Sheepdog1969 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 On 8/30/2024 at 6:17 PM, RBSinTo said: Have you considered getting vinyl adhesive flames? They would be much easier to remove, and wouldn't require strong solvents to do so. A sign company could easily produce them at reasonable cost. RBSinTo I have some vinyl adhesive "flames" that I put on my "100 dollar wish bass", to make it look "cooler" for a Halloween jam last year. I can't currently find the name of the company I bought them from, but I would not order from them again anyway. The graphics were great, but they shipped them to me in an unprotected envelope, which got crushed and bent. This caused permanent creases in a least one of the "stickers". Additionally, based on experience, vinyl adhesive "stickers", when placed on nitrocellulose finishes, cause the sealed areas beneath them to "age" less, [for lack of better words]. A dear friend placed a small circular vinyl adhesive "sticker" of his band's logo on his new LP Custom Shop. He naturally assumed it would not hurt the finish, since there was no adhesive. 10 years later, when that band disbanded, her removed the vinyl adhesive "sticker" to find a comparatively "raised", perfectly round area beneath it, that remained smooth and glossy, where as the remaining exposed finished surfaces of the guitar had "shrunken"/thinned as it cured over the years, and it's glossy surface had begun to seemingly express hints of the wood grain beneath it's painted body. The vinyl material had been a barrier, preventing the nitrocellulose finish from oxidizing and naturally "off gassing"/properly curing. Since my bass is inexpensive, and more of a project piece to be "hot rodded", I am ok with this side effect, if it even occurs on non nitro finishes. But this issue could forever alter a quality Gibson when they are removed. They're are some listings for "wraps" with killer flame varieties, [like wraps for vehicles], that may help with this issue, since the entire finished area of the guitar's body would be encapsulated, rather than just the areas under each vinyl adhesive decal. [all covered areas would age equally]. Just something to consider. Interestingly, I have a 1987 Gibson SG Special in Ferrari red that came from the factory without a pick guard. I am the first and only owner of this SG, and it doesn't have a single scratch or mar from playing with a pick. [now I just jinxed myself, and I'll pick scratch it the next time I play it, lol] Personally, if I were to do what the OP wants to do with flames and no pick guard, I defiantly would have a pro pin striper/air brush artist lay down the flames, [on top of the base color/stain, and then encapsulate them, [and the base color], beneath multiple layers of clear, [especially where the p/g used to reside]. Just my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Sheepdog1969, I only suggested adhesive vinyl because in another life, I worked for a sign company, and am familiar with the material and its application. As for the original poster's intention, it is an idea I would never consider for any guitar whether expensive or not. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBr Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 7 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said: I have some vinyl adhesive "flames" that I put on my "100 dollar wish bass", to make it look "cooler" for a Halloween jam last year. I can't currently find the name of the company I bought them from, but I would not order from them again anyway. The graphics were great, but they shipped them to me in an unprotected envelope, which got crushed and bent. This caused permanent creases in a least one of the "stickers". Additionally, based on experience, vinyl adhesive "stickers", when placed on nitrocellulose finishes, cause the sealed areas beneath them to "age" less, [for lack of better words]. A dear friend placed a small circular vinyl adhesive "sticker" of his band's logo on his new LP Custom Shop. He naturally assumed it would not hurt the finish, since there was no adhesive. 10 years later, when that band disbanded, her removed the vinyl adhesive "sticker" to find a comparatively "raised", perfectly round area beneath it, that remained smooth and glossy, where as the remaining exposed finished surfaces of the guitar had "shrunken"/thinned as it cured over the years, and it's glossy surface had begun to seemingly express hints of the wood grain beneath it's painted body. The vinyl material had been a barrier, preventing the nitrocellulose finish from oxidizing and naturally "off gassing"/properly curing. Since my bass is inexpensive, and more of a project piece to be "hot rodded", I am ok with this side effect, if it even occurs on non nitro finishes. But this issue could forever alter a quality Gibson when they are removed. They're are some listings for "wraps" with killer flame varieties, [like wraps for vehicles], that may help with this issue, since the entire finished area of the guitar's body would be encapsulated, rather than just the areas under each vinyl adhesive decal. [all covered areas would age equally]. Just something to consider. Interestingly, I have a 1987 Gibson SG Special in Ferrari red that came from the factory without a pick guard. I am the first and only owner of this SG, and it doesn't have a single scratch or mar from playing with a pick. [now I just jinxed myself, and I'll pick scratch it the next time I play it, lol] Personally, if I were to do what the OP wants to do with flames and no pick guard, I defiantly would have a pro pin striper/air brush artist lay down the flames, [on top of the base color/stain, and then encapsulate them, [and the base color], beneath multiple layers of clear, [especially where the p/g used to reside]. Just my thoughts. 31 minutes ago, RBSinTo said: Sheepdog1969, I only suggested adhesive vinyl because in another life, I worked for a sign company, and am familiar with the material and its application. As for the original poster's intention, it is an idea I would never consider for any guitar whether expensive or not. RBSinTo Thx for your input, guys. Adhesive vinyl may be practical for some things but not something I would consider in this case. The guitar paint job and relic'ing project I'm planning is permanent and I'm very aware of that. Some people see it as a waste of time and money, I see it as an art piece which will keep changing over time. And not only do I get to look at it on a daily basis, I get to play and hear it too... let's see someone do that with a Banksy ;0) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Did you get it painted yet? I want to see the Flames. 🔥 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBr Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 1 minute ago, Larsongs said: Did you get it painted yet? I want to see the Flames. 🔥 Not yet, I will be meeting up with the artist at the end of the month. I will surely post some pics... if he allows me, I'd also like to shoot some vid footage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 6 minutes ago, FBr said: Not yet, I will be meeting up with the artist at the end of the month. I will surely post some pics... if he allows me, I'd also like to shoot some vid footage. I have 4 Gretsch Guitars. 3 are Terada built MIJ. I won’t alter them. But, I have an Orange Korean built Gretsch G-5120. I’ve been thinking of having Flames & some Pin Striping painted on that Guitar. Maybe a decal of a Blonde Bombshell too.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBr Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 2 minutes ago, Larsongs said: I have 4 Gretsch Guitars. 3 are Terada built MIJ. I won’t alter them. But, I have an Orange Korean built Gretsch G-5120. I’ve been thinking of having Flames & some Pin Striping painted on that Guitar. Maybe a decal of a Blonde Bombshell too.. That G5120 is screaming for some attention!!! Hell ya. Even though your MIJ (Terrada Factory) guitars are surely more expensive, I would bet you'd be grabbing for the 5120 even more "once it's truly yours". And considering you're located in So-Cal, man oh man, you're sitting in the mecca of pinstriping culture! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 That's kind of a tricky repair. I wonder what the pros do. I know you can't use superglue on nitro... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 12 minutes ago, badbluesplayer said: I know you can't use superglue on nitro... You can if you want to F up your guitar. When it’s yours you can do what you want to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBr Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 1 hour ago, badbluesplayer said: That's kind of a tricky repair. I wonder what the pros do. I know you can't use superglue on nitro... Thx for your input. Wood filler's my best bet and since the holes will be painted over by the pinstriping artist, it shouldn't be that tricky... the holes are tiny anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted September 11 Share Posted September 11 I don't know what was used to fill the holes but my 80's Fingerbone has filler where microswitches were. The hue is a close match but you can see where the holes were. A refinish sounds favourite. One (of many) reasons why I choose a Studio 339 was because it had no pickguard, hence no screw hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted 42 minutes ago Share Posted 42 minutes ago On 9/2/2024 at 3:07 PM, FBr said: Wood filler's my best bet and since the holes will be painted over by the pinstriping artist, it shouldn't be that tricky... the holes are tiny anyway. One thing I have found from past experiences with wood filler, is that it shrinks quite a bit over time, even when it is encapsulated in sealer. Every time I have used it on projects over the years in the bar business, [I have remodeled 3 bars and built my own from the ground up], I found it shrunk by at least 50% within a year, and I used it quite sparingly. It really does not take stain very well, although I never tried to paint over it. A friend said the shrinkage has to do with the alcohol and/or other volatile petro-chems used to keep it soft in the can prior to application, which evaporate over time after application. Despite being sure to allow it to "cure", as directed, before applying stain and sealer, it slowly would shrink for months there after. I never use it any more. Two part automotive "Bondo" is my "go to" now if the surface is going to be primed and painted. Just some food for thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted 12 minutes ago Share Posted 12 minutes ago (edited) I never realised SGs have so many holes! In the past I have just replaced the screws without the pick guard. It still looks better than holes. But that was just a couple of holes. It could be worse. I don't like pick guards on acoustics (I don't use picks with acoustics), and they those glue f-ers those on. Edited 11 minutes ago by merciful-evans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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