Help with a Bigsby

[lpfan]

I found a Bigsby on craigslist for 60 and the guy wants another 20 to drop it off because its so far away. I'm ok with that but I wanted the silver Bigsby and this one is black. I have never seen a bigsby in person so I don't know if its possible to remove the black paint with paint stripper and then polish the bigsby to bring back the shine. Has anyone done this before? If it can be done, do I need to disassemble the bigsby? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[wedgeSG]

I think it could be done but can't say for sure so let's approach it like this... Call Bigsby customer

service, find out if it is or isn't powder coat first. According to a friend of mine that runs a pro-

fessional powdercoating business the stuff will come off with stripper. I've tried this several

times- it will need to be a SERIOUS stripper! My friend states the trick to it is use something

heavy bodied, slather it on really thick and put the whole mess into a heavy plastic bag to keep

it wet for a few days: this method I've yet to try. If the black happens to be an annodise of

some sort it's likely that Easy Off Oven Cleaner will remove it - (this process is also used to start

refinish of blued gun barrels) - Soak it with EasyOff let set 45 to 60 seconds, (scrubbing with soft

bristle brush helpful during this time), rinse thoughly repete as necessary. Expect to follow suit,

in this reguard with the stripper on the powdercoating. Once you get the coating off hopefully

you'll find a already polished surface that just needs some brightening up at this point. I strongly

advocate the use of Mothers Power Metal polish for this: it's simply some of the best metal polish

I've ever used. Use a small cotton buffing wheel or taper on a medium speed Dremel and it'll go

pretty quick from there. There will be some areas that will require some hand work but most of it

is available to polish with the small Dremel setup mentioned. I generally finish up with a nice hand

applied, go over with Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish just in case I missed something, to bring

out a tad more clarity, and add a bit of protection. After all of this you might want to refill in the

logo relief with a bit of paint. I like OneShot pinstriping enamel for this but Testors will work too.

Use a small pointed brush, be as neat as you can, but if it goes beyond where you want, just wipe

it back to sharp with a piece of thinner dampened cotton bedsheet type material. Fold it over a time

or two to make a point or pad or edge, whatever you need to remove the wet paint back to where

you want it to be. Trying to be surgeon perfect will drive you nuts, get close, and correct it. BE SURE

to hit the area to be paint detailed with some naptha or acetone prior to painting for best adhesion.

You don't want to go to all this trouble and give it less of the best possible shot for it staying put. If

needed this area can be gently rubbed back up to shine with a dab of Mag and Aluminum polish after

a few days and the paint has had time to throughly cure out. I did my Epi Vibrola like this and many

have asked where I found a NOS part. It wasn't stripped though: it was an original polished part

that had oxidized to where it had turned nearly a uniform dark gray overall. Good luck with it, and if

you have any questions about this I'll try to help out as best as I can....

 

Wedgie

[brianh]

It seems like alot of hassle to strip, plus the results are unknown. You could just as easily buy a clean one for nearly the same cost. Here's a B70 on eBay for $85 plus shipping:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Bigsby-B70-Vibrato-w-Tension-Bar-NICKEL_W0QQitemZ360126656350QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item53d938af5e&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

 

I bought an unused gold B70 off Craigslist for $85 a few months ago, they usually go for about $130. You could also hold out for a B7 (US made) one too, they look very retro. Also, you may want to get a roller bridge to go with it. I bought my US-made nickel B7 and roller bridge from TWANG, he had a really great price....

[jcwillow777]

I don't know exactly which Bigsby you are looking at, but for $85 plus shipping you can get a B70. I have bought from this guy before and the Bigsby is working great for me.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Bigsby-B70-Vibrato-w-Tension-Bar-NICKEL_W0QQitemZ360126656350QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item53d938af5e&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

 

I must have been typing while Brian was. I agree with the roller bridge. I have three Bisgby equipped guitars and all have roller bridges. I went with the Wilkinson (GFS).

[brianh]

Love that goldtop JC, gotsta git me one...

[lpfan]

Love that goldtop JC' date=' gotsta git me one...[/quote']

 

A goldtop is definately a must have for any guitar player. I love mine!

[Vic Flick]

I found a Bigsby on craigslist for 60 and the guy wants another 20 to drop it off because its so far away. I'm ok with that but I wanted the silver Bigsby and this one is black. I have never seen a bigsby in person so I don't know if its possible to remove the black paint with paint stripper and then polish the bigsby to bring back the shine. Has anyone done this before? If it can be done' date=' do I need to disassemble the bigsby? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.[/quote']

 

I've actually done it, and I don't recommend it. It's actually a thick substance, not just a coat of paint, and I had one where the black started chipping away. So I decided I would finish off the job. What a pain. Some areas would just chip away easily, other areas (especially near the loga where it was thinner) it was a pain. I did a lot of cursing, put a few scratches on it. I'm pretty sure this was the guitar:

 

 

Bigsby makes a B12 that's all chrome:

 

 

It's a real Bigsby USA model, not a licensed import. I could get it for you probably around $120, that's including the shipping to you. There's also a B11, it's the kind that doesn't screw into the top, it's about $8.00 less. I don't know what guitar you're putting it on, but a B12 will work with a 335 style guitar.

 

I don't see an all chrome import, but I can get you a brand new B70 for a few bucks more than the $80 the guy wants for the used one.

 

If you want a roller bridge, I can order it at the same time for $20 and you wouldn't have to pay additional shipping. It's same one GFS sells.