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Topic: Gibson Console Grande -- Removing 'character' lettering |
Michael Lester
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 17 Mar 2013 10:39 am |
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...all of you have been a big help as I decide what to do with this guitar... you helped identify it as '49..
While several comments suggested that the ill-advised 'NASHViLLE MUSiC' lettering gives it character, I don't think I'll ever get comfortable on the band stand with audience members wondering why I did such a lousy job of decorating the guitar...
Any thoughts on removing what looks like model airplane enamel without destroying the varnish?
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 17 Mar 2013 12:43 pm
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You'll regret that...
Enamel used in the old days was some tough stuff. I was in the old school sign biz and we used EasyOff oven cleaner which I would highly advise against ( they don't even make that as strong as they use to).
Live with it or prepare for a refin. Even if you did get the lettering off - and depending on the situation, you may - my old ShoBud had a players name on it once, but you will still see the ghost lettering...that's almost certain.
I think it looks cool
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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James Kerr
From:
Scotland, UK
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Posted 17 Mar 2013 1:33 pm
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Just hang your shingle in front of it.
James. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 17 Mar 2013 2:48 pm
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| It's all or nothing. There are people covering guitars with the same sort of "skins" that they now use on automobiles, it may be a lesser degree of cheesy. |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 6:40 am
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| Play it left handed. |
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Chris Lucker
From:
Los Angeles, California USA
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 6:54 am
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sell it and get another.
_________________
Chris Lucker
Red Bellies, Bigsbys and a lot of other guitars. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Peggy Green
From:
San Jose, California USA
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 11:45 am
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Paint Graffiti over it like the taggers who keep covering each others slogans. ???
_________________
Worn out cords, worn out amps, worn out guitar wiring...worn out most everything |
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Jeff Keyton
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 2:13 pm
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delete
Last edited by Jeff Keyton on 15 Mar 2023 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 2:14 pm
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I don't think there is any good or simple way to try and remove the paint without damaging the original lacquer. Even if it did come off fairly clean, most likely there will be ghosting due to the uneven exposure to light.
Thats not to say it can't be done, but anything I could think of would be high risk and potentially damaging.
_________________
Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
Follow me on Facebook here |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 2:33 pm
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I, personally, would have to remove the lettering.
As a partial fix, you could consider having just the front side masked off, stripped and refinished. It wouldn't match the rest of the time worn body, but it would be a lot easier than taking the whole thing apart and refinishing the entire instrument. You could also consider just having all the sides refinished without touching the top.
I like character, but that lettering is just annoying. That being said, I'm envious of your acquisition. I've craved one of those for a while.
Congratulations. |
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Gary Meixner
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 18 Mar 2013 4:17 pm
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Michael,
Years ago I worked in a restoration shop for a high level New York antique dealer. It was not uncommon for us to have pieces in the shop that had paint spatter or spills that needed to be removed with out damaging the original finish or doing as little refinishing as possible. In most cases we would use a very sharp cabinet scraper and single edged razors to scrape the paint off down to the original finish. This was very tedious and took a lot of concentration to remove very fine shavings of paint. After scraping we would lightly sand and then rub out the original finish. As several have already mentioned, shadowing will almost always be an issue. When shadowing was bad enough some type of finish removal or coloring was required to hide it since this effect would actually be in the old finish and even into the wood. The whole process took a lot of patients and a lot of skill not to mention time. What you have is much larger than anything I ever dealt with and I would find it a real challenge. If the paint was in fact hobby paint, these were often lacquer and most likely has burned into the original finish which was also a lacquer. I think you are probably stuck with it unless you want to under take a partial refinish on the front of the guitar. A skilled craftsman, who was committed to the task could probably do the job and save some of the original finish but it would be costly and effect originality of the instrument almost as much as the lettering.
Best of luck,
Gary |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 19 Mar 2013 12:54 am
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I don't think there's any way to remove just the lettering successfully without ghosting, but I defer to the experts.
If the guitar belonged to me, I'd refinish the front at least so that I could be proud of it's appearance. I couldn't stand to look at that hideous lettering no matter how much "character" it's supposed to add. I don't blame you for wanting to get rid of it. There ain't no mojo in that mess. 
Same with the legs. Fix 'em or replace 'em were it mine if reasonably economical.
But...it's your guitar...You could try some of the suggested methods to remove the lettering. Maybe someone else will have some ideas. Worst could happen is that you end up doing a refin in the end. But if you can live with it as is that's your business. Good Luck  |
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Michael Brebes
From:
Northridge CA
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Posted 19 Mar 2013 7:17 am
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My approach would be to use 600 grit or higher wet-or-dry sandpaper to lightly sand (with water) only the areas of the lettering. When it gets very thin, I would change to finer grit papers or cloths, like you can get from Stewart McDonald, and slowly work it down to the original finish.
_________________
Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso
Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100 |
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J Fletcher
From:
London,Ont,Canada
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Posted 19 Mar 2013 9:15 am
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| How about a tooled leather front cover? I've seen a pic of Bud Issacs with a guitar like that. |
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Steve Ahola
From:
Concord, California
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Posted 19 Mar 2013 10:58 am
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For a quick'n'dirty fix I myself would look into a wood-grained contact paper- but I would make sure that it would not damage the finish when you removed it later for a more permanent fix. Perhaps putting on a few coats of an acceptable polish under the contact paper would allow for it to be easily removed later with no damage to the finish.
Steve Ahola
_________________
www.blueguitar.org
Recordings on electric guitar:
http://www.box.net/blue-diamonds
http://www.box.net/the-culprits |
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Michael Lester
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 19 Mar 2013 7:06 pm Gibson Console Grande
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...thanks again everyone...(except the guy who suggested 'play it left-handed'  )... we're going to refinish the front - even if it ends up a solid color - possibly matching the darkest shades of the rest of the body...
...I've started nosing around for legs like those originally supplied with it and I've got an electronics expert to test and repair or replace pots/switches/plug-ins and pickups...
...should be fun to bring it back to life -- this guitar was stored in the trunk of an old Mercury for 40 years and was discovered when a local hot-rod guy bought the old car to make it into a street rod...
...he had a Fender amp that I was after and was asking too much for it... we agreed on his price if he would throw the Mercury guitar into the mix...
...I'll keep you posted... it may end up being for sale because it's is heavier than my mother-in-laws heart the day I married her daughter |
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Jim Newberry
From:
Seattle, Upper Left America
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Posted 20 Mar 2013 11:59 am
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Who'd name a kid "Nashville-Music"? That's just wrong.
_________________
"The Masher of Touch and Tone"
-1950 Fender Dual Pro 8
-1950's Fender Dual Pro 6
-Clinesmith D8
-Clinesmith 8-string Frypan
-Clinesmith Joaquin
-~1940 National New Yorker
-~1936 Rickenbacher B6
-Homebuilt Amps |
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Brian LeBlanc
From:
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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Posted 20 Mar 2013 1:03 pm put a "K"
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...in front of it
_________________
'Frenchy' LeBlanc...
ShoBud & Twins |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 20 Mar 2013 2:59 pm
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| I think if it was mine, I already would have had a fit and attacked it with the 50-grit in the DeWalt by now. That thing is UGLY. Like a little kid, or a really "backwards sort" of fellow, got a little too happy one day. Always hide the paint when when they're drinking the $4 stuff.... |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2013 6:53 am
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I was once given a Gibson Bass, a red one that had been painted blue. Strange as it may sound, I was able to remove the blue paint with Nevr-Dull! Took a lot of rubbing, but didn't hurt the original red finish at all. You might give that a try.
I needed legs for my Gibson Grande. I found that EMT, electrical metallic tubing was perfect. Not the thin-walled conduit. This stuff has thick walls, and buffed up to look just like chrome. Check at a hardware or electrical supply store. |
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Jim Williams
From:
Meridian, Mississippi, USA - Home of Peavey!
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Posted 21 Mar 2013 7:25 am
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Why not just have a piece of thin veneer or formica cut to fit the front of it? And a can of flat black paint for those legs! I agree that they bother me more than the lettering.  |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2013 7:37 am
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| The EMT tubing is cheap, sturdy, and looks just like nice chrome legs. |
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