Thinking of a refin on my '85 Love Rock. Any opinions?

[jacco]

Now, I'm curious about how much a refin costs in the UK

 

[JVsearch]

Just think how much those refinishes would have been worth in orginal condition!

Well, that's the funny part - non-refinished LS-50/60 Reborns are still around the 50k to 70k range, with the one mint one that got to 90k. I have to assume that the refinish was done by a well known Japanese refinisher and was done in nitro, so people will pay extra.

 

[Paladin2019]

Mind you it has crossed my mind that with the cost of doing all this against the possible devaluation, if I sold it as it is and added the cost of the mods I could probably get a nice R9 Historic??

Phil

The only mid-80's love rock on ebay at the moment went for ?750 with almost 20 bidders, and that was only an LS60 (but it did have a case, and it wasn't a clownburst). Bareknuckles are around ?200 a set, electronics about ?50 if you get the good stuff, full set of bridge hardware probably about ?100+. A quick google for refinish quotes gives anything from ?300-500+ for sunburst finishes on set-neck guitars. Perhaps unsurprisingly I can't find any online quotes for inlay replacements, but on a set neck guitar with a bound fretboard and trapezoid inlays (done by somebody who will do it right) it's going to be a *lot* - definately the most expensive part of this project. Work that drastic could change the feel of the neck as well.

In the end, it's up to you.

 

[jacco]

Mind you it has crossed my mind that with the cost of doing all this against the possible devaluation, if I sold it as it is and added the cost of the mods I could probably get a nice R9 Historic??

Phil

The only mid-80's love rock on ebay at the moment went for ?750 with almost 20 bidders, and that was only an LS60 (but it did have a case, and it wasn't a clownburst). Bareknuckles are around ?200 a set, electronics about ?50 if you get the good stuff, full set of bridge hardware probably about ?100+. A quick google for refinish quotes gives anything from ?300-500+ for sunburst finishes on set-neck guitars. Perhaps unsurprisingly I can't find any online quotes for inlay replacements, but on a set neck guitar with a bound fretboard and trapezoid inlays (done by somebody who will do it right) it's going to be a *lot* - definately the most expensive part of this project. Work that drastic could change the feel of the neck as well.

In the end, it's up to you.

Here's were I shop a lot, these are very good inlays;
http://www.crazyparts.de/ueberuns/0427089c4d0fdb086/0000009b5e1082104.php

I think your refinish quote is very high. Set neck nitro refinish in burst is 300 euro over here in Holland.

 

[Cali Girl]

This is now a 'vintage' model that will almost certainly increase in value as time goes on. Doing this will destroy that value. You may not love this guitar but there are plenty out there who will if you don't want to!

My advice would be to sell it and use the profits to create your ideal guitar on a modern non-collectable model (or just buy a guitar that you love as it is). Alternatively you could do only reversible mods like the pickups and bridge hardware.

I think this is good advice. I would take it a step further and say sell this guitar that you don't like, and buy something (anything) that is a better fir for you. It's also the cheapest solution, because you don't have to pay for work to be done to your guitar. And you get the fun of searching for and buying a new guitar that you like better than your current one.

 

[Paladin2019]

Here's were I shop a lot, these are very good inlays;
http://www.crazyparts.de/ueberuns/0427089c4d0fdb086/0000009b5e1082104.php

That's just the parts. The money is going to be in getting someone to rip out the old ones, stick the new ones it, and not mess it up.

 

[katoi]

 

[JohnA]

After seeing that, I hate CSB so much I'm going to refin my '82 LS120!!

 

[PhilB]

After seeing that, I hate CSB so much I'm going to refin my '82 LS120!!

Yes that's what I'm talking about, lol. Spoils an otherwise great guitar.

 

[PhilB]

Mind you it has crossed my mind that with the cost of doing all this against the possible devaluation, if I sold it as it is and added the cost of the mods I could probably get a nice R9 Historic??

Phil

The only mid-80's love rock on ebay at the moment went for ?750 with almost 20 bidders, and that was only an LS60 (but it did have a case, and it wasn't a clownburst). Bareknuckles are around ?200 a set, electronics about ?50 if you get the good stuff, full set of bridge hardware probably about ?100+. A quick google for refinish quotes gives anything from ?300-500+ for sunburst finishes on set-neck guitars. Perhaps unsurprisingly I can't find any online quotes for inlay replacements, but on a set neck guitar with a bound fretboard and trapezoid inlays (done by somebody who will do it right) it's going to be a *lot* - definately the most expensive part of this project. Work that drastic could change the feel of the neck as well.

In the end, it's up to you.

Here's were I shop a lot, these are very good inlays;
http://www.crazyparts.de/ueberuns/0427089c4d0fdb086/0000009b5e1082104.php

I think your refinish quote is very high. Set neck nitro refinish in burst is 300 euro over here in Holland.

Those inlays are exactly the type I want. ?139 just for the material seems expensive though. I did get one quote of ?90 to have the inlays done but the luthier said they would be the acrylic repros of the late 50's type as he reckoned cellulose is now a banned material - all Gibson reissues use acrylic now.

I might just go part way on getting this work done and just replace the inlays and put vintage wiring and pots and caps in. It's going to be too expensive to get it all done. If I was to get all this work done I might as well just bite the bullet and sell it and look for a decent second hand R8 or R9, that's the conclusion I'm coming to.

 

[DaveWW]

Jacco,

I'm surprised you haven't metioned your fading experiment. I think your final picture in this post looks great if it's a realistic representation of the guitar as it is now it would be much improved.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16793&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=fade+sun&start=0

Maybe a cheap UV lamp would work?

Dave

 

[jacco]

Jacco,

I'm surprised you haven't metioned your fading experiment. I think your final picture in this post looks great if it's a realistic representation of the guitar as it is now it would be much improved.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16793&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=fade+sun&start=0

Maybe a cheap UV lamp would work?

Dave

Ah hey, I read over the part where PhilB mentioned the fading.
Yes the pictures show the difference quite well and is proof it can be done. Mind you I had it in the direct sunlight for a lot hours per day over a short period of time.
I actually stopped with fading after changing pups; I went from zebra's to 1x covered/1 x double cream and together with the subtle fading that had occured it's a picture perfect for me now.

I don't think the UV lamp is good idea, check this link that karppi had provided before:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/historics-reissues/84987-fading-guitars.html

 

[Leif]

My concern would be if the UV damaged the plastic parts. UV can degrade some plastics, not sure about the pickup surrounds and knobs though.
The slightly faded CS does look nice.

 

[PhilB]

Jacco,

I'm surprised you haven't metioned your fading experiment. I think your final picture in this post looks great if it's a realistic representation of the guitar as it is now it would be much improved.

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16793&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=fade+sun&start=0

Maybe a cheap UV lamp would work?

Dave

Ah hey, I read over the part where PhilB mentioned the fading.
Yes the pictures show the difference quite well and is proof it can be done. Mind you I had it in the direct sunlight for a lot hours per day over a short period of time.
I actually stopped with fading after changing pups; I went from zebra's to 1x covered/1 x double cream and together with the subtle fading that had occured it's a picture perfect for me now.

I don't think the UV lamp is good idea, check this link that karppi had provided before:
http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/historics-reissues/84987-fading-guitars.html

Yes exposing it to direct sunlight has resulted in some very subtle fading, so it can be done Just need to be patient and let nature do it's thing. If I take the scratchplate off I can see how much it's faded. At the moment it's turning to a more orangey red with a bit more grain showing through. It's most noticable in the lower cutaway area - the upper bout/toggle switch area doesn't appear to have faded much at all yet but I guess that's because the red paint is much thicker there. So I'm going to just keep exposing it to direct light and see how far it goes. I'm guessing it might take a couple of years to get it to something that looks nice. So I don't think I'll get a refin after all - though I don't think it will ever end up as teaburst but hopefully a nice light faded cherry?

 

[Paladin2019]

he reckoned cellulose is now a banned material

I certainly hope he's wrong or we're going to have to destroy every plant, algae and a lot of bacteria living on this planet :lol:

I might just go part way on getting this work done and just replace the inlays and put vintage wiring and pots and caps in. It's going to be too expensive to get it all done.

Sounds a bit more sensible to me, but would you really be happy with a half-cocked job given your original ambitions? I think you can guess what my choice would be.

 

[singemonkey]

Seems to me if the fading seems to happen, why not experiment with that. Cover the parts apart from the top (knobs, pickups, neck, toggle, binding, pickguard) and blast it with UV for two weeks straight.

If everything except for the top is carefully masked it shouldn't do any harm, right?

 

[AlanN]

Nitrocellulose lacquer is banned in the EU as it's an anti-androgen, and potentially harmful to kids. You can still buy it in the UK though, so I'm not sure what the exact mechanics of the ban are...

 

[jacco]

Seems to me if the fading seems to happen, why not experiment with that. Cover the parts apart from the top (knobs, pickups, neck, toggle, binding, pickguard) and blast it with UV for two weeks straight.

If everything except for the top is carefully masked it shouldn't do any harm, right?

As I understand it if it's too hot, the heat will deteriorate the lacquer faster than that it will fade. So UV is ok, but not too hot. That's why a UV lamp will not work, except when placed further away from the guitar.

 

[JVsearch]

Nitrocellulose lacquer is banned in the EU as it's an anti-androgen, and potentially harmful to kids. You can still buy it in the UK though, so I'm not sure what the exact mechanics of the ban are...

I expect that like most bans there are exemptions, such as guitars (in this case). If there wasn't it would be illegal to sell half the world wide stock of guitars in Europe.

It's a crock anyway that nitro is more harmful than poly, it isn't, just takes much longer to completely dry, and while either finish is not completely dry they are both toxic and very flammable.

 

[Anonymous]

You could always book a course of sessions for it at the local tanning salon?