Sly_D
New member
First, the story. My backdoor neighbour came knocking at my door today. It was, once again, because part of my land is falling on his (he's 8 foot lower) and this has became sort of a friendly war between us each year because I don't have the money to have the wall rebuilt and he knows it.
Only this time it was not funny. When I saw him with no hair and a freaking giant scar on his skull, I knew this was very bad. We talked. He told me he had two malignant tumour in the brain. One removed. One too late to remove. Creepy stuff that sends shivers down your spine. Then he ask how was the guitar playing and I was surprised. He said he heard me playing. That it was nice. I was practicing jazz progression at the time. I doubt he would have said the same thing about Kiss and AC/DC
.
Anyhow, he came back 2 hours later with an acoustic guitar in an old leather case. He said he had it for years and that I would make it sing better than he could ever do. I was shaken by this gesture. I told him to knock at my door whenever he needs anything.
So there I am now in front of an old Val Dez guitar, made somewhere between the early 70s and the mid 80s. It seems very old, the varnish as wave in it. It was not a great make but this little things sounds awesome... and I just can't part with it. The gift of this man touched me way too much to just turn around and throw the thing in the garbage.
So I want to sand it smooth and refinish it. Problem his, my first sanding attempts showed me that the back was actually just a laminated figured wood. I sanded through the laminated back. So now my only option is to paint it black, which is OK with me cause I love black acoustics.
Anyone has good reference (books, Internet sites) where I can get tips about how to do this?
This will be sort of a first project for me. And it means a lot to me.
Thanks in advance!
Only this time it was not funny. When I saw him with no hair and a freaking giant scar on his skull, I knew this was very bad. We talked. He told me he had two malignant tumour in the brain. One removed. One too late to remove. Creepy stuff that sends shivers down your spine. Then he ask how was the guitar playing and I was surprised. He said he heard me playing. That it was nice. I was practicing jazz progression at the time. I doubt he would have said the same thing about Kiss and AC/DC
.Anyhow, he came back 2 hours later with an acoustic guitar in an old leather case. He said he had it for years and that I would make it sing better than he could ever do. I was shaken by this gesture. I told him to knock at my door whenever he needs anything.
So there I am now in front of an old Val Dez guitar, made somewhere between the early 70s and the mid 80s. It seems very old, the varnish as wave in it. It was not a great make but this little things sounds awesome... and I just can't part with it. The gift of this man touched me way too much to just turn around and throw the thing in the garbage.
So I want to sand it smooth and refinish it. Problem his, my first sanding attempts showed me that the back was actually just a laminated figured wood. I sanded through the laminated back. So now my only option is to paint it black, which is OK with me cause I love black acoustics.
Anyone has good reference (books, Internet sites) where I can get tips about how to do this?
This will be sort of a first project for me. And it means a lot to me.
Thanks in advance!
