T-10 9 pedal needs some help

[Steve W]

I just used Jasco. It didn't seem to hurt the wood in any way. It also took a number of coats. It looks like someone sprayed it black first, then sprinkled on a ton of white or silver flakes and then painted this blue clear thick stuff over the top of it all.
I entend to do a shellac base and the laquer over that. I just need to decide on the neck style so that I can choose the right grain filler. There are grand canyon grain lines in the necks.

The green wood filler on the back will come out as that is where Miller was inclined to put a place to hold the tuning wrench.

It is taking for ever to get the third keyhead back but it should be soon.

[Allan]

...There are grand canyon grain lines in the necks. ...

Yeah, I guessed there would be when I saw you say that it looked like oak. I like the look of red oak but it is a total pig to work with if you intend to get a smooth shine on it. I can't remember the name of the stuff I use but I can find out quite quickly if you are interested. It is a clear sanding varnish. it is quite thin at the application stage and needs many coats to fill the grain but on the other side it dries and builds up quite quickly after the first application seals the wood. (I am talking about ten minutes between coats) It is meant as a sealer/filler so it is not a final coat. I guess it is in the same use group as shellac in that way. Just a personal thing but I really don't like working with paste grain fillers.
Another approach, which you may not even consider after what you said about oak, is to use a colored filler and make a feature of the grain. Black or white grain fillers are common in oak furniture and can look good if done carefully.
You are lucky to have the inlays looking so good after the poor thing was treated so badly.

Regards, Allan.....

[Steve W]

I was thinking of using a colored wood filer since the grain is so big and I want to not see that aspect of Oak. I should be able to match the filler to the color that I go for and that way I can blend the whoel neck to a more even look. I can't get the filler until I know which way color wise I'm going on the necks. I friend of mine used to use the sawdust of his work and made a filler out of that. He also used another old method where he uses plaster of paris and then mixes it with the stain that he will use. I did that on the S-10 Miller that I have and it worked fairly well.

[Allan]

I have used both of these methods in the past. I found the sawdust method to be better most of the time but it does require that the sawdust be particularly fine. I used slightly watered glue also, around two thirds glue to one third water. The sawdust/glue mix is not easy to sand so be sure not to allow too much extra over flush. The plaster version gives a pretty easy finish to smooth but I was never quite happy with the color match so I only used it when the final color was opaque.
Please keep us up to date with pics too.

Regards, Allan.....

[Steve W]

making some progress.

[Steve W]

It took for ever to strip all of that blue sparkle and what seemed like epoxy black paint under it. I sanded it, shellaced it and there is one quick coat of Varnish just on the tops, I haven't done the sides yet. That will take a number of coats and sanding and then polishing. The necks ended up being Oak and I just couldn't get a good look out of them so I went with white laquer. I have seen that on at least three Millers and a few sho buds. I used white laquer from a spray can, sanded it down to perfectly flat and then sprayed a Nitro...ish laquer over that. I haven't sanded and polished it yet since I want to give it a week to harden.

The back leg sockets were completley stripped so I had a machine shop drill and put new sleves in and then tap to the original thread. I also had them change the angle to 0 degrees more like a bigsby. I want to be able to use this as a stand up non pedal too and that will help the look.

[Allan]

Hi Steve,
I am still astounded that some twonk could paint epoxy over that beautiful wood. Someone has a head examination in his future. Looks like the guitar has someone who cares to look after it now though.
I love these resurrection stories, please keep the pics coming as you progress.

Allan.....