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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Oct 7, 2018 18:00:40 GMT -7
So take a day and give her a very thorough clean up, set up, and maintenance. Think of it as a spa day for the axe. It may re-spark your interest in the axe as-is. A solid clean and polish can do wonders.
Maybe even new nut, bridge and pickups 😏
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Oct 8, 2018 4:17:06 GMT -7
So take a day and give her a very thorough clean up, set up, and maintenance. Think of it as a spa day for the axe. It may re-spark your interest in the axe as-is. A solid clean and polish can do wonders. Maybe even new nut, bridge and pickups 😏 Then take the money you saved by not refinishing it and buy it a new pedal or a stable mate...or the aforementioned pickups.
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Post by brendanp on Oct 8, 2018 5:39:28 GMT -7
An aged white Les Paul Custom that's turned yellow is, to me, one of the most beautiful things in all of guitardom. Yours is just starting to get there.
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Post by limenine on Oct 8, 2018 15:03:25 GMT -7
I remember the original "Old Ugly" thread, and if I didn't say how much I liked that guitar then, I'll say it now: I really like that guitar! Another vote for keeping it like it is!
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Post by Rockerfeller on Oct 8, 2018 16:38:14 GMT -7
Rather than re-finish it, sell it to someone and then go get the one you want.
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Post by Ridgeback on Oct 8, 2018 17:38:54 GMT -7
Antigua. (Just kidding) It's a wonderful looking guitar just as it is.
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Post by nicholas on Oct 9, 2018 12:42:01 GMT -7
I might put a floyd rose on it and really flip you guys out
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Post by purpletele on Oct 9, 2018 12:51:20 GMT -7
I might put a floyd rose on it and really flip you guts out Recess it into the body and put a D-Tuna on it
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Post by nicholas on Oct 9, 2018 14:14:42 GMT -7
I might put a floyd rose on it and really flip you guts out Recess it into the body and put a D-Tuna on it Maybe router a battery cavity into it for the EMG's?
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Post by KeithA on Oct 9, 2018 14:27:35 GMT -7
I think you should build your own set neck! Talk about stirring the pot 😉
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Oct 9, 2018 14:46:30 GMT -7
One thing that might help even out the yellowing is to take her out for some sunbathing. Don’t think they mixed in any UV protection into the Nitro, so that might accelerate the aging process. Lots of back and forth on the internet about it.
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Post by John E. on Oct 10, 2018 8:14:49 GMT -7
While I agree that Ebony Custom's are gorgeous (and wine red are on another level ) I've personally always loved white guitars in general. Just think of all the hours you've put into playing that guitar and how well it's broken in. Now imagine having to do that ALLL over again LOL. I've considered re-finishing my Lester a few times since I got it when I was 14 and had no regard for keeping things looking somewhat nice. Left it in my truck one winter night, ice storm blew in, no power for 3 days, 2 inches of ice glazed over EVERYTHING, couldn't walk outside without slipping and busting your a**. When the ice thawed, took the guitar inside, immediately took it out of the case and sat by the fire to play it (I thought the cold would cause the wood to become fragile ), almost instantly the finish checked BAD. Since then, the finish has chipped off in several places and it just kinda looks weird under stage lighting. TLDR; I wouldn't refinish it cause every ding, chip, check, and scratch tells a small story, and refinishing it would be like erasing those stories. That's just me though!
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Post by mickey on Oct 11, 2018 0:21:55 GMT -7
Another vote for NO!
Old guitars have an aura about them. Yours has taken over 30 years to get there, don't undo that!!
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Post by nicholas on Oct 11, 2018 14:07:56 GMT -7
So take a day and give her a very thorough clean up, set up, and maintenance. Think of it as a spa day for the axe. It may re-spark your interest in the axe as-is. A solid clean and polish can do wonders. Maybe even new nut, bridge and pickups 😏 This is closest to what happened. So I think what bugged me the most was how it started getting splotchy. This is my fault, I've found wearing any long sleeved shirt other than white cotton is bad news for it. It was pretty splotchy and just looked dirty. So it began to be played less and less until it started this whole idea to rejuvenate old ugly. Some of the posts were very helpful. Things that I didn't consider, or forgot about were possible shipping damage, and a sticky finish on the neck. I've experienced the sticky neck on several nitro finished guitars. No fun. Sometimes it takes years to go away. I went for the spa day treatment approach. However, it was more intrusive. The stains were deep. No way naphtha or any cleaning was going to make it any better. I've tried many times. I disassembled the guitar completely and gave the finish a thorough wet sanding. I used micro mesh abrasives, starting with 1800 and going to 12,000. 8 various grits in all. Followed up with 3m machine polish to a "vintage gloss". It was fun, and brought back so many memories. Mostly of when this guitar was my most prized possession in the world. While the wet sanding in some ways erased a bit of the past, I was carefull to not get carried away. I never got through the clear coat and just took my time taking many breaks over the last few days. It came out awesome! The finish still has most of the yellowing, but the splotchy stains which are what was bugging me are gone for the most part. I also used the micro mesh to clean the ebony board with spectacular results and gave it a little treatment oil. I polished the frets and cleaned a scratchy pot. Some new strings, a reassemble and set up and it's back to rocking. I'm super pleased with it. Should be good for another 30 years now.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Oct 11, 2018 14:15:48 GMT -7
WOW!! Now you’re talkin. She looks amazing. You did the right thing, for sure.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2018 14:35:07 GMT -7
I’m with the leave it as is group. That’s frigin cool!
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Post by KeithA on Oct 11, 2018 15:06:22 GMT -7
Guitar looks great. So does the Bogner 😎
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Oct 11, 2018 16:16:54 GMT -7
Oh hell yeah!👍
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Post by detuned on Oct 11, 2018 19:16:30 GMT -7
So I was *going* to say that it's your guitar, paint it if you want.
But that looks awesome - glad you're happy with the results.
These are just tools, IMO. If it makes you happy to paint it, mod it, or whatever, go for it. Unless you have a museum piece, it's just another hammer...
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Post by mickey on Oct 12, 2018 0:06:36 GMT -7
That's a great result, the right way to go IMO, and she looks awesome!
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Post by brendanp on Oct 12, 2018 0:54:30 GMT -7
Beautiful
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Post by Russell B on Oct 12, 2018 5:29:24 GMT -7
It looks great!
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