I received this shell of a Kay about a year ago from a friend who literally rescued it from the dumpster.
I thought it might make for a fun project. I already had an old Teisco pickguard assembly on hand & the goldfoil pups looked to be the right height for surface mounting.
The slopped on stain sanded off fairly easy.
The tuner holes were really boogered up, so I protected the replacement tuners with wax paper & packed in some wood filler.
I laid clear notebook divider on the body & drew a pickguard & control plate design to be used as a template. Note all the holes I had to plug with toothpicks & kitchen matches.
I opted to patch the hole in the body with a maple plug & hide glue.
I used mandolin kerfling to support the patch.
All patched up with newly cut plexi-glass pickguard & brass control plate.
I decided to dye the fretboard black & the guitar green.
Now comes the Tru-oil!
All of the electronics get transferred from the old Teisco assembly. I do opt for new knobs & a tailpiece from guitarfetish.
The beginning of a headstock badge. It needs something else, but the tortoise shell does kind of match the dot inlays on the fretboard.
The plexiglass pickguard has been painted black on the back.
I think that badge needs a little bit of brass.
I do believe it's coming together.
My new girlfriend - Miss Kay Frankenteisco.