The Electra Forums

I have enjoyed seeing the other restoration projects on this site so I finally decided to restore my X-140 that I have owned since new (when I was in the 7th grade!!)

It is an X-140 custom that was originally white. It was painted an ugly NEON Yellow and Green while in college (1989) and I have not played it since.

I just checked all of the electronics and they function perfectly so if anyone needs pictures of how the wiring was done at the factory I can post that as well.

I was considering going back to original but have decided on a natural finish.. markmayhem and X189player almost had me talked into a French Rub finish, but I have now decided to try something new with a substance I am almost certain no one on this board has used on a guitar... I am attaching 2 pictures of the first coat.

Wish me luck!

I do need 2 string trees and a trace of a pickguard if anyone happens to have any laying around.

Sean

very nice. it looks kinda like the finish on my x635 bass that way. i emailed pictures of mine to x189 so he will probably post them on here if anyone wants to see them. ive never worked on a guitar before but hearing you guys talking about fixing them up has got me interested. might go to a pawn shop and see if i can get one cheap. i havent worked in about 3 years because of a bad back and im bored out of my mind sitting around this house. would be a good project to mess around with. i cant do anything for very long but it wouldnt matter i could just do it when i felt like it. keep us posted with pics as you go along. i would really like to see that guitar. i think it will look awsome. does it have maple fretboard or rosewood?

WOW! Without seeing both yours and mine in person, I still feel pretty sure WHATEVER you used gave the wood even more dimension than a french rub!
Please, enlighten us.

IThe wood definitely helps. Early on they used some prime pieces of ash, with excellent grain and depth. Apparent;y they used them on both the natural or painted versions. For whatever reason, probably because the natural grain wasn't selling (in 84 everyone wanted a bright red guitar, right?) so they went to using other wood- Maple in some cases, which is why some are so heavy. Later on I believe they used Basswood or Alder on the Spectrums and such- and that hardly has any visible grain or depth at all.

It looks great- did you use nitro? OR even varathane? (i've used that with great success too)

Been away for a while so I apologize for not replying sooner.. Other than completing the finish, I have not done much with the guitar since my last post. I ended up applying 12 coats of a product I use on my antique Chris Craft wood boat!

Are you curious yet? Ok.. I used Deks Olja! It dries fairly quickly between coats, but I am not sure how durable the finish will be. Perfect for my application as I plan to use this guitar for heavy gigging. Hmmm. Last time I played a gig with it was at a battle of the bands my Sophmore year in highschool... Gulp! 1985! Time is flying!

Does anyone know of a source for a replacement pickguard??

Thanks,

Sean

Looks fantastic so far bud! I honestly don't think you'll find an indentical replacement. Other than buying an original off the 'bay or finding someone who's parting out their guitar, I think custom will be the only way to go. There are any number of people that will make a pickguard to match your measurements, but if it were me, I would get creative with a piece of sheet plastic and the bandsaw . You seem to be pretty handy and I have faith you could come up with something cool. If you'd rather have someone else do it, another user linked a site that did custom pickguards, I'll see if I can dig it up.

I agree, pickguards are easy to cut- forget the bandsaw, I use a pair of tin snips to rough it out and then sandpaper for the final finishing. People make lots of money to spare you the bother, but it's no big problem. The original was solid black, no white layers.

I don't have a spare, but I'd be happy to provide a tracing (or scale photo) of an original if it helps.

Testing, testing! Anyone still here?

Well, its been 10 years since I put my Electra X140 back together and posted here. Previously it had languished in pieces since college in the late 1980s. Since 2007 its logged many new gigs under its belt and I used it to track several songs on my band's (Sub Groove) 2015 debut album! You can hear it on Spotify iTunes etc.

I brought it into the shop over the weekend to change the strings. I ended up tearing it down. I'm ready to throw everything at it this time. I'm leaning towards a Hot Rod of sorts. Fiesta Red with a Stetsbar Tremolo system, pearloid white pick guard, locking tuners and fresh pickups and electronics. I'll chime in to update on the progress.

Yeah, mate; it's a little quiet around these parts!

I'd love to see what you've got there: can you oblige?

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"... and on the eighth day, God created New Zealanders.

Because even the Australians need heroes."

Welcome back. Ten years is a long time around these forums. Let us see how your retrofit project works out.

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"This is the way that pop ends, Not with a BANG but with a box set whose fourth disc you never get around to playing” - Simon Reynolds

"My guitar wants to kill your Mama" - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

Welcome Back to the forums. Good to see an early member here again. Best of luck with the project and keep us posted.

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Always give thanks for everyday, It may be your last so Rock On Semper Fi!!

Thanks for your replies. What image hosting site have you guys been using here? My photobucket links no longer work and I just tried Imgur but that doesn't seem to work either.

Thanks!

Sean

Imgur seems to be working here:

http://www.rivercityamps.com/electraforum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=8481&p=44972#p44972

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RCSBlues