Aria Pro II JS strat complete renovation!

 This is an exciting new guitar project I recently finished. It's the complete renovation and modification of an Aria Pro II ,JS series(made in Korea).
First Impression:

 When I first bought the guitar, it had no hardware on, no pickguard and no electrics... So I had a body, a neck and a neckplate to start with.

 The body was rooted for an H-S-S pickup configuration. It had been painted some times but the result was just a mixture of different white and cream white layers... The singlecoil cavities had been filled with wood-filler to create an "80's metal" single-humbucker layout.

 Nevertheless, all the modification attempt had to be undone as there were many dings, blems and scratches all over the guitar. Plus the neck got a yellowish white colour over the years...

 Renovation process:
 At first, I disassembled the guitar so that the body and neck had no hardware on. I then sanded down all the guitar surface including the fretboard. The only part I did not sand was the Aria logo on the headstock whitch I covered with tape. I used high-grit sandpaper to ensure the wood wouldn't be damaged.
 I then covered the singlecoil cavities with putty, let it dry and sanded all the excess off. The body top became quite even and smooth. I wiped the dust off the guitar with a soft piece of cloth and some paint-thinner.  It was about time I painted the body!

Finishing procedure:

 I used a "vintage white" spray can paint(Titan Acrylic). It 's not too glossy nor too mat and that's why I like this spray can. The glossy one takes ages to dry and it's hard to get a nice and even glossy result... 
 The painting method is quite simple: hang the body up on your garage ceiling with a piece of wire or light rope(at a point you can reach all the guitar-body area...). It should be placed at a well-ventilated room (wear protective glasses, gloves maybe and a mouth-mask as the paint is toxic).
 Be sure to shake the spray can for about a minute. Then, test the colour flow on a junk piece of wood. If it's not OK, shake it hard again and retest it. Start spraying the body from a 30cm distance and no angle. Always start pushing the spray button away from the body and then move quickly the can left and right across the body surface a few times. Allow a 10minutes pause fot the paint to dry before re-painting a certain area or spot.  Remember that you 'll need many repetitions of the same method to achieve a nice, even and colourful fisnish, so be patient...
 When all the body area is painted, let it dry for a few hours and then inspect for blems and harsh surface. Use a light high-grit sandpaper to even out any blems. Then wipe the dust off and repaint some areas/spots if needed. If the body is Ok, proceed to the lacquer finishing.
 I use an acrylic clear lacquer spray that's not too glossy. The paint and lacquer finishing methods are exactly the same.
 Now, it's time for the neck to be painted! Many people apply only a clear coat on the neck but in this case I went for a vintage white finish. First, cover with tape any areas you don't want to paint such as a rosewood fretboard, the headstock top etc. In my case, I covered the fretboard and the headstock logo.
 Paint the back of the neck using the same method and tools of the body finishing. Be careful not to paint any taped areas.
 To finish the neck, I took the tape off the fretboard and applied a clear lacquer coat. Then I gently removed the lacquer off the frets with a small screwdriver tip.

 Assembling the guitar:

I had to buy new hardware for this guitar project. That could be very expensive so I chose to buy Sung-IL and Jin-Ho korean hardware. Those Korean hardware brands are simply the names of the factories where Wilkinson hardware is produced!... And they are producing really good stuff at a fraction of the cost. Check the prices(on ebay and stores): 6point tremolo unit 15Euros, closed tuning keys 14Euros...
http://www.jinhomusic.com/wilkinson/wilkinson.html

http://www.sung-il.com/


 I also got a graphite nut and a Kent Armstrong (Korean made) humbucker pickup whitch really shreds!
For the electrics cavity I made a custom cover of thin plywood and painted it.

 After the guitar was put together and set up it with .010" strings it was ready to rock again! That's why we shouldn't just neglect those late80's, early90's Korean and Taiwan-made guitars. They were really good guitars as the woodwork is concerned but they were let down by cheap hardware(tuning keys etc) and cheap pickups. But that's no problem nowadays; there are tons of affordable aftermarket hardware and pickups on ebay.

 So, are you still searching for your next G.A.S.(guitar acquiring syndrome)-driven purchace while the financial crisis hits your door?  Don't wait any longer, renovate your first guitar that's lying in the garage all those years and shred!


 

Before:

After:

-Thanos