Kind of NGD

SHEPPARDB.

SHEPPARDB.

Well-known member
Bought this about a year ago for $100. Wasn't sure what it was at the time, but after researching the batch number, realized it was @ 1933 Gibson L00, that had been refinished, and was a bucket list guitar for me. It spent about a year with my luthier , and I picked it up last weekHe repaired several cracks, a neck reset, and regret with jumbo SS fret wire, new nut ,saddle, bridge pins. Thing is as light as a feather, has a beautiful tone, volume louder than most Dreads, and intonation is dead on. I am going to play and enjoy it for a couple of more weeks, then I will begin work on the finish myself. The plan is to get it back to the original Black with yellow orange burst, but will give it an aged look, rather than trying to make it look new. Will add a firebrand pickgaud as well. Still can't believe that I finally came across one of those deals that you read about, but never get. Just doesn't happen much these days with everyone having the ability to research instruments on line.1933 gibson L00.jpeg
 
Eric Malone said:
Wow. I wouldn't do anything to it at all. Enjoy it, play it. Looks fantastic.
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The thing is, I always wanted the Robert Johnson guitar, and now that I have it, it is really bothering me that it doesn’t look right. Definitely going to play and enjoy, but I am pretty handy with the paint, and have everything needed to make it look right, so I figure why not? Won’t change the way it sounds or plays, it will just make me like it all the more.
 
SHEPPARDB. said:
I am pretty handy with the paint, and have everything needed to make it look right, so I figure why not? Won’t change the way it sounds or plays, it will just make me like it all the more.
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Don’t do it!!
It will definitely change the sound. And not for the better.

The old finish is fully cured lacquer. All the solvents are gone and it’s pretty much ‘become one’ with the wood.

Spray new finish on there, and you’re destroying years of natural aging.

Ask any acoustic aficionado, and they’ll tell you that acoustic guitars sound better with age.
 
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RFR said:
Don’t do it!!
It will definitely change the sound. And not for the better.

The old finish is fully cured lacquer. All the solvents are gone and it’s pretty much ‘become one’ with the wood.

Spray new finish on there, and you’re destroying years of natural aging.

Ask any acoustic aficionado, and they’ll tell you that acoustic guitars sound better with age.
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The thing is, is this is not the original finish. This is a poor attempt at a refinish that someone did in the 80’s. They did at least use nitro cellulose lacquer. If anything, what I have planned is a very thin layer of Nitro. When I am complete it will be a lot less than what is presently on the guitar. It will by no means be piled up, or made to look shiney or new. Every time I pick it up, I am reminded of how someone along the way new so little about what they had, that they stripped the original finish and to perform an amateur refin on it. I really want it to look the part. This guitar is vintage and worth a few bucks, but it will never fall into the “ mint case queen “ category. It’s a player grade guitar. Pretty sure that if anything, once I complete, I am expecting the sound to open up even more. The present finish is piled up in all of the wrong places and very uneven. It was def a rookie job.
 
SHEPPARDB. said:
The thing is, is this is not the original finish. This is a poor attempt at a refinish that someone did in the 80’s. They did at least use nitro cellulose lacquer. If anything, what I have planned is a very thin layer of Nitro. When I am complete it will be a lot less than what is presently on the guitar. It will by no means be piled up, or made to look shiney or new. Every time I pick it up, I am reminded of how someone along the way new so little about what they had, that they stripped the original finish and to perform an amateur refin on it. I really want it to look the part. This guitar is vintage and worth a few bucks, but it will never fall into the “ mint case queen “ category. It’s a player grade guitar. Pretty sure that if anything, once I complete, I am expecting the sound to open up even more. The present finish is piled up in all of the wrong places and very uneven. It was def a rookie job.
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Also wanted to add that nitro never fully cures
Ujn Hunter said:
No! Paint effects the tone!*

I personally wouldn't paint anything... but obvs, it's your guitar and we don't see eye to eye on anything else anyway. ;)

*
reverb.com

Billy Corgan Claims a Guitar's Color Can Affect Its Tone

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman sparked some sonic controversy this week.
reverb.com reverb.com
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I would agree that paint affects tone. I do all of my guitars in Nitro cellulose lacquer and apply it very thin. Never had anything but improvement to the tone as a result. You would need to see this guitar in person to understand the need for refin. Very poorly done. Piled up in areas, while almost non existent in others. Also not the original finish. If it were doing anything to it would be out of the question. See as how someone that didn’t know what they were doing already crossed the Rubicon, I have no worries about it looking and sounding better once I refinish it correctly.
 
SHEPPARDB. said:
Also wanted to add that nitro never fully cures

I would agree that paint affects tone. I do all of my guitars in Nitro cellulose lacquer and apply it very thin. Never had anything but improvement to the tone as a result. You would need to see this guitar in person to understand the need for refin. Very poorly done. Piled up in areas, while almost non existent in others. Also not the original finish. If it were doing anything to it would be out of the question. See as how someone that didn’t know what they were doing already crossed the Rubicon, I have no worries about it looking and sounding better once I refinish it correctly.
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Nitrocellulose doesn't "cure". It's a resin dissolved in solvent. Once the solvent evaporates, the film is dry. As it ages, it can start to degrade, releasing nitrogen oxides, getting brittle and turning yellow. In worse cases, it releases nitric acid, which is the stuff that causes old tortoise shell pickguards to corrode the strings and pickups of old guitars. Eventually those pickguards will just fall apart.

Grades today are more stable than the stuff from the 30s and 40s, which is a good thing.
 
TalismanRich said:
Nitrocellulose doesn't "cure". It's a resin dissolved in solvent. Once the solvent evaporates, the film is dry. As it ages, it can start to degrade, releasing nitrogen oxides, getting brittle and turning yellow. In worse cases, it releases nitric acid, which is the stuff that causes old tortoise shell pickguards to corrode the strings and pickups of old guitars. Eventually those pickguards will just fall apart.

Grades today are more stable than the stuff from the 30s and 40s, which is a good thing.
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Yes, I am aware. The modern stuff does stop gassing off after 6 mos or so, but it never truly cures.
 
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