In order to maintain the template in case it’s even needed again, the edges were all treated to a CA bath One other detail I thought would be important to maintain was to drill all the holes as if it was a regular Strat. The tremolo holes are not very deep, but I wanted to. There are templates and all sorts of other tips to help you along. Opm3 model. Well guys i finished my paint job on my frankenstrat and i think it looks.

Overview Although this was officially the first guitar for me to begin all the way back in Year 9 woodwork, it was the 5th for me to complete.Why did I wait so long? Well, in class this guitar had been damaged, and I had the idea in my head that it would take a lot to repair. A mere six weeks after beginning the repairs, however, and it was completely transformed from a standard red & white strat, into a Van Halen Frankenstrat (left-handed, of course!) complete with wiring mods, and accurate parts (as accurate as possible!) What follows is a tutorial on how I completed the replication of the paint job, parts and other minor details! Step 1 As this is a glorified stratocaster, I will assume you have already built the strat body (or bought one you wish to modify!) Here is one I prepared earlier around 1996 in high school woodwork, to be precise! I used Kauri Pine for this build, which is now a restricted species I was lucky to get a piece from my local timber yard before it was announced protected. I think it is a lovely timber to work with, unfortunately there was damage from people in my woodwork class, so I was pressured into painting it. Now, 15 years later, I have decided to strip it back, as it was simply sitting in a cupboard doing nothing, and proceed to convert it into a frankenstrat!

Here you see the guitar being stripped, with the assistance of an orbital sander. Step 2 Once it is all stripped back and smoothed with a finer sandpaper, an undercoat primer is applied. I chose to use grey, however you can use any colour you might have available. After about 5 coats of undercoat to make sure I have a nice smooth working surface, I sprayed a further 5 coats of matt black.

I chose to paint all coats with the guitar suspended in my carport, so I could gain access to all sides at once. This is done by nailing a scrap of wood into the neck pocket, and tapping a few nails in the opposite end for a loop of rope to be supported. Once the black coats are all done and dry (leave for a few days, regardless if you THINK it is dry) the next step is to tape it up ready for the white coat. I used plain masking tape for this step, which measured 18mm wide.

In the final step, I will link to the paining template I used for these stages, which I printed at 100% and painstakingly copied onto the guitar. Step 3 After taping the guitar up on top of the black coat, it is time to spray it white. Give it about 5 coats of white to ensure a good coverage. After a few days, remove the tape and admire! This is how Eddie Van Halen played his guitar in the 70’s, until too many people began copying him, and he chose to retape it and do the red coat. This is important to know, as for a few years, this guitar was used on the road, and copped a beating or two, so, if you want authenticity, it is time to ‘relic’ your masterpiece. Either sand it down to wear it, or bash it with the side of a hammer or a large chain to dent it up.

If you rollover the image, you can see the ‘relicing’ that I have done on the back to simulate wear and tear. This is optional, but I was trying to replicate the frankenstrat as closely as possible (who wants a pristine guitar that is meant to replicate a rock icon?!) step 4 Next step is to tape it up again, this time using two different widths of tape. The wider tape is 24mm, while the thin green tape is actually car detailing pinstriping tape, which measures 6mm. I know these pictures don’t show it too well, so please check the final step for all the templates!

Remember however, that Eddie did all of this taping freehand and completely randomly. This is not a precision exercise, however if you wish to copy exactly what is on the original, I have drawn as closely as possible in my templates. So yet again, suspend the guitar from the scrap of timber, so you can access all sides of the guitar for each coat of paint. This tape is in preparation of the final red coats which I will show in the next step. Step 5 These pictures show the red coat during application. Remember, Eddie painted over the black and white, but left them visible through the red, so don’t paint too thick on this coat, or you will lose everything you have done so far!