Inside The Grave Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Hi all, Recently purchased (partial exchange) a Les Paul Custom 2016. As you might know, that year the fretboard was made with Richlite which I'm ok with, however, the finish of the guitar was meant to be Wine Red, but it's actually some sort of Flamed Maple Red with a few black strikes on top of the flamed top. It has a few dings and would like to refinish/repaint it to a darker color. Have contacted one of the trusted luthiers around my city, he has done lots of work on several Les Pauls (headstock repairs, mods, repaints, etc) however he haven't repainted a "newer" Les Paul, the thing he's hesitating a bit (and so do I) is if the serial number and Gibson Custom logo in the back of the headstock is under the nitro or on top of the nitro. Based on your experience, do you think the serial and gibson custom logo can be kept if the nitro is getting removed ?, as the serial is not "stamped" as the Standard, Traditional, etc, I'm a bit worried it might be gone and will need to re-do it somehow. What are your thoughts/experiences ? Best Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Not familiar with the 2016 year, but I have a 2017 Custom Shop guitar and the serial number and logo seem to be under the clearcoat finish. Removing the finish (sanding) would certainly appear to also remove the number and the decal logo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 These questions are too stupid for a trusted professional to ask. Go with someone else, this guy has no idea what he’s doing A finisher/luthier should have an idea of how decals and sandpaper work before starting a business working on your guitar. It’s like if I open up a jiffy lube and tell my customer I need their help figuring out how to do an oil change on their Honda 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 I'm glad someone said it before I did. rct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01GT eibach Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Can we see pics of the "flamed maple red" of the 'before' finish, please? I get that it has some used mojo, but that sounds nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inside The Grave Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Hi all, Here's a picture of the guitar. I see what you are referring to. The luthier must know what to do regarding the decal and serial number, however (not trying to help him, but understanding what he told me) he have worked and repainted other models from other years (mostly older models) were he mentions it was easy to work with as there was no decal and the serial number is "punched", thus even if you remove the nitro and paint, the serial will stay, but for the "newer" (last 15+ years) Les Paul Customs, he haven't seen/worked on one with the Gibson Custom decal on the back of the headstock and the serial number "painted" instead of "punched". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inside The Grave Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 On 7/4/2021 at 10:50 AM, Twang Gang said: Not familiar with the 2016 year, but I have a 2017 Custom Shop guitar and the serial number and logo seem to be under the clearcoat finish. Removing the finish (sanding) would certainly appear to also remove the number and the decal logo. Hi, That's what I was thinking too, mmmm...., might just sell it as it is and buy another one then. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inside The Grave Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 4 hours ago, 01GT eibach said: Can we see pics of the "flamed maple red" of the 'before' finish, please? I get that it has some used mojo, but that sounds nice. Hi, Just uploaded a picture of the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 I think that's a great looking LP, I would not touch anything. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Ditto on leaving the guitar as it was made. Looks great… I’d invest that refin money into a new guitar along with the sale cash you get when you sell the guitar. A refin imho would be defacing the instrument in this particular case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01GT eibach Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 On 7/5/2021 at 5:57 PM, Inside The Grave said: Just uploaded a picture of the guitar. Yes, thank you. Wow ... unless there was something really hideous in person that is not readily seen in the pic, uh, that guitar looks great to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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