Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part Three

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Well folks, here we are at the third and final post regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. Since we last met, the guitar's been reassembled, strung, set up; and plugged into a Ross MiniMouth G515 for a final playing check. Heck, I even recorded some audio and uploaded it to SoundCloud. Do give it a listen. Meanwhile, here are some pics of the restored Les Paul. Enjoy :)

Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part Two

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Howdy folks :) This is the second post of a three-parter regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. In this post, we shall take a look at how the damaged headstock/neck scarf joint (Image 1) was repaired, and the back of the neck refinished.

For starters, the bolt-on neck was unscrewed from the body and the finish around the damaged area sanded off until only bare wood remained (Image 2). At this stage, the extent of the damage was clearly visible (Image 3). The scarf joint had split apart completely, and part of the fretboard had separated from the neck. It was indeed fortunate that the break was clean, and there were no splinters to be removed.  

Following this, the surfaces to be mated were lightly scuffed with abrasive paper. Scuffing is important as it promotes glue adhesion to the wood. A dry run was conducted to determine the best placement for clamps and wooden cauls, as there would be little time to position them once glue had been applied. Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue was then applied, and the joint clamped for a week (Image 4).

Once the clamps had been removed, dried glue squeeze-out was sanded off with 220 grit abrasive paper, and the entire repaired area sealed with several coats of super glue. After the last layer of super glue had cured, it was time to sand again, this time from 220 all the way up to 800 grit. By this time, the bare wood surface was sufficiently smooth for refinishing (Image 5). Additionally, the entire back of the neck was lightly sanded with 800 grit abrasive paper.  

After cleaning the whole neck with naphtha and removing any dust with a tack cloth, masking tape was applied to the front of the headstock and fretboard; right up to the fretboard edges. This was done to shield these surfaces from overspray. The back of the neck was then color-coated with Samurai 29/209A Flat Black (Image 6).

The next step was to remove the masking tape and eliminate the paint ridge that had developed all along the border between the bottom edge of the fretboard and side of the neck. This ridge cannot be avoided. You have to put tape on before spraying, and no matter how careful you are; a little of the paint finds its way underneath the tape. This is what creates the ridge. A single-edged razor blade was used to scrape off the paint ridge and smoothen things out (Image 7).

Subsequently, the back of the neck was clear-coated with Samurai 1/128 Clear. This time around, only the the fretboard face was taped off; as the sides of the fretboard needed to be sealed with the clear coat. As can be seen in Image 8, the final coat of clear wasn't all that smooth; no thanks to the unwelcome presence of "orange peel." "Orange peel" is caused by high and low spots in the finish, and must be dealt with appropriately. 

After a couple days of hang time, the clear coat had cured and was ready for some serious wetsanding. Wetsanding is a must if you want to minimize the amount of "orange peel" and even out the finish. And so, the clear coat was wetsanded with a succession of grits from 800 all the way up to 2000 (Image 9). Wetsanding in this way creates a relatively even and smooth surface that exhibits a dull sheen. The final step was polishing and waxing the clear coat, which definitely added some gloss and shine.

Having reached this stage of the restoration, all that needed to be done was to reassemble the Les Paul, do a routine setup with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, put her through her paces; and have a quick photoshoot. Thanks for visiting, and do stay tuned for Part Three of this series :)

Image 1 - First look at the damaged scarf joint

Image 2 - Sanding off the finish down to bare wood

Image 3 - The extent of the damage is clearly visible

Image 4 - Clamping the joint after regluing

Image 5 - After removing the clamps, repaired area sealed and sanded

Image 6 - Color-coating with Samurai 29/209A Flat Black

Image 7 - Scraping and smoothing-out the paint ridge

Image 8 - Clear-coating with Samurai 1/128 Clear, orange peel

Image 9 - Before and after wetsanding, after polishing and waxing

Epiphone Special Model Restoration | Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first of three posts regarding the restoration of a sunburst Gibson Epiphone Special Model Les Paul. The truss rod cover says "Gibson," while the headstock face sports a silk-screened "Epiphone" logo and the words "Special Model." Etched into the chrome neck plate are the Epiphone logo and serial number (07020798). 

As received, this solidbody was covered in dust and grime; while the hardware was tarnished and/or corroded. The barely-functioning three-way toggle switch, pots and output jack had certainly seen better days; and were in dire need of replacement. 

Perhaps the most critical issue concerned the bolt-on neck. Due to a bad fall, the headstock/neck scarf joint had cracked open. It was a bad break, with only the truss rod and rosewood fretboard holding things together. Speaking of the fretboard, well; it was in no better shape than the rest of this guitar.

After determining the repairs/servicing that would have to be carried out, this restoration job was split into three distinct phases: (i) degrime/derust/clean/polish, (ii) electronics overhaul/upgrade; and (iii) scarf joint repair/neck refinish. The pics below cover only phases (i) and (ii) of this restoration. Phase (iii), namely the scarf joint repair and neck refinish, will be covered in Part Two of this series. Thanks for dropping by, and see you soon :)

Image 1 - Headstock before and after cleaning

Image 2 - Fretboard and frets before and after cleaning

Image 3 - Control cavity components and wiring as received

Image 4 - Corroded pots, toggle switch and output jack

Image 5 - Pickups as received

Image 6 - Years of dust, dirt and grime

Image 7 - Hardware removed for cleaning

Image 8 - Pickups reinstalled after servicing

Image 9 - New components and wiring

Image 10 - New Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack

HM Studio Kuantan

HM Studio is a privately-owned rehearsal and recording studio that is fast gaining a reputation as the most comfortable and up-to-date facility in Kuantan. Two rehearsal rooms are available for hire: a rehearsal/jamming room, and a dedicated recording room. The owner is rumored to be the 3rd largest collector of Gibson guitars in Malaysia. Well, I did mention "rumors," right?

However, what I do know is that this humble and down-to-earth dude owns a staggering collection of vintage and modern guitars from makers such as Gibson, Fender, PRS, Gretsch, and Tyler. He's also into vintage tube amps and pedals. Don't be surprised to see an array Fender, Marshall, Mesa-Boogie and Hiwatt (to mention a few) amp heads and combos both inside and outside the rehearsal rooms. Then there's the vintage Ibanez, Boss and Maxon pedals --- you'll be spoilt for choice!

The keeper of  HM Studio is the "All-Seeing Skull," who remains perched on his favorite vintage Fender Super Reverb combo after everyone has gone home and the studio is deathly quiet and empty. I've visited HM Studio many a time in the past, and found it to be a very laid-back and ultra-cool joint. There's even a hang-out corner with a widescreen LED where clients can chill while waiting for their turn; or after a session. Now, what more can one ask for?

Gibson '59 Les Paul Reissue R9 with Bigsby

This Gibson '59 Les Paul Reissue R9 with Bigsby was sent in for a thorough cleaning and polish, plus restring and setup.

Gibson SG Special Headstock and Neck Repair

There's a sad story and lesson to be learnt behind today's ebony Gibson SG Special Headstock and Neck Repair tale. The used SG in question had been purchased online for a mere 2.5K. That was way too cheap, and for a reason. The current owner only found out that something was not right after playing it for the first time at home. The black paint suddenly split open to reveal a crack where the neck meets the headstock. He immediately contacted the seller, who replied to his messages for a while, and then dropped off the web; never to be seen or heard of again.

The heartbroken owner, who works and lives in Dungun; brought it to me on one of his rare off days. He really loved the SG, it had been his dream guitar ever since he'd started playing. I immediately noticed some black overspray on the sides of the nut, and curiosity stoked by what I was seeing; scraped off the paint and sealer right down to bare wood. We looked carefully at what was thus revealed -- remnants of glue from a previous botched repair job. So it was clear that the dishonest seller had knowingly offloaded a damaged SG to our unsuspecting buyer.

Though visibly devastated by the confirmation of his suspicions, the owner quietly asked if his beloved SG could be restored; and if it would be worth it. I told him that he'd gotten the guitar at a ridiculous price, what more with a genuine Gibson USA gig bag thrown in for free. As such, even with the added-on cost of a headstock/neck repair; it would definitely be worth it. And so, I ended up being entrusted with the task of restoring this ebony beauty to gig-able condition.

Due to the severity of the damage, I knew that nothing short of a full backstrap overlay would suffice for this repair. But that would mean that the serial number would be removed. Now, as this was a genuine Gibson SG Special (yes, I checked), it would permanently devalue the instrument. But the owner was okay with this as he was never ever going to sell it. For good measure, I decided that I would carefully saw off the upper portion of the back of the headstock (where the serial number and "Made in USA" is) and keep it safe in the gig bag pocket.

The first part of the job was cleaning off as much of the old glue residue as humanly possible. Once this was done, I re-glued the crack with Titebond III and clamped it shut with rubber bands. After two days, off came the rubber bands; and I proceeded to remove wood from the back of the headstock and neck. That is, after sawing off the upper portion; as planned earlier.

Having removed the required amount of wood from the area to be repaired, evidence of the previous botched repair revealed itself in the form of two figure eight-shaped wood inserts/splines. I've arrowed them in the related pic so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about. Next, a pre-shaped and pre-bent Nyatoh backstrap overlay was glued on to the back of the headstock/neck, once again with my go-to wood glue; Titebond III. Clamps were applied, and eventually removed after five days.

After removing dried glue squeeze-out, the backstrap overlay was trimmed and scraped to fit. Holes for the tuners were then drilled and the tuners test-fitted. Everything up to this point had gone off without a hitch, thankfully.

The next step was grain filling and sealing, a tedious and repetitive task; but absolutely necessary. Now, I'd normally spray on an undercoat after this, but in this case; I'd have to blend the new finish with the original paint job on the neck. And so, I went straight to color-coating with flat black. Then, it was clear coating time, hang time of about a month; followed by waxing and polishing. It sounds relatively simple, but that's because I've fast-forwarded through mind-numbing tasks such as wet-sanding.

Finally, it was time re-assemble the components previously removed; string her up; and do final setup and testing. This Gibson SG Special passed with flying colors, I'm happy to say. I called the owner, told him the good news; and he asked me to hold on to his baby until he had a day off. So I waited. And waited. Seems he could not wrangle a day off yet.

And so, on a dark and stormy night; the wife and I decided to deliver the SG to him instead. We drove all the way to Dungun via the Lebuh Raya Pantai Timur (LPT), which proved to be an interesting experience. Met up with the owner, who came in his work clothes on a motorbike; much to my surprise. Happily took possession of his SG, slung the gig bag over his shoulder; and off he went into the night.

As for the two of us, we were hungry. Found a nice little restaurant, had our dinner; and headed back to Kuantan. If the drive to Dungun was interesting, the return trip was "far out," as John Denver used to say. And why not, it was raining cats and dogs, the wind was a-blowing, lightning and thunder flashed and rumbled; and there was a few inches of water on the surface of the road. Thank goodness we arrived home safely that night. What an adventure it had been, and all because of a lovely ebony Gibson SG Special!