Thread: Project BC Rich Gunslinger - What wood is this? and suggestions on finish

Were all just luthiery junkies...its a disease, man

yes .. ive caught the desease big time. I should be banned from bunnings. Im looking at air compressors for spraying paint, then i see routers on special .. and OMG orbital sanders on special too!! then i see a ban saw!!! im like omg get me outta here before i spend all my rent and bills money!! hehehe one day and slowly.

FWIW: You can get a nice lacquer finish with either rattle cans or brush-on. You don't need a spray setup at all. I used 5 cans of spray lacquer on my tele body. It cam out great. I used brush-on for the neck, which also came out great. The brush-on will need a little more leveling, and there might be a few more drips, but it's a heckofa lot cheaper than a spray setup.

Originally Posted by mongrel

Were all just luthiery junkies...its a disease, man

its completely true. worst thing is when you know that you have to do something else, you tell yourself you wont do any work on the instruments but you end up spending the time reading about them instead without doing what you should do.

Originally Posted by gbx78

ps. just got an RG550LTD that looks pretty mean in black with mirror pickgard .. a few dings on the body so might have to repaint this puppy too hahaha .. maybe strip it back and start a fresh, lots of cracks and dings. That should be fun too .. told ya i have the bug!

If you really, and I mean REALLY, enjoy stripping back guitars, then go ahead and give the 550 a go, but I would not recommend it unless you want to restore it. If its going to be a workhorse, its not worth the effort to strip and pretty it up only to get knocked around at gigs and band prac.

If you thought the Gunslinger was hard work stripping, wait until you give an Ibanez a go. I recently stripped an RG340 to refinish, and it was a nightmare. There is coat after coat on those things (which paintstripper just dries up on), then several clear coats and finally some kind of synthetic sealer which I could only describe as heatgun proof.

Yep, a LOT of sanding ahead if you want to strip an Ibanez.

By the way, I'm about 99% sure that the original Gunslinger was a poplar body, despite the recent reissue guitars being made of alder. What trem is on your Gunslinger?

hey thanks for your reply on the 550. Most of my guitars i use well correction when i was in a band, used alot but i was always carefull with them and each of of them are still mint. Cept the 550ltd which i just got. It has a ding on the front and some edge chips etc.

I dont mind the hard work to strip. You see i "could" just get a black body mint off ebay but what i have still has the RG550ltd tag in the neck pocket that says #37 of 145 or something like that and i kinda wanted to keep it original but make it perfect again. Im a little fanatical about these things, its a mental thing. I just hope i can obtain that really nice black gloss finish if i refinish it. Im wondering if i maybe try spot repairing? rather than stripping all of it. The whole back is fine just edges, inside one horn and that nasty one right on the front near the bridge .. maybe i wont strip the whole thing but just fix it? i dunno ill post some pics and see what everyone reckons i try.

Yes with the gunlinsger i felt i went to hell and back .. was discouraging at first as it looked like a mess but after trying all techniques (stripper, sanding, heatgun) i learnt what works and what doesnt with a bit of patience. Now I keep looking at the stripped body and smile and think how i went from one thing to this now. Im too scared to finish it now.. it looks really nice as it is .. hehe.

Im going to get a piece of pine (closest cheapest i can think of thats similar texture to the gunslinger body) from bunnings or a timber place and practice with stains or water dyes and clear to see what they look like and/or practice any techniques.

ALLL that effort i dont want to stuff it up. Cause i understand that stains/dyes penetrate the wood therefore if i stuff it .. sanding it back to unfinished wood might not be an option.

thanks again. G

Yeah everyon in this post seems to think its poplar. Im not too fussed i more just wanted to know what wood i was working with and if anyone asked "oh nice gutiar whats the body made of? " hehehe The trem is a GOTOH floyd rose with BC Rich engraved on the side. I dont think its anything special but its the original that came on it.

Thanks again.

I understand what you mean about wanting to restore the 550... especially as its a LTD model. I have, and have had, a lot of Ibanez guitars. I love the old Roadstars, and have several in varying states of condition/orginality. I'd love to be able to restore them all to like mint condition, but its almost impossible.

As soon as you refinish a guitar (generally), its value goes down, especially when the age of the guitar is considered.

Take a look at watsons 1971 Tele thread. He has some finish problems with it flaking away, but everyone is recommending he doesn't refinish it (and I agree), as it is more valuable with an original flaking finish than a refinish job.

Give the pine a go for stain tests, but its a lot softer than a poplar body. I'm sure it would give you a good idea of colour and consitency though (however I am not experienced in the subject of stains).

BTW, those Gotoh trems are actually quite good, decent size block and quality made. They are probably my favourite of the Floyd Rose lic. trems, you pay a little more than a cheapo chinese one, but no where near as much as a Kahler or OFR (Original Floyd Rose).

yeah, im not too worried about value as such as i know ill never sell it, just more the look im going for. Id kinda like the idea knowing its an 550ltd but i refinished it in black (if it was a pro finish).

Yeah ill be honest I love the GOTOH F/Rose trems on my gunslingers (i have 3) They are still in good nick, solid and stays perfectly in tune everytime. I dont know much about them but well these models were used alot by 80's hair bands (my style) and they did a lot of dive bombin and all that widdly sounds (as tacky as it may seem i still like it hehe) so they musta been ok. But im happy with mine.

*sigh* back to the 550ltd I wouldnt mind it soo much around the edges its that ding on the front.. (still yet to post some picks .. maybe ill start a new thread - dont want to get into trouble) .. ill see im not doing anything with that puppy until i finish the gunslinger body i originaly posted in this thread. otherwise id have parts everywhere! hehe

actually just a thought. I wouldnt really need to strip the entire body would i? just the areas that need work or filling and the rest just rough it up with sandpaper ready for an entire recoat, perhaps a primer then black again, then clear coat.?. That way i dont have to start from scratch? or would the end result be better if i strip to wood?

scratch it up good and shove a coat of shellac on it, that stuff sticks to EVERYTHING!

Originally Posted by gbx78

Yeah ill be honest I love the GOTOH F/Rose trems on my gunslingers (i have 3) They are still in good nick, solid and stays perfectly in tune everytime. I dont know much about them but well these models were used alot by 80's hair bands (my style) and they did a lot of dive bombin and all that widdly sounds (as tacky as it may seem i still like it hehe) so they musta been ok. But im happy with mine.

TACKY, mate, I'll take 80's hair bands over anything played on commercial radio these days!

Here's a pick of my BC Rich ST3... pretty 80's!

Originally Posted by Hammered

TACKY, mate, I'll take 80's hair bands over anything played on commercial radio these days!

Here's a pick of my BC Rich ST3... pretty 80's!

hahahah mate i 100% agree with you, i didnt think there was anyone out there like us left in the world hehehe .. nice .. love it.

Better the '80's than grunge

Originally Posted by mongrel

Better the '80's than grunge

oh hell yeah .. *sheds a tear* Im not alone anymore... hehe