Subject: Painting a Guitar

I'm just about to make a move on a Gibson L6S. I don't care beans about re-sale so keeping it 'stock' is not of interest to me. So, the question: Is there any significant risk in taking a guitar apart to repaint it? (I'd get it done professionally if I do it at all)

Should be no problem if you have a good person do it. It's going to sound the same.

if an L6S is an electric have at it....but if it is an acoustic...step wary...changing the finish very often DRASTICALLY changes the sound.

what IS an L6S alan??

Gibson L6S is electric. Good pics of one at http://www.theguitarweb.com/gibson_l6s.htm

1973 gibson l6s
gibson's most under rated solid body electric guitar

Not Really.
The "Melody Maker" with a hot-rodded P90 and full by-pass of Everything (Loud? Turn down the Amp.)
Fabulous! And you could find the Body at Flea Markets!

Damn, I was hoping I could make it sound purple!

I'm just very concerned about permitting someone to separate the neck from the body. At the same time, tho, this guitar has got the most offensive against nature paint job of any guitar I've ever seen. It's a black body with a white splotch in the center. Still, it's a 1980 L6S Custom and I believe I'll be cutting a deal with the guy tomorrow. Cross yer fingers.

I once bought a used guitar with the plan of repainting it myself. I took it to a furniture refinishing place, because they said they had a dip that would take the paint off anything. The guy dipped my guitar body in, and nothing. He dipped it again, and it came out looking really really nice (to the point I didn't want to get rid of the old paint after all). Then he started cussing, took out a piece of sand paper and sanded the paint off about a square inch or so of the front of the guitar. Then he cussed more and told me he couldn't help me, and that I needed to take my guitar back. Needless to say, make sure you're dealing with people who have done this before when you get started.

I ended up using some of my dad's bulldozer paint (he drives a bulldozer), and sprayed the thing caterpillar yellow myself, since that stuff will stick to anything. Turns out that the guitar sounds better than ever (but now I have an almost chicken s!@# yellow guitar). I think it's cool, but I think that's just cuz I know the history. Anyway .. good luck!

Don't separate the neck from the body! It may never be the same again. Have them paint it with the neck on it, masking off the fretboard. It's quite possible to do that. If they are good instrument refinishers, they'll be able to do it, I've done it myself with a custom built ugly guitar and it's not that hard. Don't have it dipped to remove the finish, strip it by hand. Unfortunately when I stripped off the ugly paint, it turned out it had a badly cracked neck (which explained why it couldn't play in tune) and then over the course of the neck couple of months when I tried to figure out what I was going to do with it, it got stolen out of the shop I was working in!
I think that the Gibson L6S was the type of guitar Santana played when he moved on from SGs before there was Paul Reed Smiths. Sweet!

alan if u do ....post the pics ...love to see how it came out......

Alanfraser,

I do not think it will do it harm and as you stated you do not desire to keep it stock then painting/refinishing should not be a problem.
It has a set neck as most Gibson's do versus Fender's Bolt On necks
so neck removal/seperation would be of great risk of great damage
to the guitar, removing the volime and tone knobs, tuners, pick ups
the variatone knob and the pick guard should be ok. There are good ways
to remove the finish you descibe and bad ways, slower is better.
I would have someone who has done it before do the work unless the price
is outrageous. The ones I have mostly seen have a natural finish
with a ? nitrcelloulose ? spelling finish its thin and alowws the guitar to breathe. I am no expert but the neck removal is what I would avoid and also remove the electronics (tone/volume pots and pick ups)
so they do not get damaged . Best of luck.

Hi Alan,

Hmm.. touching a sacred L6S... to think I may have had a part in this with my posta little while ago :D... anyways, if it's got an odd paint job it seems someone has tampered with it already... have you played? or is it an internet deal? the chance of someone already having taken off the neck and altered the sound is possible....

I would just like to know where I can find a professional guitar painter.

I have seen guitars that are pained on e-bay (one peson seems to have a penchant for painting re-issue Danelectro's) they look pretty good
and some times have a buy it now and sometimes auctions

I do not recall the persons screen name but the guitars are usually the U-2 models .

Then there are the pro's we have one here in Akron, Ohio Lay's Guitar
that does restoration of Vintage gear and he advertises in Vintage Guitar (both in the magazine and on thier website (I think)
www.vintageguitar.com
A friend of mine knows him and he is making more money buying guitars
from e-bay and other sources and refinishing them and selling them worldwide. He used to just take in guitars and refinish them
and make a nice income , now he is more than doubling his money
Alot of Vintage Guitars are ending up being sold overseas, especially
to Japan to investors/collectors making the available vintage guitar's
shrink in availability and contribute to the skyrocketing costs.
a 1959 Gibson Les Paul cost $250.00 in 1959, now a stock, no modification, no refinish, will easily do for over $250,0000
1950's Strats are in the 50,000 range, its wild. Buyers are often
not players but investors or collectors. Way, Way, Way out of my league.