1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
- Wil_66
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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- Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:47 pm
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Nice work on the pickguard, I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the resurrection! That poor Jazzmaster deserves it!
- maximee
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:07 pm
- Location: Germany
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Thank you all for your encouragement! Really enjoying this little project.
It definetly is the real deal. You can tell by the smell when sanding. It smells like burning ping pong balls. Oh, the memories.
Ok, on with the restoration.
Removal of the bridge thimbles. Good old soldering iron in combination with a dowel. I think that's the best technique, they were really tight, but came out pretty nicely.
Somehow I managed to scratch the otherwise level back side.
Nothing a soldering iron, an old rag and a good mouthful of spit couldn't cure.
The steam made the grain swell up to the surface again and all is well.
Before sanding:
After sanding:
It really has nice grain on the back, maybe that's how they selected it for the ES ones.
Almost too bad to spray it in solid color.
This needs some filler:
Done (yes, I do know how that looks, thanks).
Enter Sandman:
It doesn't really come across how much friggin time it took to sand the pickup covers. Next time, I'll buy replacements and age them. At least now I can say it's the real deal. Anybody can buy a pickup cover.
Next up is final prep work before spraying the body. Getting there!
Question: Would you completely spray the body (minus cavities) or keep the original sunburst with the ES stamp underneath the pickguard the way it is? I'm leaning towards the latter. I like the idea of being able to see where it came from. It's telling a story and takes out the guess work for possible future owners. With the pickguard mounted it wouldn't make a difference. What do you think?
Oh yes, thanks, that was it! I've read that ages ago somewhere around here.
There will always be a visible crack. I just like the challenge of fixing it to the best of my abilities. Also, the small part of the pickguad is not as flat as I'd like and while double sided take might do it for a while, it won't last and leave sticky mess everywhere. Ask me how I know Nonetheless, I share your view on preserving some of its scars (=history).
Yeah, I kind of thought so, too. But it really depends on the lighting.
It definetly is the real deal. You can tell by the smell when sanding. It smells like burning ping pong balls. Oh, the memories.
Ok, on with the restoration.
Removal of the bridge thimbles. Good old soldering iron in combination with a dowel. I think that's the best technique, they were really tight, but came out pretty nicely.
Somehow I managed to scratch the otherwise level back side.
Nothing a soldering iron, an old rag and a good mouthful of spit couldn't cure.
The steam made the grain swell up to the surface again and all is well.
Before sanding:
After sanding:
It really has nice grain on the back, maybe that's how they selected it for the ES ones.
Almost too bad to spray it in solid color.
This needs some filler:
Done (yes, I do know how that looks, thanks).
Enter Sandman:
It doesn't really come across how much friggin time it took to sand the pickup covers. Next time, I'll buy replacements and age them. At least now I can say it's the real deal. Anybody can buy a pickup cover.
Next up is final prep work before spraying the body. Getting there!
Question: Would you completely spray the body (minus cavities) or keep the original sunburst with the ES stamp underneath the pickguard the way it is? I'm leaning towards the latter. I like the idea of being able to see where it came from. It's telling a story and takes out the guess work for possible future owners. With the pickguard mounted it wouldn't make a difference. What do you think?
Last edited by maximee on Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:29 am, edited 3 times in total.
- Wil_66
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:47 pm
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
I'd leave what's left of the original finish under the pickguard, it's actually pretty cool there's any of it left!
- Pacafeliz
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 18575
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:34 pm
- Location: Cococologne, Germany
- maximee
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:07 pm
- Location: Germany
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
It's only because the original owner never took it apart when sanding/painting the guitar. It survived white, black, gold and wood stain. Alright, I'll keep it as is! Thanks for your opinions.
Just a little tease: Pacafeliz is a legend and I have something in the mail, will post shortly!
- Pacafeliz
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 18575
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:34 pm
- Location: Cococologne, Germany
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Dude please...
i love delay SO much ...that i procrastinate all the time.
- greens
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2020 10:59 am
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Awesome thread, you are really off to a great start. I love that color idea also
- JVG
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 1412
- Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:54 pm
- Location: Sydney, Straya
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Awesome. It’s amazing how good a freshly sanded body looks. Yes, leave the bits of sunburst under the guard - it tells a great story.
This is a great thread...can’t wait for more!
Cheers!
J.
This is a great thread...can’t wait for more!
Cheers!
J.
- kapepper
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 326
- Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 11:51 am
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Well done!!!
- HNB
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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- Location: Puyallup, Washington
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- maximee
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:07 pm
- Location: Germany
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
Thanks everyone! This little project will continue in May because I’m not around for a few weeks. Looking forward to posting more.
- seawalker
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:44 am
- Location: America
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
This thread is awesome! Keep us posted!
- lemming
- PAT PEND
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:49 pm
Re: 1966 Jazzmaster Restoration
I agree -- this thread is great. The guitar is really turning out fantastic! I love seeing the step-by-step on projects like this, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of this story unfold.
(For what it's worth, I wholeheartedly agree with leaving the original finish under the pickguard)
- SuperAxe
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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- Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:46 am
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- maximee
- PAT. # 2.972.923
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:07 pm
- Location: Germany