Old NGD Plus review of Fourth Floor Graphics

[ykcirj]

Hello all! It's been a while since I have posted anything. I recently saw a thread in the dealer section about guitar skins by Fourth Floor Graphics. It looked very interesting. I decided to try one of their graphics on my bland and scratched up LTD SC 207. I did a few mods along the way to personalize the guitar. This may be a long post so I apologize in advance for my rambling. First off I ordered the green "submerged graphic". The folks at Fourth Floor seemed super cool and rushed the graphic to me. It came well packed and on time. I REALLY urge you guys to do business with them! I get nothing from them, I just really believe they deserve it! Check out their designs at www.fourthfloorgraphics.com Anyways on to the guitar...

I was not able to apply the graphic until I finished some body work and a few mods on my SC207. Here is the pic story. Not really a "how to", just a documentation of my lame attempt at wood working. Please excuse the iPhone pics

Plain old sc207. Nice but kinda bland.

Removed the hardware and pickups

Took off the neck for sanding

At this point I decided that I wanted to fill in the middle pickup position. I rarely used it. I had an EMG 707 for the bridge and wanted a nice and simple layout. I also decided I wanted to fill in the pickup switch cavaty aswell. I cut a block of wood to fit in the cavaty.

 

[ykcirj]

Hmm still needs a lot of sanding

Filled pickup switch with wood putty

Almost done sanding...

1st Primer coat

Primed the neck next

Now for my favorite color..GREEN.
The pickup cavity filled in okay..could have been better. a few more coats of paint will be needed to make it seem less noticeable.

Here is the graphic I had to work with....pics do not do it justice

 

[ykcirj]

Slowly trimmed it down. I realized you need a REALLY sharp razor and you have to be very patient.

It wasn't as difficult as I thought to work the material into the volume/ tone knob bevels.

Now for the pickup

plain

Wrapped

Now a test fit:

Neck before:

Neck after

 

[ykcirj]

Hmm Now to the present day....I finished over the entire body and neck with clear coat. I definitley reccommend it. It makes the graphic pop and seem as if it is painted on. Here is another quick shot after a few coats of clear

Now I just have to wait a few weeks for it to dry and for the black hardware to arrive.

Final Thoughts: The graphics were pretty easy too apply and are definitely easier than painting haha. I am an amatuer when it comes to wood working. I didnt get the pickup cavaty filled as great as I would have liked, but it looks seemless now with the graphic on. Also the string ferrules looked scratched in one of the pics... They were actually taped over so they are fine. The hardest part about applying the graphic for me was trimming around the ferrules. It turned out okay though. Just takes a lot of patience. I do not reccommend using Rustoleum brand paints. They really suck. Stick with Krylon. Overall I'm happy with the job for now. I will update this after I assemble the entire guitar in a few weeks. Please don't be too harsh

 

[linksys24]

Looks awesome man and thanks!! Did you pop out the string ferrules or did you trim around them?? For string thrus I always pop them out before laying the graphic down. Looks killer dude, can't wait to see some pics of it all back together!!

 

[ykcirj]

Looks awesome man and thanks!! Did you pop out the string ferrules or did you trim around them?? For string thrus I always pop them out before laying the graphic down. Looks killer dude, can't wait to see some pics of it all back together!!

i left them in and just taped over them. I wasn't exactly sure how to remove them. That would have made it alot easier It cleaned up ok though

 

[jymellis]

dude, that thing is sooooo awesome! will you please take more pics when it dries? i may just clear over mine

 

[ykcirj]

dude, that thing is sooooo awesome! will you please take more pics when it dries? i may just clear over mine

Yeah i will for sure I just have an iPhone for a camera though.

 

[CloudAC]

Whoa this looks fantastic! Green ftw! Looking forward to more pictures, well done man

 

[usagi]

Looks pretty cool. Good job.

 

[77zark77]

looks very nice ! congrats for your job

 

[DarkSaga]

Dude, that looks pretty sick!!!!!!!Moar pics NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shawn]

Very cool.

 

[jl_killer]

Nice thats a cool idea to wrap up the pup cover, its gonna look sweet. How do the edges turn out looking where the skin meets the body?

 

[ivancic1al]

Good call covering the pickup, it looks pretty schveet now

 

[MaKo´s Tethan]

holy shit thats awesome man!!! uber cool job!

 

[Scar Symmetry]

Looks awesome dude nice work!

 

[Randy]

Looking good, man. I've got a FFG vinyl project on the way as well.

 

[JamesM]

Holy shit!

 

[ykcirj]

Nice thats a cool idea to wrap up the pup cover, its gonna look sweet. How do the edges turn out looking where the skin meets the body?

They turned out really well. I was worried about the clear coat peeling up the edges but that did not happen at all. You just need a very sharp razor and a steady hand. The vinyl is very durable and sticks to the wood nicely, yet it's easy to pull back up and work the wrinkles out. It's strange how that works to our benefit like that haha. Again I have no skill when it comes to these kinds of things, so I can't wait to see how some of the others come out. If I wasn't a perfectionist I would have just put the graphic on,but the body had some slight damage that really annoyed me.

The clear coat really brings out the depth of the graphics. I definitely reccommend it unless you want to change the look often. Plus I can still polish my guitar like a normal guitar. I can't wait until this thing dries. I'm going to buy a Carvin bolt kit next I think. I'm going to stain the wood and use another FF graphic.