I have this Gibson Les Paul custom that I got from a friend because he wanted me to fix it… here is the damage:
I don’t have a before picture of the rest of the guitar, because they are fine… anyways some Taiwanese music store owner fixed the break the Taiwanese way… white glue and screw. Thankfully the screw backed out just fine…
I mean I am sorta Taiwanese but no matter where you’re from this is not a way to treat a guitar like this… maybe cheap Asian guitars but you would think they’d be more careful with a 100K NT guitar…
Here are the actual fix:
Well, the short story is, I glued the crack back together with epoxy, used a router to cut 2 slots in the back then filled it with more mahogany (that I got from a supplier in Taiwan - go figures) and then painted over it to hide it. I touched up the serial number with a paint brush and student acrylic… then clear coated over the whole thing.
Here is after:
After the finishing and sanding and polish, I filed down the fret and recrowned it with a triangular file (which is cheaper than fret files, and more versatile too) since the guitar was heavily played. Then I replaced the plastic(!) nut with a bone nut.
It was a lot of work… the owner’s better appreciate it.
Good job. If i need any work done, I know who to turn to.
Excellent job. You should be posting this on Harmony Central or something.
TL -
Great craftsmanship.
Great work.
It’s always so satisfying to see a true artisan at work. Fantastic. 
Nice
What kind of clear did you shoot if with if you don’t mind me asking?
Also, a plastic nut on a NT$100k Gibson custom? You sure it isn’t a knock off?
[quote=“plasmatron”]Nice
What kind of clear did you shoot if with if you don’t mind me asking?
Also, a plastic nut on a NT$100k Gibson custom? You sure it isn’t a knock off?[/quote]
I used nitrocellulose. It’s actually a Taiwanese brand, says “flash crystal paint” on the can.
The can looks like this:
they are sold in a paint store in taipei at taiyuan street… they should be available elsewhere… dyes and stuff to tint the lacquer can either be bought from a chemical store, or online.
No this isn’t a knockoff… if it was it wouldn’t use nitrocellulose lacquer nor will it have a one piece mahogany body. The serial number checks out and the construction is appropriate for its time (it’s a 1989 les paul custom).
Awesome, thanks. Did you have any blushing/hazing problems shooting nitro in Taiwan humidity and is that stuff sprayable out the can or do you have to cut it?
I know I’m pushing my luck, but if you have a spare minute at some point, any chance you could take a photo of the company info on the back of the nitro can? It’d make tracking it down easier with a chinese product/company name. Cheers!
The stuff is VERY thick, it needs to be reduced significantly with lacquer thinner. As for the Taiwan humidity you need to get some Butyl Cellusolve (the chemical stores at Tienshui street sells them) and add a little bit of them (about 5% or less) to the mix in order to prevent blushing, otherwise it WILL blush. Keep in mind that the presence of butyl cellusolve will slow the curing so be careful.
I will see if it contains the company info later… not much is known about this brand other than the fact that it’s almost identical to Lawerance McFadden’s lacquer, it cures very hard and will check and yellow.
please be careful with the nitrocellulose, especially if it loses all the solvent: its other name is guncotton, and it was used for a long time as one of the main ingredients in artillery shells as propellant. it does tend to go bang very nicely.
Very nice guitar restro, BTW.
[quote=“urodacus”]please be careful with the nitrocellulose, especially if it loses all the solvent: its other name is guncotton, and it was used for a long time as one of the main ingredients in artillery shells as propellant. it does tend to go bang very nicely.
Very nice guitar restro, BTW.[/quote]
Yes I know what it is, however the kind in lacquer tends to have some plasticizers added to it, similar to celluloid. I’d say be careful with ping pong balls too because it’s made of the same material. In any case almost all plastic (except for ones with fire retardation treatment) are flammable, and lacquer is flammable whether it has solvent or not!
That’s a very cool fix. I did one many years ago – that’s a pretty common problem with Gibson-style headstocks – but I sawed the whole headstock off and made a long skarf joint. You don’t want to know how difficult that was! It worked just fine, but your way looks a hell of a lot easier!
Really beautiful work. You wouldn’t be interested in replacing a saddle on a metal-bodied resonator ukulele, would you? I have to do this very soon and I’m a bit nervous of removing and replacing the biscuit from the resonator cone. Any suggestions?
[quote=“sandman”]That’s a very cool fix. I did one many years ago – that’s a pretty common problem with Gibson-style headstocks – but I sawed the whole headstock off and made a long skarf joint. You don’t want to know how difficult that was! It worked just fine, but your way looks a hell of a lot easier!
Really beautiful work. You wouldn’t be interested in replacing a saddle on a metal-bodied resonator ukulele, would you? I have to do this very soon and I’m a bit nervous of removing and replacing the biscuit from the resonator cone. Any suggestions?[/quote]
I have not done a resonator before… but I can find out. Please send me a PM and we will talk more.
As for the lacquer, here is what it says on the can:
Manufacturer: 新美華造漆廠股份有限公司
Address: 桃園縣八德市聯華街39號
Telephone: (03)3683266-70
Registration number: 35459404
[quote=“Taiwan Luthiers”]
As for the lacquer, here is what it says on the can:
Manufacturer: 新美華造漆廠股份有限公司
Address: 桃園縣八德市聯華街39號
Telephone: (03)3683266-70
Registration number: 35459404[/quote]
Fantastic, thanks a lot
Here’s the product.
Other information deleted because I just noticed somebody beat me to it.