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Topic: ZB Custom refin job |
Mike DiAlesandro
From:
Kent, Ohio
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Posted 3 Oct 2015 4:54 pm |
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What's the average cost to have a ZB cabinet and necks refinished back to their original condition? This would be a two-tone cabinet with a natural top and color between the roping inlay. Also, whom in the Ohio area would be a good choice to do the work? I know some of the ZB gurus live south of here, but not sure if they do the refinish end of the work.
Thanks, Mike |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 3 Oct 2015 8:29 pm
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the original finish on zbs was pretty unique.
really heavy gloss. i've always wondered how they did it and i would think it would be difficult to reproduce. |
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Kevin Hatton
From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
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Posted 4 Oct 2015 10:35 pm
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| Marvin Fluger. Fluger Guitars in Buffalo,N.Y. He does fine quality ZB refinishes. 716-604-5236. |
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Mike DiAlesandro
From:
Kent, Ohio
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 3:57 am
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Thanks Kevin, I will give him a call.  |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 7:58 am
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| I bought an old ZB a while back and refinished it myself. I would hate to have to charge someone for the time I put into it. To do a really good job is very time consuming. I had to completely disassemble the guitar. |
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Mike DiAlesandro
From:
Kent, Ohio
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 8:03 am
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
| I bought an old ZB a while back and refinished it myself. I would hate to have to charge someone for the time I put into it. To do a really good job is very time consuming. I had to completely disassemble the guitar. |
I have it stripped down to just the pickups and the front neck... I was hoping to do the sanding/ prep work on the cabinet myself and just have the cabinet refinishing done by a pro. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 5 Oct 2015 10:09 am
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If you have the guitar stripped down and sanded, the hard work is done.
Assistance, and supplies for the rest are availble at:
www.reranch.com |
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Mike DiAlesandro
From:
Kent, Ohio
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Posted 8 Oct 2015 5:09 pm
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
If you have the guitar stripped down and sanded, the hard work is done.
Assistance, and supplies for the rest are availble at:
www.reranch.com |
Thanks Erv, I got a quote for $500 to refinish the cabinet, but I have to really wonder if it makes sense to put that kind of money into this ZB. It's looking like I will probably attempt it myself.
Mike |
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Mel Bergman
From:
Camarillo, California, USA
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Posted 8 Oct 2015 7:48 pm
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MIke
I recently refinished an early S-10 ZB $500 sounds right to me It's a lot of work. But it is definitely doable for the home enthusiast. You just need patience and planning. I'm happy to help walk you through it. Erv is right: The disassembly and sanding/prep is the hard work. That and the staining if needed. And shooting the clear. And the color sanding. And then the buffing. And the reassembly. Piece of cake. If Zane Beck could do it in his garage, so can you! Let me know if you need any help.
Mel Bergman |
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Mike DiAlesandro
From:
Kent, Ohio
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Posted 11 Oct 2015 3:50 am
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| Mel Bergman wrote: |
MIke
I recently refinished an early S-10 ZB $500 sounds right to me It's a lot of work. But it is definitely doable for the home enthusiast. You just need patience and planning. I'm happy to help walk you through it. Erv is right: The disassembly and sanding/prep is the hard work. That and the staining if needed. And shooting the clear. And the color sanding. And then the buffing. And the reassembly. Piece of cake. If Zane Beck could do it in his garage, so can you! Let me know if you need any help.
Mel Bergman |
Thanks Mel. What product would be best to use to strip the old finish?
Here is a photo of the corner the endplate covered that didn't fade-
Here is the front of the cabinet-
And here is a photo of a factory backing plate used on the fretboard, denoting the date, place of manufacture, and customer it was built for. Also in pencil, it states that E9th is the "inside neck"
These backing plates are interesting, has anyone ever seen them before on a ZB? |
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Eric Dahlhoff
From:
Point Arena, California
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Posted 11 Oct 2015 11:17 am
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Use sandpaper to remove the old finish. It will come off easy. Using a chemical stripper is an mess.
Best of luck!!
_________________
"To live outside the law you must be honest." (Bob Dylan) |
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Ian Worley
From:
Sacramento, CA
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Posted 11 Oct 2015 12:56 pm
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I would actually strongly recommend making the mess. Use one of the non-toxic water based strippers like this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_276061-34228-CR.PSNXT.P.04_0__. You don't want to end up with a smaller cabinet that flops around in the end plates due to oversanding. It's difficult to control how much material you remove with sandpaper and remove it consistently across a large surface.
Lacquer is much harder than the wood below and you tend to continually push that material down into the pores of the wood as you sand through it. When you use stripper to remove the finish you can get by with much lighter sanding on the actual wood, and it will usually lift the surface layers of stain too.
And don't sand down to remove dings and dents, use a drop of water followed by a wet rag and an iron to swell/lift them, several passes if needed.
The ReRanch products mentioned are great as is the stuff from Behlen, available from most woodworking suppliers. ~$60 and it a bit of patience is all it will take. Have fun! |
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Ron Pruter
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 11 Oct 2015 3:21 pm
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Mike, are you thinking that it faded that much? I really doubt that. I've never seen one fade that bad. More likely it was refinished without totally taking it apart and they sanded around the end plate.
RP
_________________
Emmons SKH Le Grande, '73 Fender P/J bass, Tick tack bass, Regal high strung, USA Nashville 112. |
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B. Greg Jones
From:
Middleport, Ohio USA
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Posted 12 Oct 2015 2:06 pm
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| A lot of the early ZB's such as this one are prone to fading. I have seen them the same way and the only way to tell what color it was is to pull the fretboards or endplates. The stain they used then was food coloring. |
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