Second refinsih for my PRS!

nicolasrivera

Fractal Fanatic
I initially was very happy with its translucent black top finish, but started to hate the all black back and sides.

Got this guitar back in '08 new, I then did her first refinish in 2012 and love it, then one of Al Di Meola's Private Stock guitars started to grow on me and since I can't really afford a PS grade guitar I set a new goal, to replicate as much as a could that same faded tone of his guitar with my personal twist of course.

So the after some initials tests I was ready to commit the top to this finish, I also wanted to have all the knobs, tips and rings in flame maple and stain them to create an appearance of full integration. I could not find the right humbucker covers in wood, so that is set for when ever I find them.

It has a nickel/silver back finish that's 85% done, I just decided I will finish it a few months from now because I just want to play her, she is a true joy to play and has great tone.

Here are the photos.

Inspiration photo:

0811090504509992160_4736_v1.jpg

Original Translucent Black:



First refinsh 2012:



And 2015 Refinish:

















 
Looks awesome, the silver back is an interesting twist

Thanks. Al's guitar is finish with a white pearl tone, but i didnt want an exact copy of his axe, so this Nickel/Silver shade does a fine job honoring its looks.

I started experimenting with this kind of green burst fade on the back but eventually dropped the idea.





 
Wow!

Your control clusters are interesting too. Does it have piezo pickups in it too or did you do something crazy cool with all those pots back there? Love where the three way toggle is!
 
Love the pickup rings. Looks very up-market!

The silver would not be my first choice. I like the natural Mahogany. But the front beats Al's by a mile!

This figuring is very wild. Probably stained very dark and sanded. I have always wondered since the quilt on my strat is not stained-and-sanded but just sprayed in a light sunburst. I love the way the quilt "walks' on my guitar. If you move the guitar slightly the light shifts in the quilt pattern. Do the stripes still "walk" in your finish? It looks on the photo's like they do, but less than an un-stained one.
 
Well that certainly is unique! What's your spray setup?

Thanks. I dont have a dedicated spray booth yet, its all done in an outside room of my house, sanding and polishing is all done by hand as i dont own a buffing wheel yet.
 
Love the pickup rings. Looks very up-market!

The silver would not be my first choice. I like the natural Mahogany. But the front beats Al's by a mile!

This figuring is very wild. Probably stained very dark and sanded. I have always wondered since the quilt on my strat is not stained-and-sanded but just sprayed in a light sunburst. I love the way the quilt "walks' on my guitar. If you move the guitar slightly the light shifts in the quilt pattern. Do the stripes still "walk" in your finish? It looks on the photo's like they do, but less than an un-stained one.

Thanks. Yes the flame still walks as you move it, enhancing the grain takes about 2 to 4 staining stages, it can be done with black color, but in the end it depends on what you ar going for, in my case i used a deep green color for the flame to pop double staining the top.

For the striped to really pop out and walk its best to so a full gloss finish, mine is satin. I was trying to so a sating look because i have never done it before and it looks great IMO, but my experience with sating finishes is that they dont last that long because of the friction from your arm adn fingers will polish with time that satin areas of contact.
 
Satin finishes are really growing on me. It's like they're saying, "I'm here to kick your ass, and I don't even need to be glossy about it."

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I love how this came out. I'd love to refinish my PRS, but getting PRS shop to do it for me will be big $$$$.

Just out of curiosity - would you have any experience with sanding the v12 finish on the back of the neck of the USA PRS's? Wondering how it looks/feels.
 
I love how this came out. I'd love to refinish my PRS, but getting PRS shop to do it for me will be big $$$$.

Just out of curiosity - would you have any experience with sanding the v12 finish on the back of the neck of the USA PRS's? Wondering how it looks/feels.

I have no experience with the V12 finish, but i dont expect it to be that much different then lacquer, so my advice is to start with a 1,200 grit wet sand paper, tape of the areas you dont whish to sand. If you feel that 1,200 is not doing that much of a difference go down to 1,000 and try it again, if its still that quiet there go down to 800, always do th sanding in one direction.
 
Thanks. Yes the flame still walks as you move it, enhancing the grain takes about 2 to 4 staining stages, it can be done with black color, but in the end it depends on what you ar going for, in my case i used a deep green color for the flame to pop double staining the top.

For the striped to really pop out and walk its best to so a full gloss finish, mine is satin. I was trying to so a sating look because i have never done it before and it looks great IMO, but my experience with sating finishes is that they dont last that long because of the friction from your arm adn fingers will polish with time that satin areas of contact.

Yeah the finish of my Suhr Satin didn't last long you had to refinish it, your PRS is looking cool Nico !
 
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