Projects
what is a hobby without the joy of maintenance/repairing yourself? In my opinion: Nothing! On this page you find very helpful information on projects I have done so far!
- Steinberger faceplate restoration
- to be continued…
Faceplate restoration
Steinberger GL/XL use attached faceplate that are interchangeable. I found an offer for a white faceplate with “4” pickup configuration that indeed needed some TLC.
In search for new designs, Steinberger tried out different things like this speckle design. However, it never made it into sale and lay around for decades with no use.
I saw the offer and said, this is a perfect restoration basis!
When I bought it, the black speckles were mostly gone, leaving white spots and grey shades that looked very ugly. To get it shiny again, it takes some serious sanding. Before staring, I did some research:
- Faceplates were also molded: The mold was covered with 1.) Mold release lacquer, 2.) Gelcoat, which is the white finish and 3.) with the composite material
- The gelcoat finish is only 0.1-0.2 mm depending of how much has been fine sanded off during production
Starting sanding with 600 grit did nothing at all. So I went down to 240 grit. But be very careful! The gelcoat is very thin and the the logo is just milled through the gelcoat, so the black composite layer is revealed.
You might consider using an open cell sanding grit. Whatever method you choose, go for wet sanding.
Once the ugly layer was removed, I instantly switched to 600, 800 and 1000 grit wet sanding. Take your time, be patient!
Sanding completed, get your automobile finish polish and bring it back to shine!
The small crack was glued perfectly with super glue. Thus, I did not do something about it. Trying to fill the small crack with white was out of the question. This might take a dentist’s eye to find the matching colour!
Getting everything back together. For a stock configuration you need:
- Original 3-button GL-Switch (important: not having this, means modifying your faceplate!)
- HazLabs v2 board (not mandatory)
- PUs: 1 x EMG 85 + 2 x EMG SA + mounting
- Cables, output jack, battery clip
Right before marriage: With the EMG connectors, you can easily change faceplates without soldering!
Perfect again!
