here's a few shots of where I'm at right now.( Nowhere near a proper assembly)











A couple of profile shots to show the beating results...







More photos to come as this story develops....

[jhale667]

Sweet! Keep 'em coming!

[Diamondjimi]

There's nothing more exhilarating than beating a guitar with a chain!

[Hardrock69]

[jhale667]

There's nothing more exhilarating than beating a guitar with a chain!

[VanHalenFan5150]

Wow, sweet as bro!

[Reverberator]

Cool , my relic will be a relic by the time i get to finish it! As it happens I'm looking for a black body at the moment , so I follow this with interest.


You cunt.

[indeedido]

I love relics. My next project will be one of the relic'd nature

[indeedido]

Don't forget to put the body on the driveway and just kick it around a while.

[chefcraig]

By the way Dj, a simple way to relic the pick-ups and knobs is to lay them out in the sun for a few hours. Christ, I must be getting old, as I recall this process used to be called "antiquing".

[jhale667]

By the way Dj, a simple way to relic the pick-ups and knobs is to lay them out in the sun for a few hours. Christ, I must be getting old, as I recall this process used to be called "antiquing".

True. Another way I've heard of doing the plastic parts is to soak them in tea...

[indeedido]

I've heard the same thing about the tea.

[Diamondjimi]

Mee too!

Alright then. Tomorrow I shall soak my knob in Tea!

[jhale667]

Mee too!

Alright then. Tomorrow I shall soak my knob in Tea!

Cool...and get some strong shit, like some black tea or some earl grey...none of that namby-pamby Lipton shit...

[kwame k]

[GAR]

True. Another way I've heard of doing the plastic parts is to soak them in tea...

Uric acid is found in piss, and works better.

In fact DJ, as the Fender Custom Shop does, why not soak the whole guitar repeatedly in uric acid?

It should increase the tone.

[Hardrock69]

Why not do the world a HUGE favor and soak your fucking head in SULFURIC acid?

[jhale667]

Why not do the world a HUGE favor and soak your fucking head in SULFURIC acid?

What he said. Smashing idea!

[Hardrock69]

"For the betterment of humanity"

No shit!

[GAR]

I personally find it very intriguing that getting a distressed price on a used guitar isn't enough, he's got to go off and depreciate the thing further [cough]:poser:[/poser] by damaging it.

Going back to the day when before there really was any "replacement parts industry" and you had to get parts from the Fender factory, it was a BITCH to get any kind of parts.

For example: in 82 I think it was, while Fender was still operating out of Brea, I call up Brea to get the parts department.

I go "yeah hey, I got a three-bolt plate Strat and I think I stripped or sweat-rusted out the screw, the neck-mount disc, or the plate or all THREE pieces. I need a price for the plate or the disc."

And I get attitude like "we've never given out these assemblies."

I go Yeah, well what about when a guy's hand rusts the plate so deeply, the big screw won't seat tight and to the point he's getting Trem-O-Neck issues? What about that, you've got to have the parts?

And she (warranty parts dept) goes "i only have a price of $83 bucks for the entire assembly of 3-plates, the neck screws' gonna be 11 extra and the other two woodscrews are 5 bucks but I may be able to throw those in."

FUCK that. I hated Fender ever since.

My point in relating that one is twofold: 1) only a fucking POSER wants to fake play-wear on a decent-shape axe, like he's some kind of Million-Hour Marcher or some shit and 2) take it from a guy who's distressed guitars the natural way - the decent-shape axes are MORE preferrable to the worn-outs by far.

The only times I've preferred distressed guitars, is because someone took the time over that one's course of ownership to give it a proper setup adjustment and maintained it for the gauge of strings I also played. That's about it. I'm disgusted by this thread and the very thought of thrashing that poor body is not alright.

[jhale667]

Relics just got cooler because YOU don't like them. Congrats.







































































Now go die in a fire, nobody wants to read your bullshit.

[GAR]

Fender Custom Shop does gentle abrasions, while DJ's got out the whips and chains on the thing and I doubt you'd like indiscriminate heavy-distressing either if you had it in your own hands..

[kwame k]

As usual, only a mental midget (literally) like Clay can say one one hand how he hates relics and then in the next post give google advice on how to relic.

The typical STFU Gar is appropriate here but the point Clay just can't seem to grasp is.........people that have the ability to modify their equipment to suit their own tastes/needs, regardless of resale value, is the heart and soul of the rock-n-roll attitude! That fuck the establishment I'll do what I want, my way, by myself!

That spirit reminds me of another guitarist I heard of........he couldn't find a guitar that suited his needs and through trial and error made his own guitar and modified his equipment to get a pretty decent sound. You may have heard of him or seen his guitar..............

[GAR]

I've had that guitar in my hands before, and nowhere on it does any intentional distressing exist okay..

What's your point - that not giving a shit about your gear is cool, or that disrespecting your gear is a SKILL?

[kwame k]

No moron......like pussy, you still don't get it! Modding your guitar or doing a relic job on it to suit your own needs is a personal choice and has nothing to do with resale or value. Most real musicians, unlike you, will mod their shit to suit their playing needs and not worry about how much they can sell it for, jackass.


Do I need to get the crayons out and draw you a fucking picture, you idiot!

Never mind.....arguing with you reminds me of one of my favorite sayings! "Never argue with a fool, bystanders can't tell the who's who".

[GAR]

I know a thing or two about customization, and he's got alot of scraping-down and abrading of some of those super-deep dings to make it a feel-good player with this much damage.

Anyone can see he's gone overboard.

[kwame k]

Let me slow is down for you, Forrest.......it's............his............guita r............and...........he...........can....... ....do..............whatever.............the...... ....fuck.........he.........wants.......to.

Why would anyone care what you say? I have snares, bass pedals, amps, speakers and so on from when I was 14 years old that I have never even thought of selling and don't care what they are worth to someone else. To me they are priceless or tools of the trade........you know, (strike that, you don't know shit) what actual players use.

[GAR]

I have snares, bass pedals, amps, speakers and so on from when I was 14 years old that I have never even thought of selling and ...

There's something wonderfully codependant going on here between Dumont here wrecking his stuff, and your acceptance of such behaviour.

[kwame k]

You really are an idiot...........

[GAR]

Drummer, you don't have a cat in this fight do you?

[jhale667]

Let me slow is down for you, Forrest.......it's............his............guitar............a nd...........he...........can...........do........ ......whatever.............the..........fuck...... ...he.........wants.......to.

Of course we know the real reason Clay's pissed is because someone actually owns a guitar...

Why would anyone care what you say?

No one! So STFU, GARfail.


And since your imaginary plywood guitar doesn't count, YOU don't have a cat in the fight either. GTFO.

[kwame k]

Drummer, you don't have a cat in this fight do you?

Nor do you, moron.

[GAR]

HEY I had a thought: which I rarely do:

Why not relic it over a small backyard fire? If that works out, he could relic his mom's house there, and increase the houses' tone, likewise.

DO IT for Metal.. DJ

[GAR]

Nor do you, moron.

Then why waste your time if its my dispute contrasting the opinon this type of modifications' any good...

[jhale667]

How's about you relic your cardboard house under the 405...with fire. And you in it.


Go ahead and tire yourself out, SPAMbot. It's all getting dumped later.

[kwame k]

Then why waste your time if its my dispute contrasting the opinon this type of modifications' any good...

.....sometimes stringing big words in a sentence doesn't make a person look smarter, idiot!

[GAR]

How's about this fact: you can always decrease the value of a guitar by personalizations, but that never works in reverse!

No matter how much you put into a guitar with upgrades, you'll never ever see the value back out of it when you go to sell it.

Let's apply DJ's logic here to clothing: does my brownstriping my Hugo Boss underwear in any way?

NO, but I like it because then I know which pairs are mine, and which ones I make your mom wear on her head when we have our backwards-walks on the beach in the afternoon.

If DJ continues posting his progress on this, I will post the progress I make in my undies.. deal?

[GAR]

.....sometimes stringing big words in a sentence doesn't make a person look smarter, idiot!

Sometimes drummers are asked to speak at all.. it's a rarity, but it has occurred in the past.

[kwame k]

How's about this fact: you can always decrease the value of a guitar by personalizations, but that never works in reverse!

No matter how much you put into a guitar with upgrades, you'll never ever see the value back out of it when you go to sell it.

Let's apply DJ's logic here to clothing: does my brownstriping my Hugo Boss underwear in any way?

NO, but I like it because then I know which pairs are mine, and which ones I make your mom wear on her head when we have our backwards-walks on the beach in the afternoon.

If DJ continues posting his progress on this, I will post the progress I make in my undies.. deal?

Here's a shocker, moron..........what if he doesn't want to sell it or even cares about resale.........amazing concept to get your fat bald head around, Clay!

[Diamondjimi]

I've had that guitar in my hands before, and nowhere on it does any intentional distressing exist okay..

Cardboard cutouts don't count, Shorty...