Look after your guitar!
The finish on most modern mass-produced guitars is pretty tough, with the possible exception of Gibson who continue to use a thin coat of nitrocellulose lacquer. However, accidents happen and sometimes you need to fix that ding!
Fixing dings
Remember that spot repairs will almost never be perfect. Some colours such as black stand a much better chance of a good match. I am able however to match most colours with a fair degree of accuracy.
Full refinish service
I used to offer a refinish service but please note that for various reasons I'm not going to be doing any more guitar refinishing for the forseeable future.
If you just want your guitar a different colour, I recommend you trade it in for one that colour.
Note! I would never recommend that anyone refinish or even repair the finish on a vintage instrument unless it has been previously molested. Destroying an original finish will harm the guitar's value in the vintage market.
Burns Nu-Sonic
This 1964 Burns Nu-Sonic was brought to me as a box of bits. The owner said that it had been painted in "B&Q polyurethane spray paint" and it was a nasty grey-green colour.
My task was to restore it to its former glory. It took a lot of hard work and a pickup rewind but I think it was worth it.
1957 Stratocaster
This genuine 1957 Stratocaster body was bought by a strat collector and formed the base for a rebuild using original parts.
1956 Les Paul Gold Top
This Les Paul came to me badly refinished in polyurethane varnish. I completely stripped it (apart from the area around the serial number) and refinished it in nitrocellulose lacquer, using the same bronze powder pigments that would have been used originally.
1961 Stratocaster
This 1961 Stratocaster has been owned by the same person since 1967. Unfortunately the previous owner did the buyer "a favour" by refinishing it in black! It is now Fiesta Red and is fitted with mostly reproduction parts (as it is intended to be played.) All the original parts are however retained and can be refitted at any time.
1966 Precision Bass
The body was received in stripped condition and the colours for the 3-tone sunburst were matched to what remained in the pickup cavity. The central yellow area, being semi-opaque is correct for the mid-sixties when Fender under CBS management were saving money by cutting out steps in the finishing process.
1967 Fender Mustang
This was a complete refinish in Olympic White. A tinted clear coat was sprayed to mimic aged lacquer.
Vintage White Les Paul Junior
I finished this scratch-built Les Paul Junior copy that I made in Vintage White.
Cherry Red Epiphone Coronet
This was a complete refinish in Cherry Red.
Cherry Red Gibson EBO
Another complete refinish in Cherry Red.
Daphne Blue Stratocaster
This is a modern Fender Highway 1 Stratocaster that was changed from "hearing-aid beige" to Daphne Blue.
Foam Green Telecaster
This is scratch-built Telecaster in Foam Green. I think that the torty pickguard sets it off beautifully!
Shell Pink Stratocaster
This modern Fender Stratocaster was originally black but the owner has a thing about pink. Here is the result.
White Blonde Esquire
A re-creation of Fender's white blonde of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Butterscotch Blonde Telecaster
A re-creation of Fender's butterscotch blonde of the early 1950s. This uses the same blonde lacquer as above but with a tinted clear coat to give the butterscotch colour.
Sunburst Esquire
A re-creation of Fender's 3 colour sunburst.
Sonic Blue Telecaster
A Squier Telecaster body being refinished in Sonic Blue.
Lake Placid Blue Stratocaster
This was refinished by a customer. It's a Mexican Fender Stratocaster body with WD Music Products neck.
Simon writes:
My "Frankenstrat" finished with your nitro laquer. Started out as just a MIM body I'd picked up on ebay for 30 quid which some guy had stripped with a blowlamp (and probably an axe it looks like!)
Anyway - your stuff is great as you can see - couldn't have done it without you! Thanks a lot - don't stop selling it, I'm sure I'll need some again in the future.
Before
After
Surf Green Duo-Sonic
This was also refinished by a customer. It's a mid 90s Mexican Fender DuoSonic re-issue with a 22" short scale neck.
David writes:
Results are great! Again I thank you for the paint - clearly excellent quality, and for the advice both on your web site and via email - invaluable. There is no way I could of achieved these results without your help, cheers!
Finish Repair
A customer had had an accident with his Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 5-string bass. He had dropped it and knocked a large piece of the finish off the lower edge of the guitar. I filled the damage with matching lacquer so that the damage was no longer noticeable.
Here is a similar repair to a tobacco sunburst Gibson L6-S. The ding was through the lacquer and into the wood. This colour took a while to get right but I was very pleased with the results
Can you see the join?