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The DCF OLP Project
I've started working on the new paint job and rebuild for my OLP guitar. Check back regularly for updates!
Since the EddieVanHalen.com pages are acting up, I decided to post the ongoing work that I'm doing to my OLP guitar to
make it into the Super Groovy guitar I want it to be.
Here's the original concept that I threw together a few months ago:
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| My technical prowess with Microsoft Paint knows no bounds! |
It took some time to work up the nerve and get all the stuff I needed, including the logos, but I finally was set to
go.
Here's my story...
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Because I've never claimed to be a patient man, I'm not going to offer any excuses as to why I decided to go ahead and
start before the weather is warmer. I don't have all the parts I need, either, but I have most of them, so that's okay.
I can order the others, and when they arrive, I can just put 'em on.
Anyway, first step: I sanded down the body
and headstock enough to rough the finish so the paint would hold, using 320 grit sandpaper. It wasn't anything spectacular;
just removed the shiny look. (I didn't bother to take any pics of that.)
Second step: Laying down a couple coats
of white paint so the green will stand out better when I hit it with that. Here's the headstock (I'm only painting the
front of that):
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| Snowy white... It has no idea what's going to happen to it... |
Then I did the same thing to the entire body (I've decided to to the stripes all over it). Here's the front:
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| Improvisation is my specialty! |
(Note that I didn't fill in the screw holes from the old trem. I think I want to leave them in there. Not sure
why, but I think it'll look right to me. Maybe to give it that "homemade" look...)
And here's the back:
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| NO WIRE HANGERS!!! |
Since those turned out rather well, I went ahead and hit the headstock with the green. Here it is:
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| Don't make my guitar angry. You wouldn't like it when it's angry... |
If the weather is nice and dry tomorrow, I'll be taking the body to work and hitting it with the green while I'm there.
(I love my job... there's so much free time!) I'll also lay down the tape for the headstock, if I have time.
So, hopefully, more pics tomorrow!
Wish me luck!
DCF
March 26th, 2005
I got a lot accomplished today. Thank Gawd it was a slow day at work...
I started off early this morning, and got the headstock all taped.
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| Can't you just TASTE the excitement? |
Then, as suggested by countless folks at EddieVanHalen.com, I laid down another coat of green.
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| Mmm... Minty fresh... |
Then I put down a couple coats of black. How delightfully "gothic"... (Please take note that the previous
comment was dripping with sarcasm and is not, in any way, shape or form, any kind of endorsement of people who wear
lots of black clothes and eyeliner and spend all their time whining about how terrible their lives are and making up
"vampire-y" names for themselves.)
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| It's none more black... |
After waiting the bare minimum amount of time, I peeled off the tape... It turned out pretty good, if I do say
so myself. Obviously, that meant the body was going to be a skate, too, right? Right?
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| Now THAT is some good head... |
Thoroughly pleased with myself, and feeling pretty smug, I put five nice coats of clear on it to make it all shiny and
stuff. It turned out rather nice, actually. And smooth, too. I don't think it's going to need very much
sanding, other than that last quickie to give it that warm glow that looks so good. Ooooh...
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| Up a little... I said up a little... Oh, nevermind... |
With only a few hours left at work (did I mention how much I enjoy my job?), it was time to get started on the body.
I had already laid down the white coats yesterday, so I started in on the green. And I screwed it up almost immediately.
It was just horrible.
So I sanded it down to the white and reshot the green.
I oversprayed, and the extra paint dried with the texture of ostrich skin. Lovely.
And so. One more time. I sanded it down to the white again, accidentally going a bit too deep in one spot,
but I wasn't particularly worried about it because that bit was going to be black anyway. I laid down the green paint
one more time, swearing that I'd throw the whole damn thing out into the parking lot and jump up and down on it if it didn't
go right this time. Apparently, paint responds well to threats, and it all came out okay.
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Note the dark spot on the right-hand side. Whoops.
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Ooh! Baby got back! WOOO!
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Then came time to tape up the body. I followed the general design I had worked out before, but with a few minor
changes that looked better to me.
| The Front |
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| Guitar parts in bondage! |
(Oddly enough, the picture isn't blurry. It turns out that my guitar vibrates at a constant high frequency, causing
it to appear jittery when facing forward. Really. So shut up about it, okay?)
| The Back |
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| Imagine I said something funny here. |
After another coat of green (I didn't take any pics of that because I didn't really feel it needed repeating; just remember
that it does work), I sprayed it with two quick coats of black. (No pics of that, either. So sue me.)
Again, waiting the bare minimum (or perhaps a tiny bit less than that - more on this shortly), I peeled off the tape
and got a look at the finished product. I was, more or less, very pleased with the final result. There were a
few spots where the black paint got under the tape, but I'm not too worried about it because I think it gives it character.
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Now THAT is how a guitar should look...
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And it's just as sexy from behind!
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(Sorry it's so blurry... There was, er, a minor earthquake...just as I took the picture... Yeah...
That's the ticket... Anyway, I'll post a clearer one tomorrow.)
One problem did come up that I hadn't planned on. Apparently, I didn't wait quite long enough and, as a result,
I scratched the black paint on the lower horn. I also managed to scratch the green paint right above that scratch.
It's not an "End Of The World" thing, but it's slightly irritating because I tried so hard to be careful. I'll be touching
those spots up tomorrow.
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It's hard to see, but it's there... Mocking me...
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I'll get you, scratch... And your little dog, too!
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And that's it, for now. All that's really left to do is put on the clear coat, which I'll be doing tomorrow, and
then ordering the other parts I need (a new bridge - the old Jackson Floyd I have is just to worn out, tuning machines, and
the flourescent green "Tone" dial and toggle switch cap).
I'm also toying with the idea of painting the DCF logo on the headstock, since I can't find anyplace around here that
can make the metal plate for me that I wanted. I'll probably try that out tomorrow, too.
Then, there's nothing but waiting to do until they arrive.
After that, it's all over but the shouting, and I'll have the DCF Custom ready to go for my 2nd Annual Birthday Bash
in Lexington.
Tune in tomorrow for the thrilling finale of my mediocre paint job!
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
March 27th, 2005 - Happy Easter!
Okay, so it's Easter. I got to sleep in without phone calls from work, people attempting to sell me aluminum siding
for my apartment, and sattelite dish companies trying to get me to switch from cable to their service.
I didn't accomplish a whole lot today, because there really wasn't much left to do, aside from reassembly and installation
of new parts, which I have yet to order.
So, today I clear coated the guitar body. Before that, though, I added another coat of clear to the headstock,
having let it sit and settle a bit overnight. This turned out to be a pretty good idea, as the final coat looks nice
and flat, as well as shiny. (I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow.) Since it turned out so well, I've decided
to do the same thing with the body, so it's still not quite done. It's supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, so I'm going
to put one final coat on it before I go to work.
Anyway, here are the pics of the body with all but the last coat of clear on it.
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You can barely see the mistakes...
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Now that's just plain sexy...
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Not bad, if I say so myself...
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This shows the shine from the clear coat...
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And that's it, really. I'll add another coat of clear, and the whole thing will be ready to go.
To save some time, I roughed the neck plate and painted it black with a couple coats of clear, too. It's not as
good as having a powder coated one, especially if it gets scratched, but I figure it's good enough. Besides, if it gets
scratched, who's going to see it?
I decided to scrap the idea of painting the logo on the headstock because I lack the steady hand to do it. (I was
never very good at tiny detail painting.) Instead, I'm going to speak to a friend of mine who owns his own printing
shop about possibly having a decal made, either waterslide or possibly a vinyl one. I also changed the logo itself a
little bit, so it's not an exact copy of the EVH Art Series one. Here's what it'll look like:
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| Not really original, but a little different... |
And that's it, really. I'll post pics of the final clear coat tomorrow, if I get it done in time.
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
March 27th, 2005 Addendum - Evolution of the DCF Logo
After messing around with the logo and deciding to ditch the one posted above, wanting instead to come up with something
just a bit more original. I started off with interlocking letters of the same size that just said "DCF". Then,
at the suggestion of a friend of mine (thanks, Matt!), I added an oval behind the lettering, making it so the letters
overlapped it. After adding some other text, I had the logo I wanted. Here's the evolution of the logo:
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| Kind of plain... It didn't work for me. |
Final Logo With Text Added
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| Added text and it's almost finished... |
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| There's an idea... |
Finished Logo (White On Black)
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| This is how it will look on the guitar... |
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In the morning, I'm going to take the finished design to my friend at the print shop and see what he can do for me.
If he can't do it, I'll find someone who can.
More stuff to follow...
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
March 28th, 2005
Okay, I didn't really need to put another layer of clear on the body, as it turned out pretty good with just the five.
There are a few imperfections in the paint, but as I said before, they add character.
I also contacted a printer here in town (my friend who does the silk screening wasn't available at his shop), and
spoke to someone who said they could do what I needed. I shot off an e-mail with the logo in it, and I should have a
quote on it by tomorrow. Good deal.
I assembled the body and neck today, and got a couple of pics so I could at least insist I did something with it.
Here ya go...
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I can almost hear it already!
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And that about wraps it up for now. I'll start rewiring everything tonight, and then there's nothing to do until
Friday, when I order the parts I need.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the outcome of the paint work. For those wondering about the tape sizes
and what not, here's the tape sizes and types I used:
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Headstock, body front and back
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Easy to control. Great for going around edges and keeping a straight line.
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Headstock, body front and back
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Not as flexible as the 1/8" tape, so sharp turns aren't recommended. Gave good straight lines.
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1/2" painter's grade masking tape
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Headstock, body front and back
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Only used for straight lines on flat surface. Some bleed through, but mostly just because I didn't press it down
as good as I thought. Low-tack, so it's easy to remove.
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3/4" painter's grade masking tape
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Again, only straight lines. No bleed through, and held very well. Came off very easily.
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1" painter's grade masking tape
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Body sides
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In retrospect, I should have used the blue vinyl tape. The edges of this didn't stay down very well, especially
arouond the belly cut, so there were quite a few spots where the paint got under it. Came off very easy, though.
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As for paint, I used Krylon rattle cans, except for the flourescent green. That was Rustoleum. Not because
of any brand preference, mind you. It was just the only kind that was immediately available. But it worked just
fine.
I'll post again tomorrow if I hear back from the print shop.
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
April 3rd, 2005
Okay. So I didn't post more. Sue me.
Anyway, I got the logos from the print shop. I was very pleased with them, although I wish they could've cut them
better and made the material glossier. Even so, they turned out pretty okay, and I think it should look fine if I put
another coat of clear or two on the head.
I also managed to clear off the neck enough to mount the locking nut. It looks like I just hacked away at it with
something sharp, but... Okay, so I did. But it actually turned out pretty good. However, I'm not posting
a pick of that until the nut is mounted. it would be too embarrassing.
So, meanwhile, here's a pic of the logo on the headstock.
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| DCF: It means "Didn't Comprehend Fully" (how much work I still had to do...) |
I liked the logo so much, in fact, that I decided to add it to the headstock of my Frankie Guitar....
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| Same as above... Lots of stuff to do still... |
I've also wired the pickups back on and remounted them. Here's a pic of that.
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| Almost there... |
And that pretty much wraps it up until I get the rest of the parts I need.
I'm going to have to order another locking nut because the one I picked up at Port Huron Music Center was a neck-through
model, and I want a top-mounted one. I've also decided that I will be using some of the old Jackson parts I have.
If I can get tuning machines with bottons that match the ones I have, I only need to order two left-handed ones. I can
also use the Jackson Floyd Rose that I have, but I need to replace the saddle blocks and the saddle screws that are used for
setting the intonation. I'll probably replace the locking screws, too.
I need two pivot posts, as well, and I'm still trying to decide between the old-style wood screw posts or bushings.
Both work fine, so whichever I can get for the least amount of money is going to be fine. Once I get them, I'm going
to take it to a professional to have them put in, though, because I don't want to screw it up.
There's one other item I need, and it took me forever to find it. However, after much searching I found a site
that has the flourescent green knob I wanted to put on this. It's called Universal Jems, and they primarily do parts for, obviously, Ibanez Jems. It turns out there isn't much of a call for flourescent-colored
knobs except for on those. Go figure.
Anyway, that's it for the updates until I get the rest of the stuff. Keep checking back! You never know when
that's going to happen!
All the best,
Derek
(DCF)
UPDATE: 08/23/05
The DCF OLP is OFFICIALLY FINISHED!!!
And now, a brief photographic record of my horrifying experience...
I started out by placing the template after measuring about 500 times, and even trying to figure out whether I was doing
it right by asking the folks here. In the end, I decided to place it by lining the edge of the floyd with the old screw
holes from the original trem.
And then, verrrrrrry carefully, I marked my spots and drilled the first holes...
After that, I widened the holes, going up no more than two drill bit sizes at a time. (Sorry, no pic of the final
holes.)
Then I tapped the bushings in and put in the posts. All that was left to do was drop in the bridge, which I did.
Finally, I put the pickup back in, put the volume pot back in, and put the knob back on it.
 After that harrowing experience, I took it home, set it on its stand, and watched it to see if anything fell off.
Nothing did... So I strung it up and gave it a test drive. After everything turned out okay, I had Noodles
take a picture of me with the finished product.  So, there you have it, folks! The DCF OLP project... Now in Technicolor! DCF
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