Let's Relic/Butcher a Tele! 😈My First Attempt and All By Hand!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ธ.ค. 2018
- This is my first time trying to relic a guitar. I wanted to do this as cheaply as I could so I spent a grand total of $30 on parts including sanding blocks, extra sanding blocks, a scraper, and a carpet mat for laying the guitar on. The guitar is a Harley Benton TE-52 which is an awesome guitar. It turned up a little damaged so I figured it was the perfect choice to try this for the first time. This is over 3 hours of footage condensed into 20 minutes. Most of the fast motion video is at 20x (2000%) regular speed.
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Unfortunately it looks like a guitar that has undergone the methods you used.
th-cam.com/video/bXsWatJVMXY/w-d-xo.html Part II
I enjoyed watching this. I've reliced many guitars and typically spend 50-100hrs getting them to look natural. Your comment of how hard it is to be random is spot on. Our natural tendency is to create some visual order compounded by making repetitive movements with the tools we are using. This only improves with conscious practice. A few ideas that might be worth investigating would be using a wire brush on the the exposed wood to age it. This brings out the grain very effectively. Also using steel wool dissolved in vinegar for a darkening stain is a popular choice. 1000 and higher grit sand paper will remove the "I obviously sanded this" look by taking off the shine and leaving a matte finish. One not so obvious trick to relicing is being able to somewhat undo everything to get it to the proper level of finish. For this I always use a polish like Meguir's Scratch X. I also recommend using different tools for cutting. The obvious choice is a Xacto #11 blade but I use all manner of things I have laying around to get different effects. I'd be glad to send you pictures or a better explanation of what I'm talking about offline if you're interested. Can't wait to see how this progresses. All the best.
Next time, hit that finish with a heat gun where you want to scrape that finish off. Especially if you’re dealing with poly.
When I dropped my Strat in the rehearsal room and cracked the finish I cried.
I think it's funny this is the top comment
@@willfowler8540 so do I !
My dog knocked over my fender I almost killed him lmao
i dropped mine too when i was in highschool, i never touched it again 😂
From Leo: I grew up poor enough that everything where ever we lived was very "relic'd". I determined to work hard enough to always have stuff in great condition, so I don't choose the relic style. I have no problem if someone else desires to have beat up stuff. I am genuinely happy for people that have what they like. I see you put a lot of work in the job, and I think you succeeded in your quest. Thanks for all the entertainment this year, I enjoy your work.
Is that a quote from leo fender ?
Nope, just a guy that does not have youtube on his own computer
Lol
I grew up poor in a third world country where good american instruments were simply unaccessible, with that said, i still really like the look of relic instruments... so, to each their own i guess.
used wet Tea and coffee grinds gunk mixture my man, gives a nasty used stain look, specially on the fretboard to give it that grubby finger look
great idea I'm take that thanks
I‘d try that, too... sounds promising with coffee powder.
That poor guitar
and remember to drive safely during this holiday season so you don't relic your car and yourself too
Relic cars are easy all you need is a 24 Pack of your fave beer
@@momojinsei that's the problem. If it has been just a Fender or even a Squier-crap no one would have cared...
Thank you sir. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and be with you and keep eternal love in your heart forever and ever ♥
Once you relic a guitar, it gets that awesome worn in feel. You don't ever have to worry about scratching it, either!👍😎🎸🎶
These are the only valid reasons I have ever heard for considering making a new guitar look like a relic. I would never do it myself, but the point is well made.
@@richardwhite8484 I understand. They're not for everyone. If ya get a chance to play one, it may change your mind. I love mine and I also have pristine guitars as well. I just love the beat up relic!👍😎🎸🎶
Polyurethane is so much harder than nitro to beat up since its designed to be a super hard coating. If you want to get a darker coloring on the neck and other places, brew a cup of coffee and then take the used coffee grounds and rub the paste into the areas. Do it to your liking, clean everything off and let it dry. Then follow it up with some Danish Oil. You should be able to find it at your hardware store. It should come in either natural, medium walnut or dark walnut finishes. I would guess you would want at least the medium walnut, possibly the dark walnut. You can always dilute the oil down with water to lighten it up so you would want to test it on a similar piece of wood to get your desired color. Definitely test it first because it penetrates into the wood and doesn't just coat the top so sanding and redoing it if it doesn't come out to your liking at first won't be really doable. Then you just let that soak in and you should be good to go. It may also work to darken up the poly on the rest of the guitar in general. The poly would need to be super scuffed and almost through to the wood completely for it to change its color though. I'm recommending this not as a luthier but as a woodworker. Danish oil is my favorite finish.
With that being said, the easiest way to have tried to relic a poly guitar is to pull all of the electronics, tie it to a rope and drag it up and down your driveway.
Recent trick from Kris Barocsi was to use ash (from a firewood) and rub in. Looks awesome.
Awesome you mentioned Dave Simpson! His channel is great and he seems like a really good dude.
I’m here for the comments
Me too. I can't wait to see what sort of individuals come out of the woodwork. No pun intended. lol
LMAO
Brave man asking TH-cam to 'tell you want they think' ha 😁
Yesterday I unintentionally got a scratch on my tele and got totally bummed... go figure
Use a Dremel tool on the fretboard to get specific and more accurate/believable wear marks. Go back and forth slowly until you get the pattern down.
Nice job Shane. To age the metal parts. Remove them from the guitar. Get a wide plastic container lid and fill it with vinegar and poor salt in, stir. Place a another container in the midle of the pool creating an island. Place all the parts on the island making sure they dont get wet. Place another large container or low roof bowel over the entire setup. The reaction between the vinegar and salt will create gasses in the short space and will age, patina the parts. Leave it in for as long as the desired effect. Make sure their is no gaps for fumes to escape and make sure the parts dont get wet, and the outside container is not too big to create a tight space and it works really well. Can be done using everything you already have in the house.
For the neck or fretboard you could get some satin polyurethane, put on a few thin coats it'll put a small amount of tint to the natural wood then sand with a very fine sandpaper. The coffee grinds idea is good too
My brother used to install distressed hardwood floors - so install new maple or other hardwood and then distress it. To do the dents in the wood they flailed it with heavy chain and beat it with hammers of various sizes - that would crack the finish and dent the wood giving it the aged look. In your case try mechanic's tools like heavier spanners or the like to get the dents giving it that "I fell off the stage drunk and relic'd my guitar in one go" look:) Think about how an old vintage got its marks and simulate that. You would obviously have to disassemble the guitar to do this, but it wouldn't cost anything to do - I'm sure you've got mechanic subscribers in your area happy to help you beat it up:)
For the back of the neck just use ash from the wood oven! Spit a bit on your fingers, get it in the ashes and rub it into the wood. This works!
You forgot to BANG the headstock into something. You know, 1 too many pints or glasses of wine! KOOL video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would say to also drop the thing a few times. Not real far but from about hip level where we have all dropped them at one time or another.
The most rewarding thing I have gotten from re-working the finish, as you did here shane. It gave me the opportunity to wear down the neck and the fretboard edges. Getting that worn in guitar feeling out of it.
Funny - I wanted one of these to do the same thing with. Looks pretty cool. Just a few things: instead of a saw, use an old set of keys and just throw them at the body - the results will be more random. On the top/front "wear" areas: use the medium grit and go across the grain to get rid of the grain line grooves. Also, an old shop towel run across for a while will create friction and heat to make the marks more realistic. For the neck: buy a mechanical pencil and crush up the graphite stick and mix with a little alcohol into a thick paste/slurry. You can dab it on and sand it off. I hope this helps.
Adding: If you leave the guitar dusty from that sanding session or flour or something,, and play your favorite song, you'll see where you rub the dust off. Take a picture and then wear those areas for a more personal look like you've played it for twenty years. You might even change the oil in your car and leave a little grubby oil on your hands and see where that marks the guitar handling it and wear those locations. That will also make the back of your guitar neck darker like you want. Some use "Kiwi"-brand (you probably have a different brand over there, lol) shoe polish to darken.
Looks like you had a great time doing this.... it came out pretty good. Can't wait to hear how you like playing it. I think I'd use a Dremel on the fretboard to mimic some of the deeper wear ares from pressing the strings down on the cowboy chords.
Good job Shane 👍
I literally am exhausted watching you sand!!! I like the look! You said one thing that rings true.... there’s no right or wrong way to relic. One could make the argument that Eric Clapton’s Blackie and Brownie were guitars he relic. Both of those guitars’ necks were already worn when he put those guitars together. Only difference now is that people sped up the process. Get some rest Shane I know your arms are tired!!! Cheers buddy!!!!🎸🎸🎸🤙🏾🤘🏽🤙🏾
I can barely move my arms now mate haha. 😂
I have these polish friends who come over to drink Vodka. By the time they leave in the morning my guitars are reliced.
Another cool thing you can do is get a few rocks out of the drive way and some popsicle sticks, glue the rocks to the sticks and place the rock side down on the sides of the guitar and tap it with a hammer. Use the weird angles of the rocks to make dings and dents in the guitar. Looks cool for a first time relic!
to get the wood gray, the easiest and best way to do it is to soak some screws or steel wool in vinegar, then when it gets all brown and rusty, brush it onto the bare wood and let it dry
Really enjoyed watching this, great job. I used a fine Scotch type pad on the shiny hardware, made it look dull, almost like nickel, I was very happy with that. The poly finishes could withstand a grenade going off! My Strat is 25 years old and unless you look very closely at the dings and scratches it looks much newer. Do another video when you've finished. Have a great Christmas and New Year Shane.
I kind of liken this to weathering my trains. There is no right or wrong way. It’s all what looks good to you. It just takes a little practice. You actually did a pretty damn good job. Nothing wears perfect anyways. It looks like it’s been around for quite a while. Well done Shane. Love the channel!
Shane, I just went into the yard and got some dirt from the garden. I rubbed all over the guitar. The bare wood and the finished parts. The light abrasives in the soil did a great job a scratching the finish and the dirt gave it a lived in look. Then I added some oil to the bare wood to protect it a bit and help the dirt work it's way into the wood pores. For the pickguard, I use a dime and the hit the pickguard as though I were using as a pick. Do that a few hundred times and you get some genuine wear.
I sanded the finish off the back of a neck...then applied 3 coats of TUNG oil...it feels amazing and the tung oil seals the bare wood from soaking up moisture....great job Shane!!!!
This looks so fun i love it. Is awesome that people don´t go and pay a lot of money for this work on a custom shop and try to do himself. Congrats!!!!
Sorry people, I just do not like relic guitars. 2 of my guitars are 20 years old and they look brand new still.
David Kastin if they’re only 20 years out, that’s probably because they’re not nitrocellulose. Poly finishes don’t age unless you do it yourself or you beat the living hell out of the guitar. Nitrocellulose guitars age themselves as the lacquer wears away
@@zerohourdrift Yes they are not nitro and are not my daily players. They have never been abused or seen much daylight lofl. One is an MIA Strat with lace sensors and plays like buttah
You don't like relic guitars but you did not only watch a guitar relicing video but also left a couple of comments on it...
@@indoshakermaker so what is your point?
@@indoshakermaker my comments and opinions were not offensive to people that like relic guitars
I've done all of this before.
1. Get a hot air gun and a scraper to remove the laquer and the base code
2. Make a stain for the wood from vinegar and steel wool.
There are tutorials on both of these on TH-cam.
Nice work man, I like stain wood with used motor and gear oil makes it look more natural and also you can get it dirt cheap or even free in car shops
Well...it looks like _fun_ !
And isn't that the point?
Here's a tip for the very end of the project: Let the guitar get warm, then hit it with a can of compressed air, the kind you use to blow the dust off keyboards, turned upside down. Be careful though, this stuff is freezing.
If you do it right and the finish is ridged and thin enough, it should give you those aged surface cracks. Get a little oil and dirt rubbed into the cracks then buff out the finish by hand.
I’ve got a Strat with a poly finish that I have been playing 25 years, it still looks near new. I wish I bought a guitar with a nitro finish back in 1993.
I bought a CV 60"s Tele, and it had a very glossy mirror finish, which I did not like. I used 000 steel wool, and lightly de-glassed the front of the guitar. The finish could be restored with some rubbing compound. I like it a lot better than the mirrory finish.
place a piece of wire wool in a jar with some white vinegar and let it sit over night. The next day you can brew a cup of black tea.. Wipe the tea on to the exposed area of the neck... when dry wipe with a rag saturated with your wire wool vinegar. Watch the change. If it's too dark you can sand back a bit.
That is a win Shane. I knew it was on when the saw and screwdriver came into the picture. Nice job!
What I’ve found is for the back of the neck works best is vinegar and steel wool and just letting that soak for about 6hours, basically the bucket of vinegar should go a dark rusty brown colour and then just apply that with a cloth for a cool stain
Came out great, dude!
Thanks man! Just a bit of fun 😁
You can strip the polly with paint striper, then repaint with some auto body spray paint then find some rocks for rubbing and lightly hitting. You can get some great looking stuff like that.
Say goodbye to your pots, before this type of service it is necessary to remove all the electric components of the guitar, the dust of the wood enters the potentiometers and the coil of the pickup, it is really necessary to disassemble the guitar before this type of work,
am sorry
@Quiksilver taking the knobs off and adding masking tape to the posts should keep dust out of the pots and switch, and is a lot faster than taking it apart.
It would be hard to get the wear around the hardware like what would occur naturally if they weren't on the guitar. It is cheap hardware. So when finished doing the work to the guitar he can get proper hardware to rellace the cheapo asian stuff.
@Quiksilver I'm so used to everything being backwards that lefty pots actually throw me off.
Looking great :) I know it's a bit more expensive, but repainting it with multiple different layers, and then sanding to the particular colour would look amazing.
That was certainly a workout! I'm debating about doing that to my Tele neck. Did you finish it with gun stock oil at all? Hope you have a very Merry Christmas buddy!
Love them s video. Watching you struggle actually got me motivated to give it a try😃
Turned out pretty good! For the checking laquor look which would really sell it I'd recommend heating a section with a hairdryer then spraying a dust spray can be a upside down on the same spot. Then you'll have immediately aged it 20 years. Also rub some shoe polish and dirt or coffee grounds in the spots where you see wood to darken in it and get bits in the deep grooves giving another 20 years of touring grime appearance.
this video is great, i've had the same guitar for a few months and always wanted to get rid of the glossy finish
Put a pad of steel wool into a gallon of white vinegar over night and the next day use the white vinegar on the bare wood and you’ll get that “old wood” look.
There’s a recipe on TH-cam for the stain you want. I used it an it turned out pretty decent. All ya need is a Mason jar, white vinegar, 0000 Steel wool and tea. You’ll basically pull the steel wool completely apart and put it in the jar with the vinegar. Close it up and let it sit over night I think until it all kinda turns grayish. After that boil like 5 tea bags for about twitch as long as ya normally would. Grab a rag and apply your vinegar mix to the raw wood. Then take your tea and just cut the bags open and rub it right into the grain. The tannins in the tea and the steel should give ya the desired gray color after they sink into that wood grain.
You can relic the hardware with some steel wool and sandpaper and then apply some PCB etching solution from a RadioShack like store or Amazon for that tarnish you’ll want.
You should be able to find some good videos on both of these but I thought things might give you a good breakdown on the steps.
I gotta say Shane, this relicing is still better than the relic on my MIM road worn 50's tele ..... yours looks more legit actually haha. Great job for a first time I must say
Smear on some Burnt Umber acrylic paint, allow to partially dry and wipe off with a damp rag to taste. Works great especially in open grain wood and "dings".
Cigarette ash works a treat, I used it on my telecaster. Has the effect of making it look like it's been picked up and played by too many hands. Wet the bare wood where you've sanded then rub the ash into it with your fingers. Rub off where you think you've over done it with fine grade wire wool. Just apply polish over the top of it when you're done.
Good job bro i hope there's a follow up video and get Dr Rick to bring in the Relic Fender so we can see the guitars side by side sort of thing this is a fun video and i love the content rock on .
•0000 grid steel wool for the body to take the gloss off
•Turn a can of compressed air upside down spray it on and heat it up and it will add that checking
•Shoe polish and furniture touchup pen will work well to add grit and grime
•Mularic acid will take the shine out of the chrome hardware
Thank you for the shout out. I think it looks great. :)
I’m not a relic look fan but I must say it was interesting to watch how you went about obtaining “the look” and it turned out pretty good.
Chimmy soot is the best thing to rub into raw wood. You'd need to apply a few time before it starts to look good....but you get that lovely worn Gray colour.
Shane.... man I just cringe when I see anyone Relic a guitar !! People don’t do it !!! Earn your dings and scratching from sonically abusing your instrument !! Funny my main guitar (Fender American standard 86 Strat) is still in mint condition and I’d be upset if I scratched it up.. my travel Strat not so much. I’d just buy a old guitar rather than desecrate one !!. Love your channel and keep up the great work !!
I have a Gear4Music guitar in ash with the same kind of gloss on it. It’s an absolute tank of a coating to get through! I tried everything from a heat gun to a scraper and coarse sandpaper. I had to take to machine sanding it in the end…and I still haven’t finished it. If you wanna add a dirty discoloration to the wood and especially on the neck, try graphite powder- basically pencil in powder form, or a steel wool evaporated in vinegar solution. Both work very well and look authentic.
This is cool. I know there are folks who really dislike relic-ing a guitar, but to each their own. I've got a build going on now that's meant to look like a cross between Joe Strummer's Tele and Stevie Ray Vaughn's strat. I dig the old and beat up look. Wish I could spend the 20 years you'd need touring and such to get there, but I've got a mortgage to pay, so I can't.
taking the guitar apart may help. A heat gun will help cut through some of the lacquer.
I really dig what you came up with. Great work.
Bald English Guy with Tats 🤘🏻🤘🏻 He's Ben from Crimson Guitars. Absolute Legend of a Guy. His Body Flamer is Called "Bernard" 🤣🤣🤣 Legend!
To get it dark I would suggest used cooking oil but rubbing the crap at the bottom of the pan only. That is probably the nearest thing to the oils and gunk on our dirty hands. Maybe apply a little heat to open the pours of the wood.
Used teabag is great for staining and adding built up patina in freshly sanded wood , just don't start out with it too wet wipe on leave for a little while but wipe off with a damp cloth before it has had a chance to soak in fully and dry that way you can layer and build it up to how intense an effect you require .
oh and great to see Dave Simpson get a shout out , he is a beast of a guitar player and should really have many more subscribers than he currently has .
a merry relicing Christmas Shane
The first time I re-worked a poly finish, my goal was just to thin it down. We all know how much we dont like that 1/4" (10mm) thick clear coat. When I started getting the thickness of the clear down to about where I wanted it, the color started to disappear. IT was a black guitar. Im pretty sure It was a epiphone LP jr. . It was as if the factory sprayed 1-2 coats clear then a they layed the black, then a couple more coats of clear. I easnt originally going for a "relic look". I just wanted a thinner finish. I ended up sanding down through the black to bare wood in many spots. So, I stained the bare wood with a darker stain then sprayed black and then a thin layer of clear.
Hey great video and great job on the guitar! What kind of sand paper do you use on the back of the neck?
Any chance you can provide a link to this guitar? I can't find any Harley Benton telecasters in this colour at the moment
The English guy with the tattoos is probably Ben Crowe of Crimson Guitars.
Barbarian!
I would rub those areas with coffee grounds! Definitely gives it a vintage vibe
Just did my first as well. Nice! Used leather dye on the exposed wood. Looks great! Then 2000 sandpaper to really smooth things out. Finally, slathered it all with coconut oil. Cheers from Cali!
Hey Shane. Love the look of relic'd guitars. I've done a few over the years. Nitro finishes are somewhat easier to relic. I recently did a poly finished strat that I competely deglossed (used 3000 grit for that) then did the wear marks (used a power sander with 600 grit)}. Looks quite like my 60s Road Worn strat. As for the back of the neck I used graphite powder from a local hardware store. It was in the key and lock section as it is used on locks to make the keying smoother. Sometimes it's just trial and error to get it to where you want it. I also relic'd the hardware using muriatic acid. I let the fumes do the work and didn't immerse it in the liquid itself. It really does come down to whether or not you are happy with the way it looks. I think you did a super job on the tele. Love your youtube station. Please keep posting. Cheers mate.
Hello there. Did you do a video of your relic? I would like to see yours. The method of taking off the poly finish in my black tele for a matte finish is very tempting.
Did you get a Sausage while you were at Bunnings?
Also, I was going to suggest a few cigarette burns on the headstock but that would cost more than the tools and carpet xD some black chalk powder should do the trick for getting the back of the neck darker.
I did some cigarette burns on a guitar. Turned out great.
Sausages are generally over the weekend. So, he might have had one lol.
I have a MIM Telecaster that had a gloss polyurethane finish on the neck, fretboard, and body, and I absolutely hated it LOL I spent the good part of a few days scraping off the polyurethane. Stuff’s a good 2 millimeters thick! I can’t see how you’d get “natural wear” on such a thick, hard-wearing finish like polyurethane. Very cool for you to make a guitar feel how you want to feel! 👍🏼
You can get a water based wood dye to just a normal wood stain to tint those exposed spots. You go dark then sand most of it off which will leave the darker spots in the grain. Its a cool effect. I would also relic the hardware because it completes the relic look in my opinion.
Fret board: grab a fresh newspaper. Read it. Then after you got the ink smudges on your hands, play the hell out of the guitar.
Yeah thats wut im saying. How much more accurate can you be in creating natural wear. I basically did the same thing. I did what shane did. Then I strung my guitar up and played when ever my hands were dirty. Instead of making sure my hands were clean b4 I grabbed a guiter like I normally would.
I think it came out really good for a first go at it mate. I have not done a complete relic but I have done some new parts for old guitars and what I found best for staining is tea ,on the fret board I've used a Dremel tool with great success. I think both of these methods have already been suggested but, that's what works for me too ! Cheers !
for the body part and the relick handle, it uses wine vinegar and steel wool. leave the wool in bagpno in vinegar for 2 days then pass it in the parts you brought back to wood. Hello
Great job! Personally, I love the comfortable feel of relic’ed guitars, like comfortable old blue jeans. Btw, I practice Iaido. Although not exactly the same, we usually season Japanese wooden practice swords (Bokuto) by sanding off a layer of wood, then oiling it with Camelia oil. Usually apply several coats. The wood becomes a shade or two darker. If I were doing what you did to the neck, I might mix some coffee grounds in with the Camelia oil. I’ll bet that would give it a well loved feel. Try it on some scrap wood first. Just a thought.
Tea and coffee grinds are the best stain to finish up. Looks cool!
The main reason I enjoy a relic’d Strat or Tele is for the way it feels (for some reason it doesn’t appeal to me on set neck gtrs even though I LOVE Gibson’s VOS finish). The way a guitar PLAYS/FEELS is paramount. I need to be inspired to play it. I sold a 52 AVRI Tele bc while it SOUNDED great, it felt awful to play and I never played it (Vintage radius, small frets, sticky nitro neck, etc). If a relic’d guitar inspires you to play, then I say relic away 🤙🏻😄
That was alot of work but it looked like you were having fun with it. Great video Shane.
Steel wool also works for the pickguard(tape up pickups to keep steel wool from magnets) . Boiled linseed oil would work for the raw wood, and it seals and darkens it, several coats ads a nice satin feel to it, and it leaves a hard finish with several coats. Also a gunstock finish would work. Rattle can lacquer would work on back of neck, it would take at least three coats, sand lightly in between coats, and finish with steel wool. Let it dry a few days before rubbing out the last coat.
Great video mate. I've just picked up a cheap Pacifica 311 in pretty ordinary condition and was thinking of doing some relic work. You've given me some good ideas.
I'm relicing my Tele one day and one note at a time. Thirty years from now it will be nicely worn in.
How about some graphite powder on the back of the neck and fretboard? If you mist it on, and lightly rub it in maybe. Also, I’d try to lightly tarnish the hardware, perhaps with some very high grit sandpaper, to take the shine off.
Tea, graphite, & ashes work great. I've never actually relic'd a guitar but I've watched sooo many videos where people use these.
Crimson custom guitars is the British guy with the tattoos and another good guitar refinisher is Brad Angove teaching spray can techniques.
This is a good example of why all my guitars have nitro finishes. You'll need about 200 years of daily play to relic the remaining poly any further. The fretboard doesn't look like playwear at all. Each to their own though.
I was about to say you put the fretboard wear on the wrong side, but then remembered it's a lefty! lol
Cool effort for a first time, I've been relic-ing my guitar for a number of years. For the neck I'd suggest a heavily watered down acrylic paint dabbed on and wipped off.
Try dropping something on the body to "crack" the gloss finish and then try and splinter it off with a chisel or similar.
If you steel wool then wipe on some danish oil (or something similar) on the neck it will feel silky smooth. Just wipe on, wait a few mins and wipe off. I do that on my necks and love how it feels.
To stain the bare wood I use cigarette ash and fretboard conditioner! (lemon oil or whatever!) Rub on some oil, then rub on some cigarette Ash, smudge it on with your finger then wipe off the excess with a cloth. done!
To dirty it up and tint the sanded areas I use brown kiwi shoe polish. You can also use strong coffee (I just use instant, taste is hardly an issue) or just ordinary mud from the garden. All dirt sticks to the sanded areas but not the varnish. Hope this helps.
Good job. I’ll send you a pic of my neck in my TE52. I did it a while ago, so it did get naturally dirtier which was great
I am doing this to a squire but the old way. I want to know how long it will take so I play it everyday. I am about a 2 years into it.
Hi mate, looks like hard yakka! I have seen some wear colour applied effectively on some other projects using dark shoe polish to colour the raw timber. Good luck, look forward to
the finished job :)
Hell why stop there! Look at Billy Gibbons beat up tele! That's a relic and work of art!
I absolutely hate the idea of relicing guitars, BUT you did a good job, looks good to me for what you're going for, and we all have opinions about relicing. If I came home and saw my TE-52 looking like this I'd be heart broken, lol, cheers Shaner, well done.
Hey man my neck I made up a combo of soy sauce coffee and tea bags and rubbed into the wood, I also got some old grease from my lawn mower and rubbed it in as well and chipped up the ends of the board and head stock, great first attempt mate