Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:36 am

My main Tele has been looking pretty gross lately and I'm contemplating getting it professional refinished. It's a Highway 1 that came in Daphne Blue that is rapidly aging thanks to my acidic sweat into a somewhat sickly green tint that I'm not a fan of. FWIW I was never really into the color when it was pristine, but it played so well that I overlooked it. Now I feel like it's coming to a head and I either have to respect it as it is and stomach how yucky it looks, or get it refinned in something more in keeping what with I like in guitars (blonde, black, boring 70s colors that I love but most people hate). Obviously the quality of the work will depend on who I send it to, as I don't want to ruin the thing, so I've been going back and forth on it.

So TL:DR - Have you ever sent your #1 to get refinished and did the guitar retain whatever qualities you liked about it post-refin, or was it changed to the point that it felt/played differently?
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
Pepe Silvia
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5700
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 11:44 am
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Pepe Silvia » Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:37 am

Can you post a pic of how it looks now?

User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:19 am

I can when I get back to the house later today, but I honestly avoided doing it because I don't want a bunch of people telling me I shouldn't do it because they think it looks cool how it is. I appreciate the sentiment and obviously other people may think it looks awesome, but I'm more interested in what other people have to say about their experiences with their own guitars.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
Pepe Silvia
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5700
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 11:44 am
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Pepe Silvia » Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:49 am

Yeah, that is why I was asking, I wanted to see how cool it looked. ;D

Those Daphne Blue Highway 1s are pretty uncommon, I could never find a good one when i got my sunburst highway 1. A nicely worn in Daphne Blue model must be dreamy.

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Jonesie » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:00 am

Pepe Silvia wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:49 am
Yeah, that is why I was asking, I wanted to see how cool it looked. ;D

Those Daphne Blue Highway 1s are pretty uncommon, I could never find a good one when i got my sunburst highway 1. A nicely worn in Daphne Blue model must be dreamy.

Having seen the guitar in person, I can vouch, it's a weird pale blue / sickly grey / brownish-green.

User avatar
schoolie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 918
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:25 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by schoolie » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:27 am

I've refinished a HW1 tele body...twice. It's basically encased in plastic with a very thin pigmented lacquer coat. I didn't regret anything but my poor finishing job. It didn't affect the sound of the guitar. I didn't touch the plastic...just stripped the lacquer with acetone and refinished over that,

User avatar
Larry Mal
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 19673
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 4:25 pm
Location: Saint Louis, MO

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Larry Mal » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:33 am

The Highway One is a satin nitrocellulose finish?

Well, I can imagine that if you stepped up to a full gloss finish, be it nitro or probably even better poly, then you will have a finish that will last a lot longer and not discolor so badly over time. I guess that's obvious- my point is that you shouldn't blame your sweat or anything, the fact is the Highway One finish was designed to look good in the store and that's about it.

It's a Highway One, you know? It's not like you are refinishing a 1959 Les Paul or something. If it's a guitar you plan to keep, no reason not to make the investment and be happy with it.

I looked at a couple of Highway One guitars in the Daphne blue, they all look pretty ragged. The impression I get is that the Highway One finish wasn't designed to last very long and they don't... I had a couple of Gibsons with satin nitro finish, and one of them wore down to bare wood after six months of very light use.

You know, a lot of times you buy a guitar from one of the big name guitar companies and it's like a starter package until you finish up the work yourself these days.
Last edited by Larry Mal on Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.

User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:35 am

Pepe Silvia wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 6:49 am
Yeah, that is why I was asking, I wanted to see how cool it looked. ;D

Those Daphne Blue Highway 1s are pretty uncommon, I could never find a good one when i got my sunburst highway 1. A nicely worn in Daphne Blue model must be dreamy.
I honestly had no idea they were when I got it, and they certainly got more expensive once Jack White started using one. I knew nothing about the Highway 1 series when I first picked it up, just that it sounded great and I really liked the neck on it. My bass player ran over from the other side of the GC when he heard me playing and insisted I buy it. I was a few months of rent in the hole at the time so he covered it and I came home with a winner. Fortunately my financial situation got sorted and I paid him back with his own Highway 1 a few years later :)

Anyway before -- the day I got it in 2012. That JC-120 sounds AWESOME with it.
Image906880_737940988817_1168561535_o by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

About a year and a half ago. It's only gotten more gruesome looking since:
Image20190909_115647 by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

9 years of honest blood, sweat, and effort into the thing.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
CaptainCrunch
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 490
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:24 pm
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by CaptainCrunch » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:43 am

Jonesie wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:00 am
Having seen the guitar in person, I can vouch, it's a weird pale blue / sickly grey / brownish-green.
Knowing the color preferences of the weirdos here, this still isn't talking anybody out of liking it. Did you see the suntan on that once-blue Musicmaster bass in that thread?

I personally have a Charvel the color of a traffic cone and one of those MIJ single-hum Strats that started out Burgundy Mist but faded to a somewhat gross "does this look infected to you?" yellowy-pink. I LIKE the "ugly" colors.

Now, to answer the OP's question, I had my main squeeze redone (patched Kahler trem hole and humbucker routs and refin on a legit '61 or '62 SG Special), and the work was..... not worth what I paid. And it was a guy who has done AMAZING work, just for some reason not on mine. It was just such a letdown, and I really haven't played the poor thing since. I'll either get to where I can do it properly, or have it done over again.

So if you do get it redone, see the guy's work in person, and a lot of the time, cheaper is more expensive.
Last edited by CaptainCrunch on Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
blunderbuss
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 212
Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:58 pm

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by blunderbuss » Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:46 am

I think that looks pretty great personally. If the color is stopping you from playing, or making you consider a different guitar, I think refinishing is worthwhile. I've never refinished a guitar myself so take that with a grain of salt. Good luck with your decision!
Ryan

User avatar
fuzzjunkie
Expat
Expat
Posts: 7276
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:32 am
Location: Seattle

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:12 am

I can see the concern if the thing is coated “coated in plastic” and it gets stripped to bare wood before getting refinished in nitro.

That will change the sound. I can’t see it affecting the playability, unless you mean it would sound too different and you would not play it again?

However, in my experience, when this was done the guitar sounded better. Different sure, but more resonance, dynamic, and louder. They sounded like they could breath after being congested. Too me that all results in better, but your opinion may differ.

User avatar
Tumtrah
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 94
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:09 pm
Location: Hamburg area, Germany

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Tumtrah » Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:32 am

How about buying a finished body. May be cheaper than a refin...

User avatar
Pepe Silvia
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5700
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 11:44 am
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by Pepe Silvia » Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:35 am

It does look cool all beat up, but if you strip the undercoat and give it a new coat of fresh Daphne Blue, I don't think you would have any complaints. It will be worn looking again in quick order.

User avatar
stevejamsecono
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4552
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:55 am
Location: Brooklyn, NYC
Contact:

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:04 am

The color is certainly not stopping me from playing it, I just think it's not much to look at.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

Resident Yamaha Fanboy

COYS

User avatar
MechaBulletBill
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2813
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:16 am
Location: UK

Re: Refinishing your #1 - Successes? Regrets?

Post by MechaBulletBill » Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:30 am

stevejamsecono wrote:
Mon Jun 07, 2021 7:35 am
About a year and a half ago. It's only gotten more gruesome looking since:
Image20190909_115647 by Steve Bailey, on Flickr

9 years of honest blood, sweat, and effort into the thing.
that looks utterly sick, i love it, don't change a thing!

Post Reply