Refinishing

Vintage Style Refinishing

My focus is on providing vintage style nitrocellulose refinishes for guitars and basses.   The materials for a repair or refinish are typically inexpensive - what you are paying for is my time (and skill) more than anything.  Prices for these services are directly based on the time required for a particular job.   

I try to be efficient in my work but balance that with doing a quality job. 

Email me a detailed description of the work you would like done and pictures if at all possible and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.  The price list below is subject to change and is also a guideline to let you estimate a ballpark price, but once I quote you a price on a specific piece of work, I will guarantee that price.

Payment is due in full at completion of my work - I accept Paypal, Popmoney, money orders, cash and cheques (must clear however).  At this point I am not requesting prepayment, except if I must purchase specialized parts, particularly costly custom color lacquer or major components (e.g. pickups, tuners, new neck) .

Refinishing

I offer a full range of accurate vintage colors and I also have the ability to mix custom colors. Some of the colors I generally have in stock include:

Fender:  

Olympic White, Black,Lake Placid Blue, Foam Green, Sonic Blue, Daphne Blue, 

Fiesta Red, Dakota Red, Firemist Gold, Inca Silver, 2-color & 3-color Sunburst, 
Wine, Walnut, Blonde, Candy Apple Red

Gibson: 

Pelham Blue, Cherry, Ember Red, Cardinal Red, Black, White, Tobacco Burst, Sunburst, 
Walnut, Goldtop, Sparkling Burgundy

Some examples of my work (click on pictures for larger image):

'81 Buller Bass - Aged Shell Pink

'64 P-bass - Slightly Aged Daphne Blue

2004 Tele - Aged Blonde over Ash

Tom Delonge ES-333 - Ember Red
w/Apricot Creme Stripes

2000's Les Paul Standard - Honeyburst

'63 Jaguar - Mary Kaye Blonde

'62 P-bass - 3-color Sunburst

Semi-custom '66 Fender XII
- aged Sonic Blue
(Original "target burst" XII
next to it)

I am able to order most other Gibson & Fender custom colors as well as mix colors for most other instruments if there is a sample left on the guitar or its a well documented color (e.g. Azure Blue for Rickenbackers).

I also offer aged clearcoats - which can significantly alter the appearance of a color ( Olympic White becomes a cream color, Pelham Blue turns to a greenish aqua color).

Bolt-on neck body, simple single color refinish - $325 to $450

This is for a simple refinish where there is basic surface prep required beyond sanding, priming and then repainting of the body.  Depending on the color, I use nitrocellulose and acrylic lacquers, with a buffed clear topcoat.  The lowest price is for solid, non-metallic colors and the higher price is for complex finishes such as Candy Apple Red or sparkle finishes.

Bolt-on neck refinish, clear or solid color finish - $125

This is for a simple sanding, prep and respray of the back and headstock (if you want) of a bolt-on (Fender style) neck.  
I can also respray maple fretboards or replace headstock decals (supplied by you) for an additional charge, though in some cases it may be very difficult to strip the existing finish from the fretboard with the frets in place.

Set-neck instrument, full body and neck refinish - $450 and up

This is for a complete refinish of an instrument such as a Gibson SG, assuming that it is built with an open-grained wood like mahogany that will require filling of grain prior to finishing.  Guitars with binding on the neck or body will also an additional charge for masking and scraping the binding, as will archtop instruments (e.g. Les Pauls) or specialized finishes, such as sunbursts, Goldtops, sparkles, etc.

Refinish Extras

Stripping body - $75 and up, depending on type of finish (poly is a bear to get off and I hate stripping bodies !!) and type of guitar.  The lower price is for a simple, lacquer finish on a Fender type body.  The most expensive type of stripping job would be a bound, hollow archtop body - like an ES-335.

Plugging extra routings - depends on the complexity, but figure about $100 per plug

Leveling of uneven body (bad sanding, wear, etc.) - depends on how bad it is - leveling can be done with inlays, veneers, epoxy or lacquer, depending on the severity of the damage  - $75 and up

Filling and sanding open grained wood (mahogany) instrument - this applies mainly to instruments requiring a significant amount of hand sanding to properly fill. By quote.

Bound body requiring masking and/or scraping - by quote depending on instrument

Metallic Color Finishes - additional $50

Multi-color/sunburst finishes - additional $75

Aged (Amber Tinted) Clearcoat  (with or without masking for pickguards, bridges, etc.) - additional $50 - $75

Candy Apple, Gold Top and Sparkle Finishes - by individual quote

If you would like to discuss some work and get a detailed quote, send me an email at:   krishna@guitargarage.net