Refinishing/Refurbishing my '82 AM-20...

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Author Message Trumpus Username: Trumpus Registered: 04-2005 Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 10:35 am:    Hey all, I have a question/Idea and was interested in y'alls feedback. I have a 1982 Ibanez AM-205 that purchased on eBay about 6 years ago for a steal (or so I thought) at about $400. I knew the guitar wasn't going to be in pristine shape and was not surprised with the various dings and nicks in the finish. Here's a picture of the guitar - sorry i don't have any closeups of the damages, but you get a general feel for the condition.... http://gallery.thefifthcorner.com/d/5585-2/Ibanez+sm.jpg http://gallery.thefifthcorner.com/d/9785-2/Rig+Jan+2006+021.jpg Some specifics: The guitar was modified by a previous owner to include an onboard preamp (with an associated mini toggle switch) and coil taps for the humbuckers, with 2 associated mini toggles. Finish-wise, there are various small scratches and scuffs, in addition to one noticable "ding" in the finish on the face and a chip out of the finish, expossing the underlying wood on the top of the headstock. The finish is cracking in multiple places, most noticably (to me) along the curve if you were looking down at the guitar while playing. Additionally, the hardware is very pitted and oxidized. Soundwise, the guitar could use some help. When i originally got it, the preamp was still functional, but i had it disconnected, and the mini toggle now serves as an "on/off switch" of sorts. The guitar was very noisy when pluggged in and the pickups crackled. I had it looked at and even went as far as to purchase new pickups, but the tech at the shop i took it to said i actually bought (from a different source) the very same pickups and that all the wiring/sheilding was fine (which i don't believe). I ended up playing this guitar as my primary in a band for a few years, but have since moved on and haven't been playing as much lately (or playing out at all). I'm at the point where i would like to do something to make this guitar as nice as it could be. I have contemplated having new pickups installed and new wiring/sheilding, new hardware, new pickguard in addition to possibly having the mini-toggles removed and the holes patched, and possibly having the guitar refinished or at least refurbrished. I was hoping some of you might have some ideas or suggestions for those that coudl do some top notch refinishing work to make this guitar shine and sing like it did back in 1982! Any help would be much appreciated. Any suggestions for pickups? Refinishers? Places to get replacement hardware? Thanks! Brian Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 11:24 am:    Brian, Looks like a fun project! From what I can tell from the photos, the finish doesn't look bad in terms of serious damage. I would try to rub out the finish. I've done this with 3 pre '90s Ibanez guitars with excellent results. This would entail sanding the finish level then polishing it with automotive products. The finish on these guitars is actually quite thick, and responds well to this. I can dig up the threads containing detailed how-to's on this. Anything that's not down to the wood will disappear. You'll be left with a few small dings, which you can attempt to fill, or just leave them as personality marks. The cracks around the curve are probably from binding shrinkage. A very common trait on these guitars. I think this is just part of the personality of these older guitars. At for the electronics, It will be difficult to plug the holes, even if you do a refin. I would chuck the preamp, rewire the guitar with Super 58s (or other gold covered PUs of your choice) and use the switch holes for tri-sound switches. The AM205 never came with tri-sounds, but many other Ibanez guitars of this era did. If you elect to refinish, it will be hard to get a clean slate, because the figured mahogany veneer under the finish is stained and filled - so you'll either have to remove only the finish, and hope the underlying stained wood looks OK. Or sand down to bare unstained wood. Or re-veneer the guitar. Either way, it gets tricky, and you'd better find someone who knows what they are doing. You can either get identical, or similar parts from Ibanez, or you could try to have your parts replated. I imagine you'll spend $200-300 either way. Here's my AM200 which was sanded and polished. It took a good weekend to complete. -Sven Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 11:28 am:    Some in process photos: Trumpus Username: Trumpus Registered: 04-2005 Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 3:46 pm:    Looks incredible! I'll definately investiage the rubbing method. The picture doesn't show the one large ding on the front, which actually may respond well to the sanding, however, the chip on the headstock is quite significant, and the underlying wood is showing. So for parts, i should be able to call Ibanez and track down the same parts? The Super 58 pickups are the originals, no? Any other suggestions? Thanks for all the input! I'd love to see the thread on refinishing... Thanks, Brian Michaelkaufman Username: Michaelkaufman Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 8:10 pm:    Funkle: How did you put the knobs & electronics back together, assuming there's no rear access panel? mk Jeffsailor Username: Jeffsailor Registered: 01-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 2:18 am:    Michael, When I do this, I drop strings (not guitar strings, but normal cotton or nylon strings) through the access holes, being very careful not to cross them within the body cavity. When I'm ready to put it all back together, I tape the strings to the pot shafts. I then drop everything in through the bridge pickup hole and pull the pots back into position with the strings. With semis, like the 205 shown, you have to solder the bridge pickup after it has been installed as it has to be mounted from above. With full hollows, you can pull the bridge pickup into position from underneath, so all soldering can be done away from the guitar. js Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 2:48 am:    MK, I saw a big hole in the back. Just kidding Similar to what Jeff does, but I have simplified things some. I pull all the electronics out through the f-hole. When it's tome to put it back together, I drop dentil floss through the tone control holes and fish them out through the f-hole with a pair of angled tweezers, tie the ends around the tone pots and pull them into place. The vol. pots and selector switch are close enough to the f-hole that you can work them into place without the floss. Trumpus, Here is the parts list for the AM200: http://www.ibanez.com/parts/2000_PARTS/El-Guitar/SPEC-SHEET/AM200.htm They are the same as the AM205 with the exception of the pickguard, which is veneered, rather than black plastic. While your at it, you could substitute a few aftermarket parts to customize things a bit. Some improvements could be: Gotoh Delta 510 tuning machines. These are awesome tuners that require no modification to the guitar. http://www.hosco.co.jp/HOSCO_ENGLISH/Pages/gotoh_catalog/sg510series.html Aftermarket pickup of your choice. The 59s are decent, but with so many options out there, why not custom taylor them to your needs. I'll dig up those finishing threads in the AM. -Funkle out. Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 11:31 am:    Here's my tutorial: "The wet sanding you do on a guitar is more like an automotive process. You are using much finer grit: maybe 1000 then 1500, soaked in water overnight. You can take it to a higher grit if you want. After removing all hardware, tape off the fret board and fill f-holes with newspaper. I then hand sand using foam sanding blocks, and regularly wipe down the guitar and dip the paper in water with a little dish soap, so as to wash away any grit. The soap adds a little lubrication. Be careful not to sand through on the guitar edges. After sanding with 1500 or 2000, your guitar will be dead flat, and have a dull matte finish. I then go through 4 step rubbing process using small foam buffing discs in my drill: 3M medium rubbing compound, 3M fine cut compound, swirl remover, finally Meguiars deep crystal polish. Then top off with Mothers pure carnuba wax applied by hand. It will take the good part of a day, and you can get most of the supplies at a pro automotive finish shop. I find the foam discs at stewmac to be too large - I use 3" dia. discs - I'll have to track down the place I got them" Here is another thread with some more techniques from Spiro: http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/messages/12/11133.html Here's an example of a good refin. In fact, I'd recommend Jerry for the job if you are close to Nor Cal. http://www.ibanezcollectors.com/discus/messages/16/3861.html

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