Yeah, it's worth learning how to solder, ask friends or family if they have one you can borrow, a decent soldering iron is a lot easier to work with but you can pick up a cheap soldering kit for less than a tenner that will do the job. Just de-solder the pickup wires from the pots & the earth wire from the bridge, maybe the jack socket wires if it's separated from the electrics cavity.
If you're feeling flush upgrade your pickups to EMGs as they have solderless electrics data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7.
Shellac is a quite versatile, some people use it as a go between layer as it binds well with both oil and water based finishes. I like to use it as it doesn't take long to set, poly finishes can take weeks to properly cure and I'm too impatient to get the guitar up and running once I've done the finish data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7. Ive not used it on paper so maybe try it on a sample first. Ive used it on 0.6mm veneer which is almost like paper and turned out fine.
Poly will give a more a more robust finish, and it looks very nice too when done well, get her stripped first and worry about the new clothes later data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7.
haha cheers for that guys. I think I'm gonna have to invest in a soldering iron then and have a few words with my old man about efficient soldering!
I've got a few pictures of my Bass before I started taking it apart to upload in a bit.
As for getting the pickups out, when you say de-solder do you actually mean use the soldering iron to detach it? I know it seems daft to ask but I haven't used a soldering iron since school about 6 years ago.
I would get EMGs but since it is only an Ibanez GIO series it isn't worth it and I'm unsure if I could even really upgrade them anyway!
Not daft at all and you've got the right idea, holding the hot soldering iron tip on the original joint will melt the old solder. Be careful not to hold it onto the pot for too long as it can damage it, I've knackered a few switches that way.
Also, always have a small amount of new solder on the tip of the iron to conduct the heat, that's what I've been told, it's supposed to keep the tip from burning out too.
It's funny, I have to use a soldering station at work sometimes and never have any problems, at home I'm always burning a finger or two and making bad solder joints data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7.
Cheers for that, I'll try and pop to town later and grab one if I can. Otherwise I'll go in the morning. We have a great shop that will no doubt sell them cheap and have solder cheap enough too!
I've never been told to use a bit of solder on the tip but I'll keep that in mind. I'm just the same but with knives, at work I'm fine and have a fairly low amount of cuts from work (normally burns every shift though!) At home I'm always catching myself!
Don't forget to take pictures of the wires in the pickup cavity, or make a drawing before disconnecting them. It comes in handy when you're putting it back together.
1 on that. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
You may want to try snipping the pickup wire an inch or so from the pot if it's your first time. Soldering to a wire is much easier than soldering to the back of a pot. Then cover any bare wire with electrical tape.
May give shellac a go myself in that case. I used a 2 part varnish (Rustins) for my self builds but it took a lot of thin coats to get a good finish. Varnished the headstock for the decal with Nitro to try it out which worked out surprisingly well if you thin it slightly, but would invest in a spraygun next time I use it.
Yeah I went for the trimming of the wires and I'll resolder the wires.
Just out of interest do you think this would be an ok heat gun? 2000W Hot Air Gun : Power Tools : Maplin Electronics
Just because I can't be bothered to sand it and i'm trying to figure out if it would be cheaper to do that or buy a load of sandpaper.
A lot of people use them on the DIY forums as it makes the poly peal off, supposed to be a real time saver. Just make sure you do it outside as Poly is toxic, better still wear a mask.
You can use normal sandpaper on the sanders to save money, it's a bit thinner but you can apply some duct tape to back if you get any tears. It can add up pretty quickly sandpaper especially if you buy a good selection of grades, which is needed to get the mirror finish (at least on poly and nitro).
Not sure about shellac but to get the real mirror finish you need to wet sand all the bumps out moving up grades to around 1200, then use a deswirl cream like tcut.
yeah a mate of mine is lending me his heat gun so on my day off on Friday i'm gonna go to my mums and do it. No where to do it in the flat. I reckon i'll get the paint stripped Friday which means I'll be able to decide if I want the wood or if I'm gonna go down the decoupage route.
Ok so here are pictures before I took it apart.
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Body Rear - Before by jsniper91, on Flickr
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Full Rear - Before by jsniper91, on Flickr
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Body Front - Before by jsniper91, on Flickr
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Full Front - Before by jsniper91, on Flickr
Its a shame to lose the Adio sticker, I had that on there for years but hopefully when it is done it'll look better than ever!
On a different note, what would you say is the best thing to with the neck? I want to smooth it down a bit and re-varnish it or polish or something to make it nice and smooth again for easier playing.