Refinish signs?

[Gavanti]

I'm considering a 70s custom color JM, but I have some questions about the finish. It clearly looks old and with real wear, but some of the finish wear looks more consistent with nitro rather than poly, and when I got photos of the insides, I noticed that the finish looks like it may be over sunburst (not necessarily unusual) and was not sprayed fully in the trem and rhythm cavities. The other examples I've seen online seem to have fully sprayed body cavities. Thoughts?

483993023_642486281820344_431485797700208461_n by flemishaltruism, on Flickr
483437025_1274388997003141_8998468150379589135_n by flemishaltruism, on Flickr
483903211_679354067878732_7677395352073402996_n by flemishaltruism, on Flickr
484013220_9262478667133954_3507278603831455364_n by flemishaltruism, on Flickr
485514122_982901390139786_3181476703399542827_n by flemishaltruism, on Flickr

[Axolotl]

IMHO, neck pocket shows clearly it's a refinish. Trem cavity points me in that direction too. Do I also see some greenish paint in both?

[Gavanti]

IMHO, neck pocket shows clearly it's a refinish. Trem cavity points me in that direction too. Do I also see some greenish paint in both?

Yes, the green is odd. I wasn't certain what to make of that.

[JSett]

Refin.

/endthread

[Gavanti]

Too bad—I would consider a refin, especially one that looks this good, but the price seems high for that. Thanks for the confirmation.

[terminalvertigo]

Could the green not be from the aged gold undercoat from the CAR?

no matching headstock i assume?

[Gavanti]

Could the green not be from the aged gold undercoat from the CAR?

no matching headstock i assume?

Not sure--I had considered that. There does appear to be a metallic undercoat in a few spots (screw holes, finish stuck to the neck heel). The finish is definitely old.

I have a few early 70s Fenders, and the headstock looks right.

[Nudger]

Could the green not be from the aged gold undercoat from the CAR?

Thatd be my guess, im sure ive seen a thread on here bout the same thing..

[i love sharin foo]

Looks like refinish to me. The color looks good though. If the price were right it could still be a solid guitar. Like has already been said, the neck pocket and trem cavity tell the story.

[Gavanti]

Looks like refinish to me. The color looks good though. If the price were right it could still be a solid guitar. Like has already been said, the neck pocket and trem cavity tell the story.

Yeah--I agree, it's really nice, and I love aging CAR, but the seller seems convinced it's original finish despite signs otherwise, so the price is too high for me.

[i love sharin foo]

That sucks. I’m sure somebody will eventually buy it thinking that it is an original finish. I have never been a real big fan of reissues in Candy Apple red, but I like originals a lot after some fading and wear. I may be biased, but my ‘64 CAR Jaguar is just about perfect to me. The lighting in this photo makes it look brighter than it really is.

[Gavanti]

Yeah—that's really nice!

[catalyst]

Looks great!