The Electra Forums

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3733031355

like I said, I'm a sucker for projects...

(to be continued)

Heh, yes, and I have enough hardware to get this one together. Dunno about the filled spots, they look awful but wait till i see it in person. I've still got my hands full with the Tele...

Thanks for the link, I'll check them out.

it looks like the body of yr project is made of 3 pieces of wood. are all phoenixes like that? (i just got a phoenix, too--only mine isn't in need of a resurrection. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3733464600 mine is an x-150 with the peace sign logo serial #104007--which must mean it's the 7th one made? anyhow, it's the one made of maple/ash/walnut.)<p>
also, i had a look at yr tele project. what's yr recommended paint removal technique? i'm planning on a repaint on an aria rs (don't like the 80s paint job) so any tips will be welcome.<p>
(p.s. thanks to electraman for the tip for supplies/info source.)

Nice Phoenix! The early ones are so nice with the natural wood grain.

As far as paint removal, the only reason I decided to grind the old finish off the Tele was that the body was already sorely abused, so adding more tool marks wouldnt hurt, since I'd be reshaping, sanding, and resmoothing anyhow. If the body had been intact I'd have gone for chemical stripping using probably an orange oil based stripper (there are some modern ones that aren't too toxic). The only problem is that if the paint is black or red it tends to stain the wood.

But really, unless the finish is seriously messed up, I'd try to repair it or live with it rather than stripping and refinishing. If it's just a matter of not liking the color I'd find another one that was the color I like. In my youth I was way to eager to do it myself, often not realizing how easy it is to get in over your head and mess something up that you can't fix. I took apart a lot of things I couldn't put back together (including my first two guitars!)

Paul

oh, that's why!
i saw that you'd stripped the tele with a rotary rasp. that's why i asked about yr recommended technique. but i guess the tele was a special case due to damage. i guess i'll stick to chemicals.
when i receive the aria pro II rs straycat i'll see if i can live with it but i'll probably start stripping soon. (ahem, the paint, that is.) straycats are a dime a dozen (well, 85 bucks for one in my case) so i'm sure i won't be ruining a rarity. i'll keep an eye on yr projects here for tips, etc. it'll be my first refinish but i feel confident. i've done similar work, just not guitars. my plan is to take this lower level late matsumoku and give it some early matsumoku class with a transparent stain.
and to answer my own question (sort of) by the way, i took a gander at my x-150 and i saw that each wing is actually made of 2 pieces of wood--so that model's body is made of 9 pieces of wood!