Agile Intrepid 828 ebony top stain

[Jesse Zuretti]

In no shape or way am I a craftsman, a luthier, a wood-worker, etc. I have zero experience doing this kind of stuff, so bear with me! I decided to experiment on a cheap guitar, an Agile Intrepid Pro 828 (if I'm not mistaken) which I picked up for a mere $250 from a friend. Saw it as an opportunity to be a kid again and pretend to be something I'm clearly not!

Had a ton of fun, and can't wait to add the hardware to it! I'm also going to be adding Sperzel locking tuners, and Dimarzio D-Activators, so nothing fancy. I'll post more pics as I make progress on the upgrades! Thanks!

^ (the black mark behind the strap button was probably from the strap the previous owner was using - came off with little effort)

 

[BlindingLight7]

What did you use for the stain? DETAILS MATTER.

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

What did you use for the stain? DETAILS MATTER.

My feces.

JK.

My dad's feces.

JK.

Stewmac Ebony Stain. I KNOW, I KNOW. Shame on me! That's for leather and fretboards, amirite?

Edit note to master Luthiers whom read this thread: what can I expect to happen to this stain in a sweaty, live situation, in which heavy metal is played with fierce ferocity? What can I do to stop wear from happening? Any kind of post-finishing touches I can do to minimize loss of stain? Don't want to finish a set looking like a coal-miner (no offense to any coal-miner ss.org users). Thanks!

 

[BlindingLight7]

My feces.



My dad's feces.

moar pix

 

[JaeSwift]

My feces.

JK.

My dad's feces.

JK.

Stewmac Ebony Stain. I KNOW, I KNOW. Shame on me! That's for leather and fretboards, amirite?

Edit note to master Luthiers whom read this thread: what can I expect to happen to this stain in a sweaty, live situation, in which heavy metal is played with fierce ferocity? What can I do to stop wear from happening? Any kind of post-finishing touches I can do to minimize loss of stain? Thanks!

Laquer it. Before you stained the wood, did you sand the guitar down?

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

Laquer it. Before you stained the wood, did you sand the guitar down?

Yes, sir. Well, my company Fabricator/Carpenter did the sand-job. And a good job at that! I know it's kind of hard to tell, but in the first picture you can see a difference between the top and the sides being sanded.

Any particular kind of lacquer? I don't want a sheen to it. Kind of into the raw wood kind of vibe I have going.

 

[JaeSwift]

Yes, sir. Well, my company Fabricator/Carpenter did the sand-job. And a good job at that! I know it's kind of hard to tell, but in the first picture you can see a difference between the top and the sides being sanded.

Any particular kind of lacquer? I don't want a sheen to it. Kind of into the raw wood kind of vibe I have going.

Get a can of Satin laquer. Since you are in the states, I believe Deft is a pretty good brand for that sort of stuff.

Before anyone tells you this; Yes, you could also possibly oil finish it. Tru-oil would then be the best choice as out of Danish, Tung and Tru-Oil, Tru-Oil cures the ''hardest''. However, it is nowhere near as protective as laquer and it will eventually make the dye rub off, especially in the afore described sweaty live band situation. Laquer permanently seals it so it's a much better choice for a gigging guitar.

 

[jarnozz]

jesus that guitar looks EPIC AS HELL!

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

Get a can of Satin laquer. Since you are in the states, I believe Deft is a pretty good brand for that sort of stuff.

Before anyone tells you this; Yes, you could also possibly oil finish it. Tru-oil would then be the best choice as out of Danish, Tung and Tru-Oil, Tru-Oil cures the ''hardest''. However, it is nowhere near as protective as laquer and it will eventually make the dye rub off, especially in the afore described sweaty live band situation. Laquer permanently seals it so it's a much better choice for a gigging guitar.

Excellent advice! I'll take your word for it and pick some satin laquer tonight after work! Thanks a ton, bruv!

jesus that guitar looks EPIC AS HELL!

Thanks! I wish I had skills beyond taking a sponge brush to the guitar, cause I'd love to do so much more to this thing!

 

[BlackMastodon]

That looks really nice! Did you tape off the edges to get those clean lines or were you just incredibly patient and careful?

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

That looks really nice! Did you tape off the edges to get those clean lines or were you just incredibly patient and careful?

Tape + incredibly patient and careful!

 

[mphsc]

headstock?

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

headstock?

Not yet. So far, just the body is ebony. I will say, it's a bit odd without matching the headstock with the body. But I'm indifferent as of now. I'll see what you guys think when I get to finish this bad boy up!

 

[Munch]

Pretty cool! I've never really seen stuff like that before.

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

So I decided to sand the headstock tomorrow, and I picked up satin polyurethane. Stoked! And the D-Activators showed up today!

 

[mphsc]

I'm torn on the D's in my 8 string build. Never used Dimar before & was thinking Lundgren at first or BK Painkillers. What are you going for with those pick-ups?

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

I'm torn on the D's in my 8 string build. Never used Dimar before & was thinking Lundgren at first or BK Painkillers. What are you going for with those pick-ups?

I've got the stock Petrucci Liquifire/Crunchlab set-up in my JPX7, and I had Aftermaths in my Carvin DC727, but then I played a Universe Green Dot w/ D-Activators, and I literally fell in love with the tone. It has me considering selling my BKP 7 Rebel Yell and Cold Sweat I was going to put in the 7 I'm having built. I want all of my guitars to push the way the D-Activators do! But I like having snappy diversity in my guitar arsenal. I don't use a lot of gain, considering I play in a fairly heavy/unintentionally technical band. Never have, never will. Been a fan of clarity ever since I heard what it sounded like!

 

[scherzo1928]

That looks absolutely AWESOME!!

 

[mphsc]

So I hear, just checked you guys out. Trees 100 feet underwater, unexist.

Good stuff man.

 

[Jesse Zuretti]

That looks absolutely AWESOME!!

Thanks, bruv!

So I hear, just checked you guys out. Trees 100 feet underwater, unexist.

Good stuff man.

Thanks, dude! We'll be recording those songs when we do our album at Audiohammer Studios w/ Jason Suecof & Eyal Levi in August/September.