refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

[ChlorineRR4]

my bud refinishes bathtubs for a living and we have a few extra geetar bods laying around, we are pretty well versed on how to refin them, but we would like to know how to properly fill in say pickup pockets

thanx

[ApeDosMil]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

I would like to know as well :/

I guess I'll just find a block of wood and some duct tape. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[dg]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

I recently filled a neck pickup cavity using mm2002's method, & I think this is a great way to go. First, prep the cavity by creating a wide, shallow taper or bevel all the way around. You want it to be about 1/2" wide if possible. The taper allows for the fill material to feather in seamlessly when sanded. Fill the cavity using Bondo auto body filler compound. Flexible plastic applicators work great for spreading the Bondo, and they are usually sold right next to the Bondo at most auto parts stores. Overfill just slightly so you don't come up shallow & have to add more. Let it cure, then sand with a good sanding block. I used a metal straightedge as I sanded to check for high or low spots. The next step is to ensure that the edges of the fill never reappear through the paint: Cover the entire surface of the guitar with a thin coat of Evercoat glazing putty which will act as a veneer. This is a thinner-bodied, easier to spread product similar to Bondo that sands like a dream. Like Bondo, it is a two-part catalyzed polyester that won't shrink or change shape once it cures, which is very important. Not all auto parts stores have it, but just about any auto paint supplier will carry it. Let cure overnight, then sand & prep for painting.

Here's a link to one that Mark did for Budman:

http://www.jcfonline.com/ubbthreads/...&page=3#323644

Hard to argue with this kind of result! [img]/images/graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img]

[ChlorineRR4]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

[img]/images/graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] thanx so much, you have no idea how much you just helped me

[ChlorineRR4]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

only question i have is which evercoat to get? i believe there are a few different ones [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

the stuff in the blue can.

[dg]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

The original recipe. They do make a bunch of formulas now for different applications, like Metal Glaze, which I think is more runny.

[dg]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

One other thing to add about working with Bondo. If your are working with an unfinished or stripped body, when sanding keep in mind that the Bondo is quite a bit harder than the surrounding wood. You have to be careful not to remove too much wood while trying to level the cavity fill. A good hard sanding block is the key. Some of the softer rubber ones could probably deform around the Bondo & ditch your wood. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[mm2002]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

Great advice dg! [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[ChlorineRR4]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

amazing advice and amazing work [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

it is greatly appreciated

[DonP]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

LOL don't do what I did! I used the single coil pickup covers as a base and bondo'd over them. It's held up nicely over 15 years, but if you hold the guitar at an angle in the light, you can see where the singles used to be. The paint job is a tiger stripe so you can't even notice it. Done in gloss black, it would look bad.

[gtrcollectr]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

You will still need to fill the holes with some sort of stabilized material like wood first. I would glue wood blocks in that are fit slightly below the top of the guitar to allow you to feather in the filler. Most filler manufacturers do not recommend using the filler thicker than 1/2 inch. Not to say that it wouldnt work, but I would be leary of shrinking over time.

Todd

[quiksilver]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

The wood block will shrink. I would do the Bondo method as recommended above. I went the wood block route, and it was a nightmare.

[dg]

Re: refinning/ filling in pickup pockets

On the one I did, I used a wood block to about 1/4" shy of the surface & finished with the Bondo & Evercoat. I also used thicker areas of Bondo to convert a huge Ibanez Pro Rock'r trem route to a Floyd, & Mark has not had any problems with all-Bondo cavity fills. As a catalyzed plastic, Bondo is more stable than wood once it has reacted with the hardener & fully cured. Before Budman's pink one, Mark did an amazing 3DR where he filled in the trem route & added a piezo bridge. I checked that thread & the pics aren't up any more, unfortunately. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] That one sold me on the Bondo technique.

Here are a couple of pics of my project, which involved filling the neck pickup cavity, converting the trem, & filling in holes for the old switch, tone pot, & jack.





Should have beveled the edges of the area to be filled a bit wider than this, but it feathered in pretty well and hasn't shown through. There is a wood block backing the Bondo.


After the Evercoat step.

Dealing with the binding has been the hardest part of the project. Got it primed in Nov. & I'm waiting for some warmer, dry weather to shoot color. I'm leaning toward a pearl slime green right now. It will have a Model Series neck, Schaller trem, & an Invader.