Re: NOW WHAT?!?!
I like the natural look too but there are a few spots around the horns edges where the sander at Gibson got a little overzealous and sanded through the top veneer. I'm wondering if that is how they decide to keep it blonde (if it is perfect without any sand-through) or do a burst/opaque color (if there is sand-through).
I don't know how Gibson does/did their finishing of these. They must not stain the entirety of the rim (the side) on bursts as there isn't any stain in the U's between the neck and the horns (you can see it in the picture). I'm assuming they use stain for the rim? It's definitely not paint. Also the previous (or one of the previous) owners strap rubbed through the paint/stain to the natural color. I'm assuming I can sand through the stain (so the color would be consistent when re-staining) but I don't want to take too much material off.
This guitar was not in that great of shape hence why I'm refinishing it (also not a big fan of bursts). I know the Gibson gods are looking to take me out (and probably you Gibson guys too). haha
Also, I'm not necessarily looking to keep it "Gibson natural." (i.e. typical Gibson paint jobs) Although I do want something that looks clean and classy. Almost as if someone looked at it and was wanting to purchase the same color.
For anyone curious, the easiest way to strip lacquer/enamel is with acetone (as opposed to sanding). This guitar has not seen any sandpaper! Just make sure you have quite a few clean rags as you need to keep using clean areas of the rag with acetone to remove the finish. Also, don't worry about ruining the binding. I read what acetone will do to binding and was hesitant to go over it (my plan was to get close to the binding then finish the area with sandpaper). As long as you don't keep the binding submerged in acetone and you don't keep your rag in one spot on the binding you will be perfectly fine. Just keep your rag moving. The binding does get a little tacky. The black on the headstock does come off with acetone but not very aggressively. I wiped the entire headstock with acetone and noticed a little black coming off. As long as you don't wipe too much/hard you can salvage the black and just add your clear coat back over it. *****DISCLAIMER***** I'm not responsible for anyone destroying their guitars.