Refinish Recommendations

[J-200 Koa]

I am looking for someone to refinish a recent Gibson SJ-200.  Here is the sad story:

A recent purchase turned sour when the guitar arrived and it was not in the condition described.  No where close.  Apparently, the previous owner had an issue with the soundhole controls staying attached inside the guitar.  A liberal dose of Super Glue secured the controls, as well as dripping all over parts of the top, bridge, and one place on the back.  Imagine small bird droppings on your guitar, only in clear.  My local luthier can't get it off and says it needs to be refinished.  

The guitar has amazing flamed maple and I want to get it looking as nice as it possible can.  I am looking for someone who can refinish the guitar and hopefully make all traces of the Super Glue disappear.  I know refinishing will de-value the guitar.  I don't care.  I know it will be expensive.  I just want this once gorgeous Gibson to be gorgeous again.

Any recommendations for first class refinishers/luthiers would be appreciated.

[Dave F]

A few years back I unknowingly had a hack replace the binding on a '66  Gretsch CG. I had to threaten legal action to get the guitar back after 19 months and it was a mess. There was gobs of super glue all around the binding.. Terry Steding of Cook Instrument Repair was able to remove the excess glue get it all trimmed up and touch it up. He did a great job and has a good local reputation around the Cincinnati area. His price was very reasonable.

[slimt]

is the glue on top of the finish? or did it seep into the clear?

[zombywoof]

None of my business but I am assuming you could not return the guitar.   You might not need a full refinish.  While you cannot use something like that superglue remover on a nitro finish, a skilled repair guy might be able to sand it off the drops and smears and then just do a bit of touch up.   A refinish on a newish guitar though will not initially hurt the value much but will end up boosting your investment in the instrument far beyond what it is worth on the market.   Personally I would just leave it and learn to love the guitar warts and all.

[Leonard McCoy]

This is a tough one.

Got pictures? Is it a sunburst finish?

I'd probably ship her off to Dan Erlewine or to Galloup Guitars (one of his colleagues) for refinish work.

[J-200 Koa]

I suspect it is worst case scenario:  through the finish in some spots.  Some is very thin, but there are a couple of "blobs" on the top.  Natural finish guitar.

Thanks to all for the recommendations.  I will contact those you mentioned and try to restore this lovely Sj-200.

[J185cat]

I have watched the online videos at StewMac of Dan Erlwine repairing a dent in a guitar with super glue and blending the finish. The results are very good.  So I think Leonard McCoys advice might be worth checking out.  I would only do a total refinish as a LAST resort.

[zombywoof]

Here is an example of what a skilled repair guy can do with a finish touch up.  In this case (a 1960 J200) the guitar had a second pickguard. The finish had been removed beneath it.  All you see now is a faint ghost line of where the pickguard sat.  

[Lars68]

Like pointed out above, superglue is used to repair guitar finishes. Can you feel the glue as bumps when running a finger over?

I have touched up finish marks using superglue myself. I took a razor blade and put tape over the edges on the sides, leaving a sharp edge only in the middle. By scraping with the razor blade over the glue drops, you can reduce the height of the drops until they equal the thickness of the tape. The rest can be polished down. 

Lars

 

[sbpark]

Seems a bit excessive to refinish the entire top for a few CA glue drips and dribbles. I'm sure there is a way to fix this to a satisfactory state, and even to the point where you can hardly notice the screw up without having to refinish the guitar. As a previous poster has mentioned, CA glue is used extensively in guitar repair and a skilled repair person should be able to scrape the existing flops down, then do some delicate sanding and finally buffing to get it to a good place. Pictures would really help.