Refinishing 'faded' Gibson?

  • Thread starter Thread starter skullfxr
  • Start date Start date
skullfxr

skullfxr

Well-known member
I have one that Iove the sound and feel of, but I just don't dig how it looks. I have refinished a lot of guitars over time but TBH I have ZERO experience with Nitro.

Would I absolutely HAVE to use Nitro?

Can I use a normal grain filler? Or do I need something special? Do I have to go Nitro?

I want it to turn out well, but I am NOT quite expecting a professional flawless $500 refin.

I DO want to get the back of the neck to raw and seal with tung oil/tru oil, etc. So no worries about the lacquer on the back if the neck.

I am not sure what color, but it would be a solid color (maybe army green?) as far as the resale value, I don't give a fuck, I traded a guitar that I paid $350 for for the LP, so it's not like I am in deep. The hardware on it is fine.

What do you all think? It would be rattlecan but I have had good results.
 
Also I will not grain fill the back of the neck. I like the open pore/oil feel a lot.
 
Leave it alone if you like the sound of it.

The faded ones sound good because they have very little (or none?) grain filler and very thin finish. With grain fillers and poly finish it'll end up sounding more "dead".

Oil finish on mahogany neck isn't a great idea either if you want stability.
 
godgrinder":1x20374h said:
Leave it alone if you like the sound of it.

The faded ones sound good because they have very little (or none?) grain filler and very thin finish. With grain fillers and poly finish it'll end up sounding more "dead".

Oil finish on mahogany neck isn't a great idea either if you want stability.
Click to expand...

i am going to refinish it. i just don't like how it looks, it just looks uninspiring. tbh. its a really light brown and as dumb as it sounds, i just flat don't like the color. i will post a pic in a few minutes. it looks much lighter than any other faded brown gibson i have seen


i will lacquer the back of the neck if oil is a bad idea. i
 
You could sand it down to bare wood and stain it darker. Or just paint it. I had a brown faded Les Paul that I refinished. I sanded it down, primed it with 2K automotive primer to fill the grain. Sanded with 400 and painted with basecoat/clearcoat the same way you would do a car, and pretty much how most modern guitars are painted and it came out great.
6448638905_24f32609e2_c.jpg

6448650109_e5c3d3c4ef_c.jpg
 
I talked to a luthier friend (real, educated in lurhiery) and I have seen his work more than a few times and trust him. I gave him a buzz and I know what I need to do. So wish me luck!
 
I redid my faded SG. It was transparent red faded, I sanded down a bit, used grain filler (Does Reranch sell grain filler? It was either from them or Stew-Mac), sprayed with Reranch color, sprayed with clear nitro, and of course sanding in between. Turned out pretty good but wasn't perfect as I was still learning on this one. I'd assume you might need to sand off all of the existing finish to use something other than nitro, but I'd want someone who knows more to confirm.
 
godgrinder":fi907dbr said:
The faded ones sound good because they have very little (or none?) grain filler and very thin finish. With grain fillers and poly finish it'll end up sounding more "dead".
Click to expand...



i remember guys swearing by the faded standards years ago for this reason.
 
RaceU4her":1lvdh8qh said:
godgrinder":1lvdh8qh said:
The faded ones sound good because they have very little (or none?) grain filler and very thin finish. With grain fillers and poly finish it'll end up sounding more "dead".
Click to expand...



i remember guys swearing by the faded standards years ago for this reason.
Click to expand...
I removed the finish from a 1984 Charvel. It sounded good with the finish, but without it... :rock:

The first thing you'll notice with the finish removed, are the overtones. Note: If you're using an ass-load of preamp distortion, you may not dig that open/organic sound. By example, I once owned an awesome sounding Seagull 12 string acoustic w/unfinshied top. I decided to spray the top with a coat of nitro, and it ruined the sound! I left it that way for a couple of years, then removed the nitro... Once gone, the sound was back! Not as good as stock, but close enough.
 
Sanded bare, all the way. Neck is getting Walrus oiled.

The guitar will be grain filled and painted. Back of the headstock will be sealed and painted too.
 
Opted out of grain filler. Sanded bare, paint is done and cured, laquering clear today. It's turned out well so far.

I still am oiling the neck with Walrus oil. A luthier buddy of mine does that on his personal instruments, and I trust him on the walrus oil. He said hell no to Tung oil and Tru oil, but swears by the Walrus oil 100%.$9 after a coupon, I am going to give it a shot.
 
swamptrashstompboxes":2m3nyuni said:
AimYiFLl.jpg


there it is post lacquer
Click to expand...

Looks great! A friend of mine did the same to his BFG

00d0d_dV5ZhuCAGqA_0t20gl_600x450.jpg


It's a little greener in this photo, but it's military green. Can wait to see yours finished. I'm tempted to refinish my 50's tribute as a gold top.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top