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Topic: Mullen G2 Arm Pad Project & Vinyl Wrap Repair |
Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Posted 29 Feb 2020 2:33 pm |
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Hey all,
as some of you may recall about a year ago I decided to vinyl wrap my Mullen SD12 G2 ( https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=344361&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0). After finishing the job I was bummed that my arm pad obscured my favorite part of the pattern, the bright section in front of the keyhead.
I decided to someday trim down the arm pad length so I could uncover that part of the vinyl wrap. Then a few months ago I restored and vinyl wrapped a 70's BMI ( https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2847335&highlight=#2847335 ). One of the things I liked about it was the arm pad width was much smaller than my Mullen (probably about half the size) and still felt comfortable. I have chronic tendinitis and have to be very careful with the ergonomics of my arms when I play so an arm pad is an absolute must have. Anyway, besides planning to reduce the length of my arm pad I also planned to reduce the width so I could see even more of the vinyl wrap.
Well, someday was yesterday 
Since I was reducing both the length and width of the arm pad, I was able to reuse the black covering without having to staple over edges that had been stapled over originally. I was able to trim them off so I basically had a new piece of black material to work with. The ends of course are the biggest challenge to get right...but I figured out a way to trim out much of the extra edge material and fold them tight and as flat as possible. Also, when I shortened the BMI arm pad, it was filled with an unsecured foam strip that was very difficult to reshape properly. The Mullen, on the other hand had the foam glued to the wooden base. Like everything else about my Mullen, it made it much easier to work on! The arm pad turned out great and I'm really happy to have so much more of the vinyl wrap showing.
The next step of the project? You may notice the hole in the newly uncovered part of the deck by the keyhead. That was where the 3rd screw secured the edge of the original arm pad. There are also other areas of the vinyl that were "imprinted" by the staples and underside of the original arm pad and are now visible with a smaller pad. Also when I originally did the vinyl wrap, I used separate pieces for the arm pad deck and the back panel. The next step is to re-order the original vinyl wrap, seal the hole from the 3rd screw and replace the deck and back panel with a single new vinyl piece. Since I'm ordering the exact same dimensions and style of vinyl from the same vendor, it should match up perfectly to the sections I'm not replacing. Should be fun
I didn't think to take pix of the very beginning of the project so it picks up from after I'd completely removed the black cover and cut the arm pad to it's new size. First is a couple shots of the original arm pad before I began the resizing for reference.
I'll be sure to update this thread when I get the replacement vinyl and redo the pad and back surface. Likely sometime in the next 2 or 3 months. Meanwhile if anyone is thinking of trying this on their own PSG, PM me as I'm happy to get into the details and help however I can
_________________
Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2f0JOyiXpZyzNrvnJObliA
Last edited by Dennis Montgomery on 2 Apr 2020 2:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
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Posted 29 Feb 2020 5:41 pm
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Since you never have your hands up there where the key head is on the guitar, Except at string changing time. Why not place a piece of wood there with groves cut out to lay your bar, picks and tuning wrench. Even Vinyl coat it would look neat.
Here is an example I put on one of my guitars.
Just an idea of something to do with that blank space. You have space for 2 groves on that guitar. One for Do-Bro bar, One for your steel bar if you use both. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 1 Mar 2020 5:15 am
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| Bobby D. Jones wrote: |
Since you never have your hands up there where the key head is on the guitar, Except at string changing time. Why not place a piece of wood there with groves cut out to lay your bar, picks and tuning wrench. Even Vinyl coat it would look neat.
Here is an example I put on one of my guitars.
Just an idea of something to do with that blank space. You have space for 2 groves on that guitar. One for Do-Bro bar, One for your steel bar if you use both. |
That's a cool idea, but I think his intention is to uncover some of the top to get more of the wrap to show. Putting a block of wood there would cover it back up.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Posted 2 Apr 2020 2:50 pm Vinyl Wrap Repair Complete
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So today was the day to reapply a new vinyl wrap to the arm pad and back panels. I ordered the exact same dimensions and style as the original vinyl wrap. Found the right spot to cut that would be a match for the existing pattern and off we go!
The easy part was since I was only rewrapping the arm pad and back panel, I didn't have to remove difficult hardware, only the pad and tone controls. The hard part was applying the vinyl requires a lot of stretching so matching an existing pattern was tricky.
Overall I'm very happy with the result. It repaired the problems I had (a visible empty hole near the keyhead, a gap in the vinyl between the arm pad panel and the back panel and damage to the vinyl caused by the original larger arm pad now visible with the smaller arm pad).
Here's a few pix of the problem areas and repair process along the final result
This shows the vinyl gap between arm pad and back panel. Originally caused by using 2 separate pieces of vinyl, the fix was to stretch a single piece over both panels for a smooth transition.
This one shows the imprint of the staples and surface in the vinyl underneath the original arm pad. The smaller new arm pad exposed this area.
This one shows the hole near the keyhead (filled in with a dowel for the reapplication project). This was where the original larger arm pad was attached and now visible with the smaller pad.
Old vinyl removed...
Some shots of the new vinyl being applied...
All done!
Thanks to those who've followed this repair process. My goal in posting this in such detail is to help out others wanting to experiment with vinyl wrapping their own pedal steels. If anyone would like to go into more detail about how to do this, just PM me and I'll be happy to share what I've learned
_________________
Hear my latest album, "Celestial" featuring a combination of Mullen SD12 and Synthesizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhh6b_xXTx4&list=PLfXm8aXRTFz0x-Sxso0NWw493qAouK
Hear my album, "Armistice" featuring Fender 400 on every song:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2Pz_GXhvmjne7lPEtsplyW
Hear my Pedal Steel Only playlist featuring Mullen G2 SD12 on covers like Candyman, Wild Horses, Across the Universe & more...
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfXm8aXRTFz2f0JOyiXpZyzNrvnJObliA |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2020 5:10 am
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| Dennis, lovely job and it really makes the guitar appearance pop. Thanks for posting the process. Gives me some idea as to the nature of the task. |
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