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Wet Sanding 1961 L-48


carl in la

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Hi all:

 

The New-To-Me L-48 is a 1961 model and apparently had never had any finish repair. Even though it was listed on Guitar Center as a 4-star condition it had quite a few dings. Having polished guitars before, I decided to give the vintage Gibson the full treatment.

 

Will use links to my picasaweb page due to image size limitation of the board...

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/I3fyLSSkj88WjQYr-ZLLdIJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LrItjiwIdrykHsx1pmnLGoJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ic7j7iHtZBDqkan5ys3KRYJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZH1X6QOlfzCdaU-5KL9i0IJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RgOXFcPRMWM90BTJtel1TIJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7Ap5gLl74HhezIiQuyNekYJxjpxovtb3PT_0mSQphO8?feat=directlink

 

In retrospect I think I would have rated it a 3-star guitar rather than a four... even after the polishing the guitar still has dings and of course has the nitro finish checking that is inherent to older guitars... so three stars instead of four...

 

Hey - at least it is (really) shiny:)

 

BTW - is a 1961 L-48 a "rare and collectable" Gibson? Am I posting in the wrong forum?

 

Carl

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Next guitar that gets the treatment will get nail polish... the CY was very hard to sand - and I was constantly worried about digging into the surrounding nitro during sanding of the CY...

 

It worked - but it was stressful...

 

Carl

 

You could use clear nail polish to fill those gaps in the finish.

Most are nitro lacquer and are easier to work with than CYA glue.

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Hi all:

 

 

BTW - is a 1961 L-48 a "rare and collectable" Gibson? Am I posting in the wrong forum?

 

Carl

 

 

No. It is considered a basic, entry-level archtop, with a collectability rating of around D to D-.

 

Unfortunately, the Gibson archtop market seems to be pretty dormant right now.

 

Play it and enjoy it.

 

Nice polishing job. This is always risky on an old nitro finish, as it is really easy to burn through the finish.

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