Nitro blemish on a vintage Gibson - value?

[neatomic]

there are solvents that will soften nitro...naptha is the most harmless...tho with heat..either by vigorous rubbing or with a heat gun/blowdryer can be effective...the idea is to smoothe rather than remove!! hah

cheers

[Marty Grass]

[wintermoon]

Yup MG, that's his other pearl inlaid L5

[omphalopsychos]

So what I’m hearing is I should find some more alphabet decals and fill in the markings so that it reads “JIMMY RANEY”.

[neatomic]

So what I’m hearing is I should find some more alphabet decals and fill in the markings so that it reads “JIMMY RANEY”.

haha.that"s it..tho i'd settle for billy bean or teddy bunn!!

cheers

[Max405]

I *personally* would, too. However it's the position of the majority (or at least the influential minority) that sets prices. Disagreeing with prices can work in your favor. The problem is, arbitrage strategies carry higher risk.


Anyway. Spoke to the seller and they were reasonable. Deal made. NGD.

I can’t wait for this..
Congratulations Omph.

[Gabor]

In the context of price negotiation I do understand why are letter marks a topic. Otherwise I really don’t. Although I really can not afford such instruments, I think there are way more important differences between identical models even from close years, play wise, tone wise, and is general mojo wise.

It is the part of the instrument, accept it, and respect its history. Otherwise the thoughts about the intrusive repairs on many Stradivarius is a good one...

[Jabberwocky]

It was at the very height of the I HEART NY movement. It is the secret rune engraved on every magic instrument.

Not objectionable to me.

[Easy2grasp]

haha.that"s it..tho i'd settle for billy bean or teddy bunn!!

cheers

Can't be Biily's. I am blessed to have his '64 ES-175 SP!

[Tal_175]

Can't be Biily's. I am blessed to have his '64 ES-175 SP!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! You moved the neck pickup???

I love it.

[Tal_175]

I like it when people mod their guitars to their personal preferences, rather then feel like they have to live with one size fits all factory specs.

[Bezoeker]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! You moved the neck pickup???

I love it.

Wow, perfect. Made the guitar actually work for you. The perfect 175.

And an axe next to it with big ugly tape over the f-hole. Guitars ready to make actual music noises!

And to the OP:

Definitely do not follow the enthusiastic, but ultimately “amateur-night” comments here about solvents and the finish on the guitar in question. Yes, it can be fixed if it is important to you, but get someone who has messed with old and new lacquer. Do not start wiping and hoping to “heat” the problem away.

Ah the interweb...

[omphalopsychos]

Definitely do not follow the enthusiastic, but ultimately “amateur-night” comments here about solvents and the finish on the guitar in question. Yes, it can be fixed if it is important to you, but get someone who has messed with old and new lacquer. Do not start wiping and hoping to “heat” the problem away.

Ah the interweb...

Too late although I did come up with a better solution. I didn't have naphtha so I just rubbed acetone over the letters and replaced them with "JIMMY PAGE" using a safety pin. I accidentally got some blood in there but it looks authentic. I also went ahead and moved the neck pickup and added a strat middle pickup to make it work better for me.

[Bezoeker]

Too late although I did come up with a better solution. I didn't have naphtha so I just rubbed acetone over the letters and replaced them with "JIMMY PAGE" using a safety pin. I accidentally got some blood in there but it looks authentic. I also went ahead and moved the neck pickup and added a strat middle pickup to make it work better for me.

Naptha, Acetone, the same thing really... I read that on a web forum, so it must be accurate.

What blood type? I mean some blood types are more “musical” than others.

[omphalopsychos]

I take it back. The correct name to etch in this guitar would be Izzy Stradlin.

[neatomic]

been workin on guitars since the 70's bud....and come from long line of carpenters...naptha has been used for decades cleaning nitro

and there are solvents that will melt nitro, and why i didn't mention using them!

so take your "amateur night" comments to the expensive luthier of your choice and pay big $$$ to have him use naptha on it!!

cheers

ps- its a 1950's guitar with nitro on it..not some prehistoric artifact..its been spit on, bled on, sweated on, spilled beer on, smoked on and god knows what else...silicon polished most likely too

[Tal_175]

I think most people understand how to benefit from discussions on an internet forum. Some degree of common sense and discretion is required.

If you read a comment about applying naphtha on lacquer to fix a blemish, and just run and get naphtha and do it, the blemishes on your guitar are probably the least of your problems.

Suggestions on internet forums are very valuable resource but they are a starting point of further research for reasonable people. I learned great many things on forums. The ideas stated above can be good. Just needs further research.

Also let's not forget that for all you know those who tell you to ignore the ideas and discredit them as internet noise are potentially equally unreliable interweb speculations as the original ideas until further research.

[neatomic]

was never instructing ompha to do anything...other than to use it as a haggling point...just merely stating there are workarounds to a finish problem!!...i assume we are all grown ups who can decide what we can and cannot do on our own!

cheers

[wintermoon]

Likewise Neatomic, professional woodworking since I'm a youngin and my folks before me, plus guitars for a very long time.
But hey, folks posting in a forum can't possibly know what they're talking about. Long live amateur night interwebz posters!
Carry on....

[omphalopsychos]

I’ll let y’all get back to bickering in a sec but I hope you’ll tolerate a short tangent.



For the record I think neatomic is a pretty sane person with good judgment. But also I’m not gonna touch the finish.

[neatomic]

For the record I think neatomic is a pretty sane person with good judgment.

now i'm worried!!! haha...still like the couch..

congrats on the guitar! hope you haggled well

cheers

[Max405]

MG, that is a GREAT picture of one classy man.
JD

[Max405]

I’ll let y’all get back to bickering in a sec but I hope you’ll tolerate a short tangent.



For the record I think neatomic is a pretty sane person with good judgment. But also I’m not gonna touch the finish.

Now THAT is a beauty.
It brings to mind..
When I was young, dumb and full of.. well ok..
I grew up on a 53, in 1971. I always thought the newer “ Humbucker” pickups were going to stop the “hum” you got when you turned up the amp too loud. Then I amassed enough paper route money and bought an imitation Ibanez Les Paul with those “Hum-buckers”on it and viola, no hum! Needless to say, I thought the “hum” was actually the feedback. But I lusted after a later model 175 like yours ever since I can remember.
Enjoy that beautiful guitar Omph, and make it tell you all of its great stories.
Joe D

[Dedalus]

I’ll let y’all get back to bickering in a sec but I hope you’ll tolerate a short tangent.



For the record I think neatomic is a pretty sane person with good judgment. But also I’m not gonna touch the finish.

Doesn’t need to be touched. Beautiful.
Congratulations again.

[Marty Grass]

Doesn’t need to be touched. Beautiful.
Congratulations again.

I agree with leaving good enough alone. I started out not knowing the difference and having a high tolerance for wear and imperfections. It's only in the last 12-15 years I was conditioned to care. Looking back, this was largely due to the influence of the famous Patrick (RIP), who was a 3rd degree black belt perfectionist when it came to guitars. I not only noticed more flaws, but they bothered me. I wish I could say I'm cured, but I'm not. I'm only in semi-remission I fear. As proof I've been primarily playing an older archtop riddled with checking. The more I play, the less I see the checking.

I'm certainly not a luthier, but I've seen some of the best in action. And I do have naptha and can use it. DO NOT confuse this with acetone.

Pete Moreno does some very good finish work. He has gallon bottles of original Gibson finish that he got when Gibson left town. He can blend finishes as well as I've ever seen for matching existing Gibson and Heritage finishes. But he's been at it for well over 50 years. I have two guitars with him now to touch up. When those are done I have one more to sweat a couple of dings out. Then I believe I might be done. Pete is just about 80, so I don't know how much longer he'll be working full time.

Aaron Cowles (RIP) was also very talented but more direct. Several times I brought him work only for him to tell me that this is something I should be able to do myself. He'd tell me how and ask me to bring it back to him if I fail.

So, yes I'm rambling. I'll summarize what my points are.

1. Guitars are objects of beauty as well as instruments.
2. When you are really playing one, it is only an instrument. Cosmetic flaws disappear.
3. Don't be afraid to push your limits in doing your own repair and adjustment work, as long as you don't mind risking doing damage. You will screw up while learning, especially with a file.
4. If it is above your skill level and must be done well, have the best guy you can find do it but insist on learning from him or her. Most luthiers are proud of their work and don't mind giving brief explanations.
5. Working on a guitar is probably one of the best ways to bond with it. Don't start on valuable ones though.
6. Most importantly, have fun.