New Fusion

[YetAnotherOne]

Thought you guys might get a kick out of this one.

I'd been missing my Fusion since I sold it to Joe so when one with a cool graphic that I've always dug came up I jumped on it. Besides my last one came to me w/o the active mid boost and I always felt cheated that I didn't get to play with that feature. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I've heard the strange frightening tales of this sort of shipping but I've only personally encountered it once in the past:



Lukcily the guitar arrived intact thanks to the US & Canadian postal services & US Customs who appears to have skipped inspection of this one entirely.

The body is very clean, just the one visible finish check running down from the center pup & some very very minor playing wear.



But it appears that no care/maintenance was *ever* done on this one. The neck and fretboard are dry as a bone, the frets are rusty, and just check out the strings!



Nothing a bit of elbow grease and some sandpaper, naptha, metal polish, lemon oil, & buffing pads won't cure but wow is ever it ugly at the moment! I'm afraid to look in the cavity, if they left a battery in there .... [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[BTB007]

Re: New Fusion

Post a pic of the cavity when you open her up...
I'm anxious to see what is growing in there!
I have always regretted selling my USA Fusion, great guitars.

[Budman68]

Re: New Fusion

<font color="aqua">I don't know what the hell you're all excited about, most of the pieces are missing! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Seriously bro, I always love that graphic, congrats- [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img] </font>

[StukaJU87]

Re: New Fusion

A little bit of TLC and that will be a beauty for sure. I like the graphic sir.

[sambencuda]

Re: New Fusion

I love Fusions. Nice graphic!

[Top Jimmy B]

Re: New Fusion

Nice packing job - friggin' Canadians.

Sweet guitar.

[guitarsjb]

Re: New Fusion

Can't wait to see it after you get it all cleaned up. I like the graphic. Congrats!!

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: New Fusion

It pains me to see a guitar treated that badly, it really does. Open her up, clean her out, and post some pics when she's shining. That graphic is pretty cool too. Nice score!

[sgray]

Re: New Fusion

Very sweet graphic! Congrats!

[DonP]

Re: New Fusion

I'm really curious about Fusions (almost bought one on ebay). Can you guys tell me more about them?

[442w30]

Re: New Fusion

Short Scale (24.75")
Mid boost circuit - does like a 'wah' thing with the second knob.
Ebony/Sharktooth BoltOn 24 Fret Oiled Neck
Pickups are usually J50/J200/J200 on USA fusions.

Anything else guys?

Oh yeah, cool graphic. Hope she cleans up for you!

[LRGman]

Re: New Fusion

Thats the one other graphic I really want. I want another fusion-great score they don't come up very often with that graphic-

Kickass avatar by the way
[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Johnnyryche]

Re: New Fusion

Gotta love that packing job! I bet you had a few choice words when you saw that get delivered. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Nice score - hope that cleans up for you.

[Surge]

Re: New Fusion

Great score, glad it made it safely. That is a scary (non)packing job.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: New Fusion

Well I pulled the covers (along with most of the rest of the hardware) and was relieved to find a shiny new battery. The previous owner says it was played a few times within the last year ... that can't have been much fun. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

What follows (for your amusement - comments & suggestions much appreciated) is my my feeble attempt at cleaning up the frets. Here're what they looked like down low (the rust was worse as you went up the neck):



First I taped up the neck to protect it from both the metal polish and the mechanical action of the buffing wheel. I used Mother's California Gold Mag & Aluminum polish on the assumption that any polish safe for coated metals & aluminum would be on the gentle end of the spectrum. It feels very slightly abrasive and is the consistency of paste wax so it's easy to work with.



I applied a liberal amount of the polish to the top & sides of the frets, enough that I could pick it up and move it around with the buffer, then did just that with the dremel set at 8,000 RPM. The polish melts, runs, & turns black when you hit it with the wheel then quickly hardens as you move on to the next fret so I did half the fretboard, wiped that half down then moved on to the second half.



I spent 25-30 seconds on each fret then wiped the whole thing down quickly with naptha, removed the tape, then carefully cleaned the frets & board with naptha. One of the worst-looking frets when I was done:



At this point I cleaned the frets & board again with naptha this time digging the rag along the fret edges hard with a fingernail. By the time I was finished most of the crud on the fret edges and all of the crud on the fret tops and board was gone. A quick lemon-oiling later:



A little fret wear on the first couple of frets but otherwise not bad, not bad at all. Comments? Suggestions? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]