order of ops for an sg restore

[bbq2105]

Hey all. When I was in my teens I foolishly painted the SG that my father handed down to me. Now, I want to restore it to factory setup. The original was walnut. I am not sure if the wood will stain that well after i strip and bleach it. If it does not look like it will stain well, then I will go with a factory color at least (white?).

 

So any input as to color would be helpful, but also, I believe I can do everything but the refret. What order do you all think the restore should be done in. Would it matter if I did everything I could do and have it refretted last?

 

Here is what it should look like

 

here is mine(I have all of the original pickups and they are fine, but a lot of the hardware is pretty shotty)

 

[lous1952]

I've done a few restorations.

 

You should have no problem with stripping it- bleaching it may not even be necessary.

 

If you're going to do the refinish, have it refretted first- just because you don't want your new finish possibly dinged up.

 

As to the hardware, if it's functional, leave it alone, except for cleaning and polishing.

 

It's always better to have the original hardware on the guitar.

[bbq2105]

Thanks much for the advice. I'm glad to have found this forum before starting. I should have all the hardware, so I will take your advice there.