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Thread: refinishing

  1. #1
    Registered User John Rosett's Avatar
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    i just got a '20's gibson A that has already refinished, damaged in a fire, then oversprayed, and i'd like to try my hand at refinishing it. i've been a painter for many years, and i'm skilled at fefinishing old woodwork, so i'm not a total novice. i was looking at stewart macdonald's website, and wondering how the different varnishes and shellac stack up. i'd like to either stain it first, or add color to the finish. this will never be any kind of "collector's item", and i'll be brushing the finish on. where do i begin?
    "it's not in bad taste, if it's funny" - john waters

  2. #2
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    You begin by getting the old finish off. Hard to tell what's on there, but solvents might work, and you might have to resort to physical removal. The trick is to not remove any wood, preserve the bindings, and otherwise "do no harm".
    From there, it's the same as finishing a new one. The old Gibsons were spirit varnished. I'm not absolutely sure if they were pure shellac, or if there were some resins mixed in, but that can be brushed, French polished, or sprayed. The color was applied to the wood first, and then the varnish.

  3. #3
    Registered User John Rosett's Avatar
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    thanks john. the easy part is that there's no binding other than the soundhole binding. if this was fully bound with a rosette around the soundhole, i'd think twice before attempting it.
    "it's not in bad taste, if it's funny" - john waters

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