Official Luthiers Forum!

A mate brought his Orville Les Paul round the other day. Nice guitar, with a burst. He hates the burst and wants me to refinish it in black.

I think I'll try and talk him out of it, but if, as I suspect, he insists, how would you guys proceed? Does the existing finish(poly) need to be removed completely, mostly, a bit? Or, can I "scuff" the existing finish and shoot Lacquer over the top?

Had a look in search, but couldn't find a topic addressing this issue.

Thanks in advance.

If it is sound and has no issues it will make a fine base. Fill any chips or dings and sand at 320 to anchor the lacquer.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Agreed with Brian...

Quick story...when Roger Giffin was running the Gibson West Coast Custom Shop, a guy brought him a '58 or '59 Les Paul that had been oversprayed black. Roger noticed telltale undulations that hinted of flame maple under the black. Yep... The real thing, and it had just been sprayed black directly over the 'burst. He painstakingly sanded back all the black and restored the guitar to its former beauty...and true value. Brilliant job.

As I remember, there were quite a few vintage goldtops that were found to have flame maple caps when stripped for a refinish.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Ah, forgot this thread, but thanks for the replies. I talked my mate out of the re finish, and just did a set up and scrubbed the heck out of it. It was filthy, and the truss rod was so tight the neck back-bowed. But, a session of no tension, and a bit of clamping magic put it to rights. It's a bad neck angle, as the bridge is maxed out, but it plays well now. With luck, it'll last him as long as he needs it.....