Guitar Of The Month – June, 2024

Congratulations goes out to Darryl Ens for his guitar build, to earn him Guitar of the Month for June 2024.

Darryl used our TCK-1-SD kit as the basis to create his guitar.

“I have always been fascinated with Joe Strummer’s actual 1966 telecaster. Throughout the years Fender has made 2 versions in Mexico but I have always felt that they were visually not quite close enough to Joe’s real guitar. In May of this year Fender released a Master built limited-edition custom Shop version for approximately $20,000US and I was blown away by the detail in it. I heard they used 3D computer scanning to try to replicate each and every mark as closely as possible to Joe’s original. Fender said it was one of the hardest guitars that they have ever tried to replicate. So I decided to buy a Solo guitar kit and try my hand at it. I have done abstract paintings for years in many different mediums and I have also put together numerous guitars. I have used all the normal methods of spraying guitars with nitro lacquers and polys and the usual methods of aging metals. For this guitar though, in order to replicate the rust in all the right spots and the many layers of paint, I knew that I probably needed my art skills more then my guitar build skills. It’s kind of funny if you think about it, we buy guitar kits to make beautiful looking guitars and here I am trying to make what some would say is a really worn out, ugly guitar.

The first thing that i did was to make sure that the body and the neck fit together well and they did. I am always amazed at Solo’s kits and the great job they do and at such reasonable prices! I wanted to use basically just this kit but I did also buy 2 flat top knobs, a white pickguard, a extra string tree and brass saddles for this build. I thought about getting a different bridge and drilling the string through body holes like Joe’s but I have always wanted to try a top loader bridge and so I kept it. I did change the saddles to brass as a personal preference though.

Next I sanded the sealer off of the body. I used a combination of Saman wood stains and Angelus dyes and also some water colors to create the first sunburst look finish. You do not have to finish the entire body but just the parts that will show outside of the grey and black paint colors. The nice thing about Saman wood stains is that they don’t raise the grain where as other products will. So with sponges and some trial and error I eventually got a look that was very close to Joe’s guitar. There are two difficult parts though. One, is you are not just trying to make a sunburst finish but you are trying to make a sunburst finish in the exact shades of Joe’s old guitar. The other hard part is trying to create the worn finish edges like Joe’s. Once you have the colors as close as possible you can lightly sand your work. I then applied 2 coats of a thin rub-on poly clear coat over top of just the sunburst finish. The reason for this is so that you can scrape the grey and black paints away without damaging the sunburst.

After each clear coat dried I again did a light sanding with very fine sandpaper. Then I started the grey paint. While thinking of how I was going to make this guitar I realized that spraying the body in a grey lacquer or a poly finish would probably make it difficult for me to peel back the paint to expose the sunburst stain under it. So I decided to use a “soft” acrylic paint. This type of acrylic paint can easily be scraped away. So I used a small roller and I applied 2 thin coats. I only applied the grey color in the areas where it was needed. I did not do the entire body. I again sanded in between each coat and then I started to scrape away at edges where I needed the sunburst to show. When I was finished I sanded it all and then applied a rub on clear coat over the grey color. Next came the black paint, following the same procedures as the grey. Once this was all done I set out to slowly scrape and pick away at all the paint colors, taking it one very small section at a time. This was an extremely meticulous process because I tried very hard to create pretty much all the marks that I could see on Fender’s guitar. In some cases I had to add in marks with paint colors too. Then there were very small spots where i added some brown dye. Be careful to test the dyes on a scrap piece of wood before using it on your guitar. Sometimes you need to water them down a bit too. I used the dye in areas on the grey paint and also on areas of the bare wood. After everything was done I did a few rub on poly clear coats to the entire body while sanding in between and after.

For the neck I again didn’t want to spray it with a “harder” paint because I knew it would be really difficult to create all the exact wear marks after. So I mixed up some soft acrylics till I got the color that was very close to the one i needed and I rubbed it on the neck in certain spots with a sponge. After it was dry, I scraped it back in the spots I needed. I also made dent marks in the headstock that were in the same places as Joe’s guitar. Then I used a brown dye on the scrapes and marks so that they stand out more. After I again sanded with fine sandpaper and then after applying a head stock decal I applied a few rub-on poly clear coats. After which I sanded the entire neck with a fine sandpaper.

For the pickguard I applied an acrylic grey paint in parts and then a black paint. After I again used the same scraping techniques as I had on the body/neck. On the white parts I added some brown leather dye in tiny parts just to give it a older look. When the pickguard was done I again applied a few clear coats.

In looking at the photos of Fender’s custom shop guitar and seeing all the rust on the bridge and control plate etc, I realized for me to get that amount of rust in those exact spots was going to be very difficult especially being that the parts were a plated chrome. So I did something really different and in the end it worked out visually exceptionally well. I sanded the chrome a bit first and then I applied wood glue with sponges to the chrome. When the wood glue dries it creates a dull uneven look to the chrome. I then took pieces of sandpaper and scraped the sand off of them.. I then added the sand to the wood glue and applied it in the areas that needed the most rust. After it was dry I used different shades of acrylic browns and oranges to paint over the sand. For the input jack plate I mixed greys, whites and black paints in with the wood glue to create the heavily aged look. On the screws i used some brown dyes and paints. When all the metal parts were finished and looked how i wanted i added a poly clear coat to them also. People who build relic guitars use salt, vinegar and acids etc to create rust and wear on metal and so have I but for this build in-order to create the exact look I needed I went a different route.

In the end I wanted to make the set list that was on the side of Joe’s guitar. Unfortunately I could not find any really clear pictures of it. So I made one as close as I could from what I saw and I even added the curled up tape on the left corner. For the body stickers I actually hand painted those on paper and then used poly to clear over them. I had problems finding pictures of the side edges of Joe’s guitar and so I ended up painting the sides how I wanted. I then assembled everything, cut the nut and set up the guitar. The guitar is very lively and resonant and I love it! If you want to compare mine to Fender’s custom shop one you can and then you can see how well I did or did not do! This was the most unique, difficult guitar I have personally ever tried to put together but hopefully it lets you know that you can also do this! It just takes time and some determination!

Thanks so much to Solo music for this great kit!”

-Darryl Ens