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Thread: 'The Loar' logo

  1. #1
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default 'The Loar' logo

    Hello,
    I have just finished stripping the finish completely off 'The loar' 520.
    It weighs about a third less!!, I hope the resulting sound will be worth it.
    Anyhow, I was going to stain it to a dark brown aiming for a Sherraton shade or thereabouts and then tru oil it.
    I have not stripped the headstock and this is obviously very shiny. I could just rub it down a bit with wire wool but have always ended up a bit disappointed with the results in the past or I could completely strip this also. Does anyone know if the MOP is inlayed or transfer?
    Cheersw
    Oliver

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  3. #2

    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    It's not an inlay. If you strip it you will loose the logo.

    I'm sure you will be very pleased with the new sound of your 520. Getting all that off helps tremendously.

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  5. #3
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Agree that it is an overlay. But the question is, if you strip it and lose that cheesy “the Loar” logo, would it be a bad thing?

    If you just want to dull the shine, there are other options besides steel wool that might give you more satisfactory results. Micro Mesh is one possibility. Just start with the roughest grade and go up step by step until you have the degree of sheen you want. Or, you could use a paste made from pumice and mineral oil. Or, you could scuff sand it enough to get something else to stick then put something matte or satin over it. Easiest would probably be something like a wipe on oil based satin varnish. I don’t see why you couldn’t scuff sand then overcoat with a Tru Oil so that the gloss matches the body. If the instrument is poly then oil based finishes should work (fat over lean rule).
    Don

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  7. #4

    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    If you want the logo, no one sells it that I could find, print a good copy from a picture, print it, cut it out, and trace over onto a celluoid, pearloid, abalone sheet or whatever if you can do inlay, or have it printed on a water-slide decal sheet to reproduce the decal on a printer that can print white ink. I had a guy print one for me in white for the 12 string Stella I'm restoring.

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  9. #5
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Thanks for the advice, I think I will strip it right back (loose the logo) and then use a mat black on it possibly with a replacement logo of some sort (not the loar!)
    Cheers
    Oliver

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    Registered User William Smith's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Fun project, When I get my garage/shop built I want to do mando stuff like that! I did a Blueridge solid spruce and Indian rosewood D-something 20 years ago. The peg head had a torch inlay I thought, well it was paper, It was super thick finish on the head. The guitar I did some inlay, scalloped the braces and enlarged the sound hole-ala Clarence style-it turned out better sounding.

  11. #7
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Well....I discovered that 'fun' was not necessarily the word for this little project very quickly!!
    The finish on this particular instrument is indestructible and thick, stripper (high strength) had no effect whatsoever!, in the end I basically attacked it with sharp chisels, scrapers and an Opinel fisherman knife. I used a heat gun on some of the more intricate bits but found that good old fashioned elbow grease and sharp implements were the only way .

  12. #8
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Your difficulty in removing the finish confirms my suspicions that it is poly or something similar. The company used to claim they were nitrocellulose, it figured quite prominently in their advertising. Patently false obviously. Maybe, to be kind, they might have put a clear coat or two of lacquer over the poly just to give it the look.when you are done I’m certain it will look and sound better.
    Don

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  13. #9
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    It was just like rock hard plastic that came off in bigish splinters (mind yer eyes!).
    I actually thought it was just the 700's that they advertised as nitro finish?

  14. #10
    Adrian Minarovic
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Quote Originally Posted by Oliver R View Post
    It was just like rock hard plastic that came off in bigish splinters (mind yer eyes!).
    I actually thought it was just the 700's that they advertised as nitro finish?
    Polyester?
    Polyurethane is typically softer.
    I managed to strip nitrocellulose on Gibson F-9 with thumbplane... I sharpened the blade and set it so I took thw whole finish with two strokes of plane and some cleaning with scraper after that. I had to resharpen few times but it went much easier than chemical stripping or sanding.
    Adrian

  15. #11
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Could be, i'm no expert.
    I must have ended up sharpening about 1/4 of my knife away!

  16. #12
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Yep, polyester. Not polyurethane. Chemical strippers work on polyurethane, in my experience. That polyester stuff is catalyzed somehow (UV?) and bulletproof!
    Don

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  17. #13
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Yep, never again!

  18. #14

    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Opinel makes a good blade.

  19. #15
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Thought I would post a couple of picks of the completed instrument warts and all (I wanted that old time vibe....
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Click image for larger version. 

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  20. #16

    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    I like it!
    Robert Fear
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    " - Pete Seeger

  21. #17
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Thank you, the photos are of a c**p quality and make it look really grainy up close (it's not honest!)

  22. #18
    Registered User G. Fisher's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    So, how does it sound now? Do you have any video or sound clips you could share?
    “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”

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    Registered User Willem's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Quote Originally Posted by G. Fisher View Post
    So, how does it sound now? Do you have any video or sound clips you could share?
    Beat me to it. Would love to hear about sonic improvements. Looks good by the way! I am motivated to strip mine down.

  24. #20
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    It sounded a bit thin when I first out it back together and I was a little worried to be honest. However, a few weeks of playing and the difference is significant. Notes seem to 'pop's more, volume is increased and it has become a very open and lively instrument. I'm amazed at how much the difference in volume is in relation to the back been in contact with your bodynow!

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  26. #21
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    I, too, have a Loar 520, and I very much like it for what it is -- a starter mando that's got the carved wood and is a good value for the money. But I wonder why they make them with that thick poly finish? If they sound so much livelier and better without it, why not just rub them with a light finish or whatever than go to the added time and trouble of troweling on that shiny and sound-deadening plastic armor? Is it to hide imperfections in wood or workmanship or something like that? Or just to make them look like a shiny object to the uneducated buyer? Just wondering.

  27. #22
    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    Oliver - The term 'Nitro' in the case of you mandolin, might have indicated the explosive required to shift the finish !.

    I do like the look of it,it really appeals to me. If you want a MOP / Abalone type decal to fit to the headstock - look here :-
    https://www.inlaystickers.com/collec...s/contemporary A small MOP / Abalone decal might look very nice,
    Ivan
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  28. #23
    Registered User Oliver R's Avatar
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    Default Re: 'The Loar' logo

    I personally think that the "shiny object" theory is pretty accurate, however the woods were 'ok' on this instrument but not a high grade of figure or anything and workmanship was a bit sketchy in places so I think its perhaps applied like that not so much to hide stuff but to make them all look consistent.
    I was looking at that site Ivan but could not make my mind up, I actually like the plain headstock but that might change at any point!

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