My Homemade Frankenstein Guitar

[guitarmaster8587]

what kinda guitar did u use?

[smootcw2]

@guitarmaster8587 The one in this video was a Fender Strat. But I have painted several guitars with that general Fender body style.

[skylineXpert]

why did you keep the standard tremolo instead of installing a floyd

[smootcw2]

@skylineXpert I was going to put a Floyd on it until I learned how much wood carving you had to do it to make it fit properly. If you mess up and cut out too much, it is ruined. Then I got a price for a professional to do it for me, and it was really expensive. Plus I was going to resell it, and I didn't want to have too much invested in it.

[tb0069]

That looks incredible! :)

[malcocreative]

good job! glad you made your own variation.

[happyone98]

Looks good.

[swifty279]

hud of done the head stock looks gay with the argos fake fender one

[BrainPlaysGuitar]

cool video man. i'm gonna do the same to mine now haha

[TiipX]

Fuckin shit song. Why would you choose this pice of crap for a Van Halen related video?

[smootcw2]

@TiipX Because I got a legal notice e-mailed to me from the music lawyers for Eddie Van Halen saying I was committing copyright enfringement for using "Panama". Then Youtube removed my video. So I had to use a Free song that Youtube allowed, which is this song by Seether.

[Metallicaforever95]

Nice im doin the same.... But how did you knoe where to tape it. Did you have pictures or a template? Plz help idk how to put the tape on

[smootcw2]

@Metallicaforever95 I blew up a picture of it and just eyeballed it best I could

[Junkpunker21]

Anyone actually done this?

[Whisperinthecrowd0]

where did u get the paint

[smootcw2]

@Whisperinthecrowd0 At Lowes 

[reditreefrogs]

Nice job!

[toml71]

How do you do the distress look?

[smootcw2]

@toml71 I used twodifferent types of brown paint and hand painted it on. I tried to sand it, but it looked horrible.

[MrPurpleFreak]

Did you screw the pickups into the actual guitar? because it looked like they were attached to the pick guard at first.

[smootcw2]

@MrPurpleFreak I had to use popsickle sticks to raise the pick-ups so they would be at the same height as they were attached to the pick guard.

[dragonninjafighter]

If you accidently sanded your guitar with rough sandpaper and painted it over and can see all the scratches can you sand it down again with very fine sandpaper and will the scratches disappear?

Thanks

[smootcw2]

@dragonninjafighter you probably have to use rough paper again to remove all the paint and then go back over it with the fine paper to smooth it out.

[WebDevFTW]

Only problem is that you didn't use the Floyd Rose Bridge otherwise, it's cool.

[smootcw2]

@WebDevFTW it would have cost too much to have that installed. I got some estimates, and I just sold it as is.

[pancho96productions]

this song is not Pnama D:

[smootcw2]

@pancho96productions It was there, but You Tube made me remove it due to copyright laws. I had to use one of their approved share ware songs.

[pancho96productions]

what is tha name of tha song?

[smootcw2]

@pancho96productions Seether - Driven Under

[LeadGuitar33]

Did you put other pickup ???

[LeadGuitar33]

how do you make the distressed look??

[smootcw2]

@LeadGuitar33 I bought two shades of brown paint from an art studio and brushed it on to make it look like wood grain. I tried to sand it to the wood grain and it looked horrible, so I just paint it.

[bbgamer8841]

how much would it cost if you could do this for my guitar?

[smootcw2]

@bbgamer8841 e-mail me @ smootcw2000@yahoo.com

[96slashdk]

haha. "get the balde out"

[zentz36]

did you leave the tape on for the black stripes until you finished the guitar or did you remove the tape when you finished painting white

[smootcw2]

@zentz36 Leave the tape on it. You peel all the tape off at the very end, when you are ready to spray on the clear coat.

[austismitty133]

use a squire. its cheaper and new pickups will make it sound much better.

[smootcw2]

@austismitty133 Cheap is the key word. Nobody wants to buy a Squier guitar

[smootcw2]

@austismitty133 yea, but it will still say Squire on it and mnobody will buy it. Just like painting a Kia like the General Lee, but its still a Kia.

[zmgriggs]

Go onto stewmac, they have some cheap stuff.

[smootcw2]

@zmgriggs Cool, thanks.

[daytonbrandi]

Dude I want to try that on my squire

[matteo4990]

Great job man! Yep, missing some things but it is YOUR guitar, not the original so don't care about it :)

[bailey32121]

Nice one:), could u tell me how you got on about designing the paintwork as in was it off looking at a picture or a website telling you how to do it?:)

[smootcw2]

@bailey32121 i just look at picture that I printed off a website and just enlarged it. I still the the pics if you want me to e-mail them to you.

[apollorocker]

hey what sizes of tapes did you use for the small and big stripes? and what sizes are all the reflecters? Great job by the way

[smootcw2]

@apollorocker I got the reflectors off of ebay as a set. I think I used 1/4" for the small stripes and 1/2" forthe bigger stripes. A lot of the stripes I just freehand cut with a ruler.

[MrTonyPajamas]

How did you turn the pickups black and keep the little silver dots on them? Is it completely different hardware or what? Looks great! Trying it soon with a cheap Squier!

[smootcw2]

I bought some pickup covers and repainted them. The trick was that I cut the tops off the covers and super glued them to the pickup.

[DAVIDFLORESDOTCOM]

Hey man I'm tryin paint my guitar like this too. Can you tell me the place you found the design. It's too hard to do it off of pictures

BTW, you did a great job!

[busteroo7]

maybe a vh song would have fit the spirt of the vid a little bit better damn, im outta here

[smootcw2]

Well, about a year ago, YOU TUBE said I was illegally playing "Panama" so they took the song off and said I had to choose a song from their approved list. I thought this song was better than silence.

[stratcat70]

eddie,s strats always have maple boards, he says they provide a brighter and punchier tone!,,,,,still a very cool job!

[blindjacob]

does it work with a squier??

[smootcw2]

@blindjacob It will work on anything!

[MonkeyDLuccas]

ohhh, yeah!!!, i´m going to do something like that with a squier that i have xD

[xBuRToN126x]

on my frankenstrat that i built i didnt want to take out the 3 way switch and put it in the middle so i took a little lego that makes a sound like a motorcycle when i push the button and it sounds so sweet when i push it

[guitargod1598]

attempt, bullshit, that this is fucking flawles

[Syklenut41]

SWEET MAN.

[live4Metallica1]

the guitar is BEAUTIFUL.

nice work =)

[halo3beta117]

how does the black area on the pick guard appear?

4:29 is what im talking bout

[smootcw2]

Whoa, I didn't put those pictures in the video. You are the first person to notice that. It is a full Strat pickguard that I cut down. I just cut a sharpie marker and drew an outline and cut it out. I added the white knobs and reomoved the pick-up switch.

[halo3beta117]

i see you have a video for a GH guitar and i was asking about the pickguard becuase i took apart my RB1 guitar and just have the casing with the pickguard and i just painted it all black...so its been like tht for a month now because i dont know what to do with the pick guard. any help would be nice :)

[smootcw2]

On the Guitar Hero guitar, I just taped over the black paint to make it look like a guitar pick and glued the tone knob to it.

[halo3beta117]

thank you very much ur video helped a lot

[atruehazard]

do you put two layers of red paint to

[smootcw2]

Yes I did. I messed that up on the video. So two coats for everything.

[VanHalenfreak9]

do you use primer?

[smootcw2]

no, I have never used any primer any on of the guitars I painted.

[VanHalenfreak9]

where did you get the reflectors and eye hooks?

[smootcw2]

I got the eye hooks at Lowe's and the reflectors off of e-ebay. This guy in California sells them. Do a search on e-bay for "Frankenstrat Guitar Reflector Kit ". You'll have to alter the broken one yourself.

[VanHalenfreak9]

cool, what are the sizes/measurements for the hooks? I just want to know which ones to get.:)

[smootcw2]

i really dont know. I think they are half inch openings. i sold the guitar, so i am unable to measure it for you.

[VanHalenfreak9]

if you paint it black first, how did the black stripes end up over the white ones? great job btw!

[smootcw2]

Well, when you have a stripe, and you know that it will change colors or have a another stripe cross it, you have to plan ahead and cut a small piece of tape to cover that spot. It is hard to explain. If u got a white stripe that is 8" long, and 1" of it is black in the middle, just cut a 1" spot for that black line, then spray the guitar white, then tape the the white line and tape over that black stripe.

[awesomeheadforthewin]

it's good, but change up the music!

[smootcw2]

I had "Panama" playing first but I was told to remove it due to Copyright laws. So I had to choose from a list of FREE background music and this was the best I could find.

[metalhead6777777]

would you suggest on making my first homemade frankenstrat replica on a fender squire since those are like only a $100? Then maybe buy the pickups that the wolfgang guitar or from the frankenstrat guitar on ebay? cause I saw a few of those for a good price.

[epicguitar57]

good idea with the squire. But fuck the Wolfgang pikups! i got and "EVH" humbucker for $150.

Or get a dimarzio, thats what eddie used

[smootcw2]

The first time I tried it, I painted an Ibanez. So if I screwed up, I was going to just trash it. You can experiment on a squire and learn from it. The only way you can screw it up is not waiting for the paint to dry. I wouldn't worry aboutthe pick-ups.

[smootcw2]

I'd wait and get a strat on sale at Guitar center or off e-bay before I would buy a Squire.

[guitarmaniac43]

cool

[smootcw2]

Thanks

[cashmerestaten]

cant you also do this with a peavy? cuz my friend did it and it looks perfect. i have a peavy also

[smootcw2]

You can do this to pretty much any guitar. I wonder what an acoustic would look like?

[lukaszswietek]

WOW.. Great video and work .!!!!!

[smootcw2]

Thanks!

[Sadu1986]

Hey mate, where did you get those reflectors. They look EXACTLY like the originals!

Great job. I must say, a fine job indeed!

[smootcw2]

I got them from a guy on ebay.

[fairfieldkid6]

how fine of grit sandpaper did you use? and how long should i wait after the very first coat or paint to dry. and when im able to tape? thanks

[smootcw2]

I am not for sure of the grit #, but i just used general sand paper. You don't want it to leave deep scratches, so don't use that green sand paper that removes paint. I waited 48 hours before I taped it. Also, outdoor temp will slow down the dry time. So let it dry indoors in the Air Conditioning, After 2 days, it is safe to tape.

[fairfieldkid6]

thanks man

[mexican379]

sand with the grain next time...

[smootcw2]

You want it to look rough and abused. The more flaws it has, the better it looks. If I were staining a table, then I would use my 9th grade shop class skills and sanded with the grain.

[Kpalmost]

-.- Why would u do that do your strat? Instead of making someone elses guitar you could make your own.

[mrwilliamwonder]

Exactly. I'd use it as inspiration to make one after my favorite "sting ray bike" as a child. I'd make it black with orange stripes. Halloween colors. It's my own colors like Wolfie has his own colors.

[smootcw2]

That was what the man wanted me to his guitar. He wanted me to paint it like that, so I did the best I could to get it as close as possible to the orginal.

[jeanpaulbazo]

thanks a lot dude, i just realized that its all about the weather conditions, i turned on my room´s air condition and the paint started to dry, i think that outside theres a lot of humidity... thanks a lot and keep up the good work

[jeanpaulbazo]

i feel that the paint is sticky

[smootcw2]

It could be the temp the guitar is drying in. I noticed on my 2nd guitar, I let it dry 2 days in the garage and one day inside the house. It still had the fingerprints, but not as bad. As long as they look "oily" ", you;ll be ok, but if they dug into the paint, then you may have to sand it and repaint it.

[jeanpaulbazo]

dude i did the black coats but i still get fingerprints when i grab it i´v wait for three days now... Does that means that the paint is not dry?

[smootcw2]

Mine did that too. I wouldn't worry about it because you'll end up painting over most of the guitar anyway since most of it is red. Plus, when you spray the clear coat on iit, it puts a new shine to it and hides all the fingerprints. Use a glossy clear coat.

[cynical1966]

Never seen the paint laid down in that way, or the tape, and can't get the black lines seen under the red painting this way either. But, it turned out better than I'd imagined using an unconventional method.

[smootcw2]

Thanks!

[abc3380abc]

looks great i wouldn't of added the reflectors tho

[smootcw2]

Yea, they are kind of retarded

[trunk102]

very cool :) i love it ^.^

[smootcw2]

Thanks!!

[deathofamartyr2]

now all you need is to retrofit it with a floyd and get a good PAF and sand off that fender logo and it will be almost perfect

[smootcw2]

Actually, I was going to, until I got a few estimates on how much the Floyd was going to cost to have it installed. I think parts and labor was like $500. I didn't want too much money invested in it because I wouldn't get anything for it when I was ready to get rid of it.. Next time I will get one with a Floyd already on it.

[Benderbot50]

u should have done like Eddy and DIYed

[tyeedillon]

you did it the really hard way. haha

[smootcw2]

So what is the easy way?

[kanye360]

dude awsome job when i get a job ima try to do this 5/5

[smootcw2]

Thanks. I put a lot of time into it.

[muffintop5150]

ok thanks alot

[tyheman14]

why wait 48 hours between the black and white paint jobs?

[smootcw2]

I do that to make sure that the paint is completely dry. I had the paint pull up with the tape before and ruin the paint job because I was in a hurry. Depending on here you live, here in Tennessee, the humidity is very high in the summer and that causes the paint to dry a little slower. I guess 24 hours may work for you, but it sure sucks when it don't.

[muffintop5150]

how many red coats do you put on it one or two

[smootcw2]

I put 2 coats of all the paint colors on the guitar, even the clear coat I used 2 coats..

[muffintop5150]

thanks alot im building my own right now and there is one question i need im on the first white coat and i need to know how many red coats do you put on it you only showed one is there two or just one

[smootcw2]

Sorry about the video mistake, I didn't notice I did that. I used 2 coats of the red paint and 2 coats of the cleat coat, too.

[14895710]

really i was just looking around to paint my guitar which is a stratocastor

i'll see i have to save up my money i'll pay for the job. how much would the shipping be?

[smootcw2]

So, how did it turn out? I just posted a new video of a guitar hero guitar for the kid across the street.

[14895710]

how much do you charge for the paint job?

[mrbrownstone909]

how much would you build me one for? if i sent you the guitar, could you paint me a frankenstrat?

[smootcw2]

Sure.

[CassFan5150]

Dude ill pay for shipping.. And the paint how much u want to do it?

[derrickm5150HT]

you must have quite a few bucks to blow if you went and bought a new strat then tore it apart

[smootcw2]

It was a dsiplay at Guitar Center and it had a lot of dings. chips, and scratches all over it. So I got a good deal on it. If I had to do it over, I would have gone to a pawn shop or craigslist next time. I just do it for fun.

[derrickm5150HT]

oooh alright haha...kinda sad to hear that guitar center sells guitars in that shape though =/

[XXSLASHXX44]

i can't wait to start on mine.

[XXXsecretmanXXX]

i have the crazy idea of doing it, but i suck in art, and how end the paint of the guitar?? it was like a real guitar paint or what?? are you using a special paint??

[smootcw2]

I bought some paint from this art store. I got two different types of brown to make my own woodgrain color. I used a light brown for the base and added the darker brown for the woodgrain lines. I tried to hand sand it down to the natural woodgrain and it looked like crap.

[smootcw2]

The spray paint was from Lowes.

[A7Xislife93]

hey i have a question...

how do you go about cutting the masking tape into the shapes?

[smootcw2]

I enlarged a picture of the orginal guitar and printed it out and just hand drew the odd swiggly lines and then cut them out with that razor pen. It takes a few attempts to get it right.

[XXXsecretmanXXX]

fuck men!!!!!!!!!! how id like to paint my guitar like that, but im afraid of doing it, i dont want to fuck the guitar

[smootcw2]

I had no idea what I was doing, but it all worked out. There are so many paint flaws in the orginal, any mistakes you make will not even be noticed. This is the second one I painted, so you learn new tricks each tim.

[oooopmymom]

dude u shoulda got the fender with the maple neck

[smootcw2]

Well, I bought it damaged from the showroom and that was the neck that came with it. I really didn't want to put too much money into it so I just worked with what I got in order to flip it.

[Rockinpeace92]

It looks great!!! Tomorrow I'm going to start doing my frankenstein... I have a question... Why did you apply black paint after it was sanded??

[smootcw2]

You have to sand it to make the first layer of paint stick to the guitar or will will chip of. Also, if I used the orginal black paint of the Fender, all the glossiness of the guitar would be different. So, then I had to turn around and repaint black becasue that is what order you do the paint scheme. I hope this helps. I only sanded just the orginal paint job. I ddn't sand the white paint layer.

[slashito64]

hey man , i just one question i already see all the video , but where did you find and buy the pick guard ,

[smootcw2]

I used the pickguard that came with the guitar. I got a a sharpie marker and drew an outline of what the orginal looked like. Then I got a handsaw and cut it down. It works out best to under cut it the first time. That way you can keep taking a little off at a time so that you won't ruin it by cutting it to small. I also had to spray paint it black too. I wish I could make these for a living.

[gibsonguy86]

eddie used an old record laying around, just a tip. but i gotta know, how you make it look "Distressed"?

[smootcw2]

I bought some paint from this art store. I got two different types of brown to make my own woodgrain color. I used a light brown for the base and added the darker brown for the woodgrain lines. I tried to hand sand it down to the natural woodgrain and it looked like crap.

[A7Xislife93]

aah right OK, thanks a lot! :)

[Zaffosly94]

why did you have to sand it?

how come that small part of the white layer didnt follow with the tape when it was dry?

[smootcw2]

You have to sand it to get the base layer to stick to the guitar. If you paint on a shiny, slick surface, then it will chip off or crack. I am not for sure which white line you are talking about.

[NYHCALWAYS]

how did you make it look distressed?

[smootcw2]

I tried sanding it, but it didn't look good. So I bought some light brown paint from an art store and painted it. I also hand painted the black splotches to look like "mistakes" or damaged spots. I guess it turned out ok.

[NYHCALWAYS]

thanks what color red did you use? like normal red?

[smootcw2]

Just glossy red from Lowes. I used glossy for all the colors, including the clear coat.

[NYHCALWAYS]

thanks, check mine frankenstein out!

[smootcw2]

looks good!

[bgarbers89]

intence!

[smootcw2]

Thanks! This one was my second attempt.

[Mstrat86]

hahaha "put in fender gig bag", didn't get the point to that step but whatever you obvi know what you're doing. well done. you even got the quarter on there

[smootcw2]

Thanks! Well, the bag came with the guitar, so why not. ha ha

[ibanezjem224]

y does this video not work anymore?

[smootcw2]

Not for sure? I just played it and it worked fine.

[knox7894]

Where did u get the reflectors.

[smootcw2]

I got them off e-bay. Search for Frankensrat reflectors or evh reflectors, and I think I paid like $16 for them includiing shipping. They are not 100% accurate in size, but they are very close. His e-bay seller name is ddks2273.

[CrudMuffinMan]

have any advice on using the clear coat? How many coats did you need? after your project was finished, did the clear coat match up to the smoothness of the original body? :)

[smootcw2]

I sprayed 3 coats of the clear coat on it. I used glossy this time. Nothing is good as the factory sealant as to the smoothness. When you rub your hand across the guitar, you can feel the layers of paint. Even with the clear coat. I just sprayed it to protect it from fading and getting dirty.

[ozzyman1108]

nice man really nice on the paint, if you could solder the guitar whenever you want you should do this, take the strings off and the pickguard and then take the neck pickup out and paint it red and just peel it off the magnets...then take out the middle pickup then just run down to guitar center and pick up a 500k push pull pod and solder it together...looks really nice though

[Guitarchordhelper]

wow! really good!!

[guitarfreaks97]

dude, i made mine with duct tape. I dont know what the hell i was doing. and plus my fender is black with a white pickcover and it is meant to be an orignial but yours is a hell of alot better

[futurehendrix16]

man you are a genious.

what was the name of that song?

[smootcw2]

"Driven Under" by Seether is currently playing on the video....... I did have "Panama" by Van Halen playing, but they said I couldn't play it.

[jayzakk72]

I had Panama on one of my vids... Or rather I intended to.

It didnt even make it to Public view.

It was blocked before I even got it up.

I agree with what you say man.

Plus VERY VERY good job dude.

I aint seen it painted (technique) quite the way you did it before but nonetheless it came out awesome.

[smootcw2]

Thanks, I thought I painted it like all the others.