Hollowman Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Hey everyone, My sweet wife just won me a 1979 ES-335 CRR on an ebay auction for my birthday (made the year I was born). I'm really excited to get this guitar. It was kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the finish was not exactly babied fr the first thirty years of its life. I was looking for suggestions on good polishes and any knowlege about mabye having the clear coat redone. I've heard that any refinishing of guitars akes away from their value. Any comments, ideas, stories would be helpful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Hey everyone, My sweet wife just won me a 1979 ES-335 CRR on an ebay auction for my birthday (made the year I was born). I'm really excited to get this guitar. It was kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like the finish was not exactly babied fr the first thirty years of its life. I was looking for suggestions on good polishes and any knowlege about mabye having the clear coat redone. I've heard that any refinishing of guitars akes away from their value. Any comments, ideas, stories would be helpful. Thanks! Hollowman, Congrats on the new 335. Pictures are always a must here so get a photobucket account so you can post large pics and throw a few up for us to see your new fiddle. Concerning polish/cleaners most people recommend Virtuoso Polish and Cleaner, It is expensive but is developed for cleaning and polishing Nitro finishes. If some elbow grease and this doesn't get the finish to an acceptable appearance for you then you might want to try some white automotive rubbing compound to take out the slightly deeper scratches and then re-clean and polish again. If they are really bad you can wet-sand with 2000 grade sandpaper and warm soapy water. This is where you will need to be careful and probably have to find a compromise as to what scratches and such will have to remain. You don't want to sand through to the color or wood. I have a 81 Gibson Explorer E2 that I will be doing this to in a couple of weeks and will be posting pics on here for people to see. Final word in my humble opinion is don't respray the clear. Let the guitar be what it is and enjoy it. You will not only devalue the guitar but you will also compromise the sound of it as well. Those battle scars are the history and heart of your new lady. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollowman Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Thanks Andy, I'll get a some pics up somtimes this week. I was almost positive that I was against refinishing, I just wasn't sure if there was some minimaly invasive process that I had never heard about. Thanks for the polish techniques/ideas (I'd love to see some before/after pics of your upcoming Polish job). I've also heard about french polish..........I was going to look more into what thats all about. Either way, no big deal. It's not that important to me that the guitar is flawless. You know how it is...you get a beautiful new guitar and you love it so much you just wish you could do somthing to make it happier (at least thats how I get). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Thanks Andy, I'll get a some pics up somtimes this week. I was almost positive that I was against refinishing, I just wasn't sure if there was some minimaly invasive process that I had never heard about. Thanks for the polish techniques/ideas (I'd love to see some before/after pics of your upcoming Polish job). I've also heard about french polish..........I was going to look more into what thats all about. Either way, no big deal. It's not that important to me that the guitar is flawless. You know how it is...you get a beautiful new guitar and you love it so much you just wish you could do somthing to make it happier (at least thats how I get). Hmmm Yeah I know what you mean Have you read my post that is pinned to the top of the forum? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Okay, normally I'm a "make things pretty" sorta guy, but... On a guitar, unless there's damage, I'd just tend to use a damp soft cotton cloth to make sure the thing is clean. Why? For the same reason I'll be @#$%ed if I'd have plastic surgery to remove the wrinkles and scars on my face. I'm as vain as anybody, but beaten up as it may be, my face is mine. Your guitar's face reflects also what it is. Unless something's broke, I wouldn't fix it. (As in, yeah, I've got storebought teeth. I makes eating easier. They were broken, I got replacements. <grin>) m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinner 13 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Okay, normally I'm a "make things pretty" sorta guy, but... On a guitar, unless there's damage, I'd just tend to use a damp soft cotton cloth to make sure the thing is clean. Why? For the same reason I'll be @#$%ed if I'd have plastic surgery to remove the wrinkles and scars on my face. I'm as vain as anybody, but beaten up as it may be, my face is mine. Your guitar's face reflects also what it is. Unless something's broke, I wouldn't fix it. (As in, yeah, I've got storebought teeth. I makes eating easier. They were broken, I got replacements. <grin>) m +1 milod I got to agree here. thirty year old nitro finish, with all it's inherent checking is beautiful and individual to each guitar. soft cloth it to get the finger grease and pick dust off it, then leave it alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I understand both sides of this. I think as you get older you appreciate the flaws and battle scars more than when you are a youngster. When you are younger you generally want everything to be nice, new and shiny... I personally love finish cracks to me they just look cool... Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 yea, gratz. i mean yea. thought i would throw this out, while collecters and such usually thing of 70's and 80's gibby's as the "dark years" in quality, the one thing not talked about is the finish. the finishes of that era are better and gibson took more care and spent more on them than other periods of production. maybe the best finishes of any period? so 1) don't want to change it 2) you can buff/polish that finish to more than likely look better and cooler than anything you could re-do. i did a freinds 79 lp that was black. it had been dunked in the bay and was in bad shape. the finish was oxidized, and i used turtle wax "color back" for the rubbing compound. it ended up sweeter and blacker than anything new you could get. i have a '61 l7 with a burst/oak finish that tends to cloud up with most "standard" polishes, and when this happens there are certain gibson polishes that remove this (because of the lemon oil content i think). another thing, if you have spots of scatches where the color is removed, it is a viable option i think to add a little stain to the scratch to blend it in. when i say viable, i don't consider that to be unorigional as that is what someone would have done back in the day, but you have to be real careful not to mess it up by using the wrong color of something that changes the finish in the area by using too much. if your finish is checked, you dont want any oil underneath as this may deteriorate it. i would also stress that if one does this, reverence should be considered in the decision if hiding imperfections are the thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 If they are really bad you can wet-sand with 2000 grade sandpaper and warm soapy water. This is where you will need to be careful and probably have to find a compromise as to what scratches and such will have to remain. You don't want to sand through to the color or wood. I have a 81 Gibson Explorer E2 that I will be doing this to in a couple of weeks and will be posting pics on here for people to see. I wonder if the 3M Polishing Papers Stew Mac sells could do the job. Might be safer on a contoured top since they seem much more flexible than sandpaper. I haven't had a chance to try them out myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy R Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I wonder if the 3M Polishing Papers Stew Mac sells could do the job. Might be safer on a contoured top since they seem much more flexible than sandpaper. I haven't had a chance to try them out myself. Not sure. when your wet sanding you should let the sandpaper soak in warm water with just a tad of dish soap in it for a few minutes until the paper is saturated and flexible. Pep Boys actually carries quite a good selection of automotive finishing sandpaper in super fine grades. It's also a good idea to use a thin flexible hard rubber block for contours when possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I agree with Milo. And natural relicing is in huge demand, otherwise many companies wouldnt have tried to copy it eg fender road worn series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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