Strat shielding and elec. upgrade

[SCREEM]

I ordered an upgrade kit from RS guitarworks for my Fender Japan 54RI, here it is with the hood open with crappy pots and an old tin pickguard shield, some good, some bad wire:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-042.jpg

I shielded it following kinmans instuctions:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-049.jpg

Here's the kit and shielding tape:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-043.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-054.jpg

[SCREEM]

done:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-055.jpg

took me 5 hours to complete, well worth the effort though, It brightened things up and killed some noise(not much) while adding a little more output....about $100 to do.

RS kit was expensive and they sure skimp on the cloth wire, most of the original wiring was not cloth, so I had just barely enough:rockon2:
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g176/SCREEMER123/strato54-027.jpg

[OverRide]

Looks good, I am doing the same project to my 60’s Mex Strat next week. Still waiting to get the POTS and shielding.

[SCREEM]

Looks good, I am doing the same project to my 60’s Mex Strat next week. Still waiting to get the POTS and shielding.

nice, make sure you solder all the shielding joints and leave a 1/4" around the pups unshielded, same with the cavity....a 1/4 from the top (roughly) unshielded, have fun/post pics:banana:

[Greenman]

nice, make sure you solder all the shielding joints and leave a 1/4" around the pups unshielded, same with the cavity....a 1/4 from the top (roughly) unshielded, have fun/post pics:banana:

Why do you leave a 1/4" from the top of the cavity unshielded?

[SCREEM]

Why do you leave a 1/4" from the top of the cavity unshielded?

I'm no expert, just recomended by a top pup maker.

http://www.kinman.com/html/toneWorkshop/perfectGuitar.htm#shieldingOlder

[mandocaster]

For shielding, I used nickel lacquer (http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/shielding.html) to great effect. Just mask off everything and spray the bejesus out of it, routs & pickguard.

[Greenman]

You folks might want to check out this article.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159191