The victim if an angry ex-wife..

[Moby4001]

Hi guys,

First time posting here, I am a young person aspiring to become a luthier from Adelaide, Australia.

I am currently visiting the USA and came across a Gretch Jet which is the victim of an angry ex wife with a knife in her hand apparently. It played beautifully and sounded great so I bought it.

What would it take to re-finish the top of this guitar? If some better quality pictures and/or details are needed, I will add some tomorrow morning






Thank you for taking the time

-Matt

[needsmorecowbel]

She could have at least written something legible on it. Someone might be more likely to buy a guitar with the words "Cheating Bastard" scribed across it...Welcome to the forum

Stu

[Crafty Fox]

I think I'd leave as is; it's got quite a story.

[Kim]

I agree, real badge of honour stuff.

Welcome to the forum Matt. It depends what it is currently finished with, probably a thick clear urethane over a micro thin base black by the look. I reckon black is the worst to try and match for a localised repair. There are budget methods to sort this raging from filling the scratches with black nail polish...wait a long time..and then scrape back and buff out, or colour with sharpie, drop fill with CA glue, wait much less, scrape back and buff out, or etc, etc, etc. But nothing will match the result of a decent refin across the top and the cost of that will depend on whose doing the work, and what they know.

Cheers

Kim

[kiwigeo]

I think I'd leave as is; it's got quite a story.

+1.....

[charangohabsburg]

Iconic guitar model with engraved marks of its history = doubled value.

Seriously: leave it as it is. For the looks of a new guitar it is always best to get a new guitar, rather than to make an old one looking "like new".

[simonm]

+1 for leave it alone.

[Moby4001]

Thank you for all the replies so far. Despite the good story, I bought it with refinishing the top in-mind because the guitar is only 3 months old and is completely unmarked anywhere else. I'm thinking this lady really could have done a better job if she tried

The finish is a gloss urethane, fairly certain it's got a thin black coat and thick clear, deep scratches yet you can still see the black coat. I am thinking of dismantling, rubbing the whole top back to the black coat and then gunning it with a clear.

What do you reckon?

[charangohabsburg]

The finish is a gloss urethane, fairly certain it's got a thin black coat and thick clear,

Oh well, then it is already ruined anyway.
So then, here goes my second recommendation, the final colour will match the thin coat just fine:

[Nick]

Welcome to the forum Matt, hope you gain something(and give a little from time to time) from this little corner of the planet
As to the Gretsch, I know what you mean about it only being 3 months old, don't think I'd want a marked finish for such a young guitar. It hasn't got the playing history to have battle scars just yet.
It looks, from the pictures, that the black coat is still intact and not through to bare timber so if it is the common thickness of Urethane finish they tend to stick on modern electric guitars (thick!), it might be worth stripping off the hardware, drop filling all the scratches/gouges with CA glue (it will shrink back as it cures so more than one application will be required) until the CA sits proud of the surface and then sanding the entire top with progressive grits, 600 across the whole top then 1200 and finally some 2000 before buffing or hand polishing.
Here's a video of Dan Erlewine drop filling and repairing a chip, it's an acoustic so chances are his finish is thinner so you have a little more leeway but the principles are the same (I'd also forgotten about the first "colouring" step Dan employs).

youtu.be/

[Moby4001]

Burn it you reckon?

That idea looks great Nick! Will give that a go for sure. Sometime in the future I hope to know enough to give back to the community here.

Lets say drop filling doesn't turn out well for whatever reason, is refinishing the top in urethane while leaving the sides feasible to do in a home workshop. If so, is it difficult to keep the coat thin so it lets the body resonate?

Thanks for the help so far

[Nick]

Wouldn't worry too much about letting the body resonate, it's an electric! The sonics originate in the pickups you don't have to worry about letting the top do that job.
As far as refinishing goes, personally I'd mask the sides & back and lightly sand the top with 240 to key the new coats of clear, you should be able to blend/hide the "join" between the top and sides by carefully sanding with 600, it shouldn't need much though, usually just a wipe or two.
This should be able to be done from home if you have all the proper spray gear. Just be aware that Urethanes contain very toxic isocyanates so unless you have a proper positive ventilation system booth or a positive pressure mask (fresh air fed), home application is not the way to go. Maybe look at an alternative clear coat such as pre cat lacquer, the Urethane is a fairly hardy finish so shouldn't react to another finishing system going onto it.
That's if it needs it, hopefully, if done carefully the drop fill method should yield satisfactory results.

[charangohabsburg]

Burn it you reckon?

Nah, just a bit of tanning, combined with "heat-blending" to even out irregularities of the surface.

In any case, it seems you're jumping into cold water, which I believe is the fastest way to learn things.

[Moby4001]

Well Nick, as good as your advice has been I reckon il just hire a roo to do some heat blending and hope for the best

In all seriousness though, I just looked through the gallery on your website and I think your pieces of work look incredibly beautiful. The bridge on the tele type electric looks quite interesting, is it brass?

I am going to drop fill and sand when i get back to Australia. I think that sounds perfectly reasonable to begin with. Would you guys mind if I asked a few questions along the way?

[needsmorecowbel]

Markus I hope that image is another one of your great photoshopped images...Magical...

Stuart

[charangohabsburg]

Not my work Stu, just google's suggestion. I thought it was real though.

[needsmorecowbel]

Ah well....very cool image none the less

Stu

[Kim]

Not my work Stu, just google's suggestion. I thought it was real though.

It is real. That roo's in the process of doing a human cull. Its nasty but environmental important stuff as the numbers have been getting out of hand for a couple of hundred years now.

[Nick]

The bridge on the tele type electric looks quite interesting, is it brass?

Thanks Matt and no it's not brass, it's just a plated steel bridge that I seem to remember I bought from Stewmac (again, I think it was a Gotoh brand).

[Moby4001]

It is real. That roo's in the process of doing a human cull.[/quote] lol..

Well looks great anyway Nick.. Anyplace I can hear one?

[Nick]

Well looks great anyway Nick.. Anyplace I can hear one?

Not your side of the ditch unfortunately Matt, I've not sold any to overseas buyers.......yet! So all my work is only heard in Un Zud at this stage. That particular Tele (I made that one about ten years ago now) resides with it's still chuffed owner in Nelson, which is located at the top of the South Island. I used Texas Tele pickups in it and through the right amp you could blow Donald Trump's hairpiece off at fifty paces. Great pickups, heaps of snot while retaining that typical Tele cut.

[Moby4001]

Doesn't get much sweeter than a hot tele through a bassman or jtm45 does it now

Would love to go see NZ hey.. Good luck getting your first sale overseas, shouldn't be to difficult with work like that anyways

[simso]

I dont bother asking any more

[needsmorecowbel]

Steve are they bagpipes in the background?

Stu

[simso]

Yep, I fix them as well