Not a Gibson BFG

[Kuroyama]

Heres a hint for Epiphone maybe? On the heels on buying a Gibson Les Paul Special, then a Gibson Studio within one month... buying a Gibson BFG pretty much meant choosing between it and the wife... (Pausing for the appropriate jokes)

So... Ive got a Les Paul copy called a "Photogenic" VERY inexpensive and very well made albeit not from the same woods or same quality electronics. It holds up well enough... So since I cant go to BFG...let the BFG come to me!

A little paint, a little cutting... and here we go!

(A work in progress)

AA = Lots of putty and the original paint.

BB = close up of neck cavity. Screw holes filled. Its a lot of putty. I didnt realize how much work it would take to sand that down. Lesson learned.

CC = 40grit on a painted wooden surface... another lesson learned.

DD = used the P90 pickup to mark off my routing borders, and I puttied up the screw holes.

EE = bridge pickup and puttied screw holes.

 

[Kuroyama]

2nd half of current photos...

FF = pre routing - lot of putty, lots of hand sanding done (may the wrong type?) I wasnt very careful about the grit. The first grit I took to it was 40grit.
The last grit Ive taken to it is 600. I can still clearly see scratches after having filled the gouges I took with the 40, so Im thinking the 600 wasnt enough pre-paint.

GG = post routing (initial) - This went MUCH smoother than I expected. Little sharp routing bit, very little elbow grease required. Just a steady hand, and eye protection

HH = post routing test fitting of P90 pickup

II = post painting closeup of pickup cavity. Its too tight for the P90 cover to fit in, but I didnt plan on putting that on anyway.

JJ = post painting full view of body. You can see the scratches. The paint is blemishy-looking but Im happy with that. I put down my base coat of yellow, then a 2nd coat in the middle and kept it an inch off the edges to maintain the "burst" it came with... While the 2nd coat was drying I put down a heavy clear coat so the paint bled away from the center and toward the edges. The dry coat looks wet, and looks runny. I like that. I may run it like this, I may try to hit it with a 1000 or higher grit, then reclear it.

 

[Kuroyama]

Some may have noticed that I failed to mask off the pickup cavites. I may need to get rid of that paint somehow. Since Im gonna run a P90, and the humbucker with no cover, but pups will need to be screwed into wood. I bought some scraps I may need to glue into place to give me something to anchor the pups to. I doubt a thick coat of yellow paint is what wood glue likes to stick to best.

 

[whateverlikesgadge]

Hey you could've just bought some humbucker sized P90'S There are a few manufacturers to choose from. Kent Armstrong, GFS, Seymore Duncan Etc
Just check ebay. But that was a nice project for you to do.