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Upgrade Plastics Comparision Thread

BIG Dave

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Aug 18, 2001
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2,421
What are 'Smartass' parts? They ebay seller says they came from the UK...

Ebay item # 330261204857
 

ptrickamp222

New member
Joined
Aug 22, 2007
Messages
879
Added some used Vintage Clone / Lightly Aged Plastic to my 07' R9. Courtesy of a LP Forum Member. Here's a few Pic's

P1010046a.jpg


P1010045a.jpg


P1010036a-1.jpg


P1010033a.jpg
 

Red Baron

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Jul 14, 2004
Messages
6,774
This is an excellent thread, and whoever gave the sticky idea deserves a mention too.There are so many cool bits and pieces,RS, vintageclone, fatboy, retrovibe,HM, etc. But for us down under it would be much easier to just order one shipment from one place.Can anyone recommend a one stop shop for all the parts, cheers Mark.

Yes exactly, would be great if somebody sold a complete Historic plastic upgrade pack, tuner tips included... I can't believe nobody has done this yet (that I'm aware of).
 

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Plastic to my 07' R9. Courtesy of a LP Forum Member. Here's a few Pic's




P1010036a-1.jpg


P1010033a.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Looks great- here's my home grown rings on an 07 lemon
pucloseup.jpg
 

ptrickamp222

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Aug 22, 2007
Messages
879
Very Nice........Howd did you do the home grown part????Got a plastic tree in the back yard??? did you buy and alter or pour your own???
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
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I really just meant the finishing-
Started with a Dimarzio which is bright white. Hit it with a micro sanding stick (beauty shop item I guess- mine was from Mrs Corpse) to knock off the glossy finish and give the dye something to bite into and then just dyed it with fabric dye- tan and yellow mixed 50/50 in hot water. I am sure if you didn't sand them first, it would just wipe off. Looks just as good as the expensive ones I bought.
Jim
 
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corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
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4,876
My dentist' office has several as well- I took a cutting to get mine started.
Trying to grow pickguards now, but they are tougher.
 

AlexVDL

Member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
267
Here's my stewmac pokerchip. The color is really nice, not pink. It's a light yellowish color, not really cream. I love it! The font is also pretty acurate. IMO it looks just like the fatboy or Montreux ones. This one is just 2 bucks or something, so I bought a bunch :)

Here is the before and after aging:

pokerchip.jpg
 

AlexVDL

Member
Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
267
Well I just took the plunge. I'm tired of trying to get my white dimarzio's to the correct color, so I bought a set of Montreux Retrovibe relic rings.

mount_ring_cr_b_01.jpg
mount_ring_cr_b_02.jpg


Does someone knows if the fatboy retrovibes are the same as the Montreux Retrovibes?

I just ordered a set from Gord Miller. They're $60 and I don't want them to crack. I'm thinking of applying the fiberglass mesh before installing the rings. I have a '94 classic with a very curved top, so I really don't want them to crack :wow
 

DANELECTRO

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Feb 24, 2003
Messages
6,318
Does someone knows if the fatboy retrovibes are the same as the Montreux Retrovibes?

I just ordered a set from Gord Miller. They're $60 and I don't want them to crack. I'm thinking of applying the fiberglass mesh before installing the rings. I have a '94 classic with a very curved top, so I really don't want them to crack :wow

Compare the underside of your rings to the photos of the Fatboy rings in post #108. If the gate positions on your rings are the same as the Fatboys, then they are likely to crack. Reinforce them with fiberglass mesh (per post #111) to protect them.
 

DANELECTRO

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Feb 24, 2003
Messages
6,318
Here's a comparison of Uncle Lou's regular tips vs premium tips. Note that the regular tips are a bit more translucent and swirly. Its a subtle difference that's more noticeable in these photos than on the guitar.

UncleLousTunerTipsb.jpg


Uncle Lou's Regular Tips
GibsonLesPaul07CR87258260800.jpg


Uncle Lou's Premium Tips
GibsonLesPaul0559Murphy5-9134158800.jpg


Oh yeah, here's another plastic comparison. The truss rod cover in the top photo is an aged Historic part. The TRC in the lower photo is a 1960 vintage cover.
 

AlexVDL

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Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
267
Compare the underside of your rings to the photos of the Fatboy rings in post #108. If the gate positions on your rings are the same as the Fatboys, then they are likely to crack. Reinforce them with fiberglass mesh (per post #111) to protect them.

Yeah they're exactly the same... damn I paid $60 and you guys bought them for $15 at a blow out sale :bug

Anyways, the color is super! They look really great, best $60 bucks I even spent :applaude

Well I hope I can find some of that fiberglass mesh, because I won't install them without it. They're too precious hehehe.

EDIT: I couldn't find the fiberglass mesh but I have some long strips of what seems to be fiber nylon or fiberglass material. It is used around cardboard boxes to hold them together. It's very tough, you can't break it, only cut it. Do you think I can use that stuff?
 
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DANELECTRO

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Feb 24, 2003
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6,318
Well I hope I can find some of that fiberglass mesh, because I won't install them without it.

Any hobby store that carrys supplies for radio controlled airplanes will have it. It's commonly used to reinforce wing sections that are glued together.
 

AlexVDL

Member
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May 29, 2003
Messages
267
Danelectro, could you please tell me the specs of the mesh? I can't find any supplier in my neighbourhood and I don't know what to look for on the internet. I found some modelplane materials, but they have a lot of sizes and thicknesses. I only other stuff I could find is very rough fiberglass for filling gaps in boats and stuff. And most of that stuff is sold in BIG sheets :wow
 

AlexVDL

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Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
267
!##^$*?/^$)(*&^%##@ my rings cracked!!

I just installed them 2 days ago. I reinforced them and still they cracked!! I'm sooooo disappointed. I'm glad I did not buy the more expensive vintage clones.

Anyways, the guys from Montreux said they would take care of it, so I'm anxious to see what they have in mind.

Here's some pics:

crack.jpg


crack2.jpg


crack4.jpg
 
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Classic

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Dec 6, 2004
Messages
1,624
What I don't understand is that my '99 Classic has had both the Fatboy Retro-vibe rings AND the Vintage Clone rings yet neither have cracked despite the classic supposedly having more of a curved top. The Retro-vibe were on there for about 6 to 9 months and the VC's have been on 3 months yet neither show any signs of cracking...
 

czarivan

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
325
I have some retrovibe rings from fatboy foley that cracked a while back. I managed to patch them up and now they're fine.

Has anyone had a problem with the VC ones cracking? last thing i want to do is dive in deeper into debt on guitar plastics that are going to break
 

buyusfear

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Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
2,951
Vintage Clone shouldn't crack, just as DMC shouldn't crack, as their mold injection points are different.

If the rings are the right color, relatively inexpensive, but crack, IMO= big deal... it's 10x's better then pink, uncracked rings.

YMMV
 
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