The bridge was dissassembled and it's chrome parts and cap nuts soaked in an acidic bath for about an hour.  Well worn / softened 3M abrasive pad was then used to buff a finish into the chromed parts so they matched the guitar's other hardware much better than the bridge's original BRIGHT shiny sparkling new finish.

Also notice that the bridge and middle pickups now adjust all the way to the strings;  Accomplished by going back into the pickguard assembly and innocuously bending the pickup mount bar-tabs downward about 1/4".
After going over the entire guitar and a number of small adjustments and detailing improvements made after these pics were taken;  This Scorpion is now ready for stringing, final neck angle and bridge / neck / string alignment adjustments, pickup height / volumes balance set, and intonation set.  Although I had already bought all 4 volume knobs (which will revert to my parts bin), I subsequently found different knobs online that I think will look much better.  They were ordered last Thursday and shipped Express Mail ...so should arrive today or monday, likely just as the guitar's work is finished and ready for them.

Go to Next Page:  Stringing the Scorpion
PLEASE NOTE:  These webpages are under construction and their meanings incongruent until finished.
Compare the bridge's new finish with it's original finish so bright that the camera can't even register on it!
Finishing the neck gouge treatment:
Here is the neck gouge from the project's earlier pictures.
Here is how the layered coats are "dried" with botanical sun lamp between work periods.  Foil is to keep prolonged heat from saturating the neck.  The foiled neck will 'sink' the nominal heat applied to the repair spot.  NOTICE: This exposed paint repair spot can take up to 4 weeks to fully cure, so be aware that it is somewhat succeptible to being scarred by abrasion with hard objects, but probably reasonably sturdy to playing.  It will surely respond to "testing" it with a fingernail, so don't allow that temptation!
Here is the gouge painted over and camouflaged with faux checking etched in.  The faux checking is done by making impressions in the new paint with an exacto razor detailing knife.  Due to the unavoidable different age and sheen of the surrounding paint even after burnishing, ....camouflaging the repair is about all that can be done to hide it without applying an entire top coat to the neck, which would then make the neck not match the body.
It is quite difficult to see the repair due to the camouflaged checking;  But it is visible to a person who knows it's there and looks closely;  Otherwise it is rather invisible.  As good as could be reasonably done is much better than the original gouge ...both in apearance and in playing.
Here the camera detects the slightly different wavelength of light between the repair and surrounding paint, which would be pretty much what the repair would look like without the faux checking camouflage.
Here again the camera detects the slightly different wavelengths of light between the repair and surrounding paint.  The camera is much more apparant wavelength sensitive than the human eye is unless the eye is "told" to be more discerning.
After going over the entire guitar and a number of small adjustments and detailing improvements made after these pics were taken;  This Scorpion is now ready for stringing, final neck angle and bridge / neck / string alignment adjustments, pickup height / volumes balance set, and intonation set.  Although I had already bought all 4 volume knobs (which will revert to my parts bin), I subsequently found different knobs online that I think will look much better.  They were ordered last Thursday and shipped Express Mail ...so should arrive today or monday, likely just as the guitar's work is finished and ready for them.

Go to Next Page:  Stringing the Scorpion
Detailing the Bridge and neck gouge treatment:
The bridge was dissassembled and it's chrome parts and cap nuts soaked in an acidic bath for about an hour.  Well worn / softened 3M abrasive pad was then used to buff a finish into the chromed parts so they matched the guitar's other hardware much better than the bridge's original BRIGHT shiny sparkling new finish.

Also notice that the bridge and middle pickups now adjust all the way to the strings;  Accomplished by going back into the pickguard assembly and innocuously bending the pickup mount bar-tabs downward about 1/4".
Notice the bridge's height and hardware profile is now much lower / better than my original projected allowances.  And recently even the nut under the cap nut was found to be unneccessary and disposed of by shortening the front mount studs, allowing the cap nut to seat directly onto the bridge atop the race and lock washers as shown here.  The electronics plate holes have also now been flashed with washers to tidy them up.

Threading the dupler strings through the bottom of the bridge plate has been quite easy; A process I will provide that is nigh identical to any manner this bridge were mounted, even on the new Dano 12 strings.
This pic was taken before the pickup height was raised and bridge mounting nuts scheme lowered.