I'm like the rest on here but I know some top rated pickers. You may have done this ready but I suggest changing all the tuners and a new set of Elixirs (Optiweb, would be a great choice).
I'm like the rest on here but I know some top rated pickers. You may have done this ready but I suggest changing all the tuners and a new set of Elixirs (Optiweb, would be a great choice).
https://www.youtube.com/c/PhillipMcKnight/videos Phil has a lot of how-to videos for set ups and tools for DIY guitar. Stew Mac is a tool dealer in the US, but they also have some good videos about fixing guitars. I used both when I decided I wanted to build my own partscaster strat.
I wouldn't cast dispersions on your current guitars. I think you can get them working, if you just watch a few videos and be patient. You might need some new parts, or not, but the brand name on the headstock shouldn't have anything to do with the problems or getting them fixed.
If you have a local guitar shop, give them a call and see if they could help you with a set-up, and bonus points if the tech will teach you a little bit about what he is doing. I think a lot of guitar geeks are like vapers, and love chatting and sharing about gear.
I think Anderton's might be the UK equivalent to Sweetwater. Dialing in a guitar isn't that far from getting a good vape. I think you can do this.
OK, maybe I'm sick in the head but I don't think so. I never had kids (various reasons) and wish I had. And given the choice I would have liked at least one of them be a daughter. I'll watch some you tube videos and on rare occasions I'll run across one when a young lady is doing a car repair. I'll always watch them because I think they're cute as hell. 
If I had a daughter like the one in this vid I would teach her to work on cars and she could teach me how to work on cars wearing a pink shirt while keeping my hands clean.
If I had a daughter like the one in this vid I would teach her to work on cars and she could teach me how to work on cars wearing a pink shirt while keeping my hands clean.
OK, maybe I'm sick in the head but I don't think so. I never had kids (various reasons) and wish I had. And given the choice I would have liked at least one of them be a daughter. I'll watch some you tube videos and on rare occasions I'll run across one when a young lady is doing a car repair. I'll always watch them because I think they're cute as hell.
If I had a daughter like the one in this vid I would teach her to work on cars and she could teach me how to work on cars wearing a pink shirt while keeping my hands clean.
Well for starters, it looked like the entire area shows working on was power washer spit-spot clean before the work began. That would help keeping her hands clean. But still ... yep, didn't even get her hands a tad dirty handling the tire.
https://www.youtube.com/c/PhillipMcKnight/videos Phil has a lot of how-to videos for set ups and tools for DIY guitar. Stew Mac is a tool dealer in the US, but they also have some good videos about fixing guitars. I used both when I decided I wanted to build my own partscaster strat.
I wouldn't cast dispersions on your current guitars. I think you can get them working, if you just watch a few videos and be patient. You might need some new parts, or not, but the brand name on the headstock shouldn't have anything to do with the problems or getting them fixed.
If you have a local guitar shop, give them a call and see if they could help you with a set-up, and bonus points if the tech will teach you a little bit about what he is doing. I think a lot of guitar geeks are like vapers, and love chatting and sharing about gear.
I think Anderton's might be the UK equivalent to Sweetwater. Dialing in a guitar isn't that far from getting a good vape. I think you can do this.
thank you, I did end up going to the guitar shop and it wasn’t a wasted journey
He said give £20 and I’ll get it working. I asked what he did and something to do with the bridge, some tightening and new strings
oh yeah they are so old and inexpensive but the telecaster was already playing and that Stratocaster was the fist one I ever got about 12/13 years old for a Christmas. Be 20 years old and I’m so to glad to have it back working
Plus you are not looking at Jimi Hendrix or SRV here anyway
So I can do my beginner practice
but can’t wait to save up and buy a good one. Any recommendations then let me know in a non fixing things thread
Both thanks to you and other replies
I'm glad you got your Strat sorted and it just needed the set-up.thank you, I did end up going to the guitar shop and it wasn’t a wasted journey
He said give £20 and I’ll get it working. I asked what he did and something to do with the bridge, some tightening and new strings
oh yeah they are so old and inexpensive but the telecaster was already playing and that Stratocaster was the fist one I ever got about 12/13 years old for a Christmas. Be 20 years old and I’m so to glad to have it back working
Plus you are not looking at Jimi Hendrix or SRV here anyway
So I can do my beginner practice
but can’t wait to save up and buy a good one. Any recommendations then let me know in a non fixing things thread
Both thanks to you and other replies
You probably don't need a new guitar if you have the Strat and Tele covered, but if you leave them unattended in the same room, you may find them multiplying when you aren't looking. The world needs a Spay/Neuter program for gear. If you make friends at the guitar shop, I'm sure they can help you spend your guitar money when the time comes.
Yeah, that helps. And it helps to power wash the floor too so she can work in her socks.
Call me skeptical ... maybe it's a well edited video with someone else doing the work and she just steps in for the 'right' shots.
They hid the guy with the rosebud torch and the big hammer.Call me skeptical ... maybe it's a well edited video with someone else doing the work and she just steps in for the 'right' shots.
Oh yeah. That thought crossed my mind. I’d guess dad was the camera man and helping her along while the camera was off. But still, I give the girl credit for doing the job. Most girls would want nothing to do with it.Call me skeptical ... maybe it's a well edited video with someone else doing the work and she just steps in for the 'right' shots.
Looking for insight on dealing with an old deck and balcony. It's pressure treated wood, several decades old. In 2016, it was painted and that paint has turned to powder and chips in the SoCal sun.
If we want to clean it up and varnish it instead, do we have to sand off the old paint completely, or can we just sand enough to get a rough surface?
We are looking to just get a decent water resistant barrier on it to prevent the wood from rotting.
Any tips or thoughts on it appreciated.
Edit to add: This guy's video fits with everything I know about doing a job like this. Do you fellow DIY'ers agree?
If we want to clean it up and varnish it instead, do we have to sand off the old paint completely, or can we just sand enough to get a rough surface?
We are looking to just get a decent water resistant barrier on it to prevent the wood from rotting.
Any tips or thoughts on it appreciated.
Edit to add: This guy's video fits with everything I know about doing a job like this. Do you fellow DIY'ers agree?
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Not being there I can’t say but is the paint weak enough to be removed with a power washer?
Another option is to remove the boards and flip them over. But this option would be more viable if the boards were screwed down vs nailed down.
JASCO used to make a Brush/Roll-On Paint Stripper. Everyone called it "Alien Blood". Nasty Stuff. But worked Great if you are looking to Remove all the Paint.
Are you looking to just Resurface so as to Repaint? Or are you looking to get to the Bare Wood to the Clear Coat? Or maybe Stain and then Clear Coat?
Agreed. A Power Washer powerful enough to remove paint from a Deck can be great way to to Damage a Wood Surface. And whatever time saved by using it can sometimes be Nullified by the time need to Fix Blow-Outs with Patch.
BTW - How Big of a Deck are we talking about?
And do you have Power Tools like a Belt and or an Orbital Sander? Shop-Vac?
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Pretty sure most of it is nailed down. There’s a fair amount of bowing into U-shaped warping on the balcony boards too.
I don’t have the actual square footage, but it’s a good 12 ft by 40-ish ft on the lower deck and narrower but longer on the upper balcony. No small task. We’d have to rent all but the Shop-Vac.
My position is that it’s too big a job for not so young people with demanding full time jobs. I wanted to confirm here that it’s not an easy thing you can do in a weekend or two.
You’d have to get to bare wood in order to stain and clear coat, right? Paint just isn’t going to last here. And CA restricts paint ingredients to where it’s basically colored water.
Before hiring someone, it helps to have an idea of what’s involved so we aren’t swindled into paying too much. But it’s no small job either.
It doesn't sound like you are going to tackle this job yourself but if you do wear gloves and a good respirator if you sand it. The old process of treating wood used a carcinogenic chemical referred to as CCA. You don't want to be breathing in that dust of having it come in contact with your skin.
And zoiDman is spot on ... aggressive power washing can damage the wood surface by raising the grain when it drys. The wood will have a fuzzy surface that then has to be sanded before staining of painting.
If the cost of wood hadn't skyrocketed it might have been more cost effective to replace the 20+ year old decking then refinishing it. Likely the wood grain of the old wood has opened up significantly and staining it won't get into all the nooks and crannies and you'll be redoing it again in a couple of years.
I tried refinishing a 20+ year old pressure treated deck and it only took a couple-few years before it was looking 'sorry' again. So bit the bullet and put all new decking and rails on the existing frame. Pay attention to the underside of the deck structure, you want to make sure that is still sound and in good shape before doing anything with the deck surface.
And zoiDman is spot on ... aggressive power washing can damage the wood surface by raising the grain when it drys. The wood will have a fuzzy surface that then has to be sanded before staining of painting.
If the cost of wood hadn't skyrocketed it might have been more cost effective to replace the 20+ year old decking then refinishing it. Likely the wood grain of the old wood has opened up significantly and staining it won't get into all the nooks and crannies and you'll be redoing it again in a couple of years.
I tried refinishing a 20+ year old pressure treated deck and it only took a couple-few years before it was looking 'sorry' again. So bit the bullet and put all new decking and rails on the existing frame. Pay attention to the underside of the deck structure, you want to make sure that is still sound and in good shape before doing anything with the deck surface.
I built my deck about 20 years ago and it's CCA wood. It has held up really well but I learned the hard way about pressure washing. I have this rotary tip for my power washer that really roughed up the floor. Now I just use a deck wash and a gentler tip to wash it off. I really needed to put a new coat of stain on my deck but decided to wait until spring. It seems like I always do it in the fall and then after winter has come and gone it just doesn't look that good any more. I've had to replace a few floor boards over the years that had bad spots in them but none have ever rotted.
A rotary tip will definitely kill the wood surface. I use the 40 degree tip for power washing the deck and keep it a safe distance so as not to slice up the wood.
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