I first saw this guitar poking out the top of my local wood recycling bank, I just had to take it! I decided I would give this battered guitar a new life. Here is what I did:
First I took a look at the damage. Superficial damage was pretty bad, however technical elements like the pickups were working fine:
I first sanded the whole guitar so when I came to painting the paint would definitely soak into the surface of the wood and not peel or chip off.
I then used fine surface polyfilla to fill in the dents and holes. I went over the whole guitar filling in all the little gaps. I would advise using a strong flat tool to do this, try to level off the polyfilla as much as you can as this will save you sanding time later.
I then sanded the polyfilla so it sat flush with the body of the guitar. I used a block of wood and fine surface sandpaper (P 400). I didn’t use my hands to do this as it wouldn't have achieved an even surface.
I took off the scratch plate so I could paint the body easily. I wanted my guitar to be unusual so I painted the body using black chalkboard paint (Don’t ask my why!). I wasn’t sure how it would come out, after about three coats I thought the effect was pretty awesome!
I ruined a new string in my ignorance!
Here is the finished guitar:
