I posted here a week or so ago about a mysterious Eclipse that had cropped up for sale locally for silly (low, sub-MIK) money... Anyway, I finally met with the seller to check out the guitar, which turned out to be USA production in fine playing condition with a comfortable (and surprisingly full) neck, unworn frets, electronics in 100% working order, etc. Aside from the absence of the original case, the one and only catch is that the finish is has light discolorations, not from normal wear-and-tear but from some sort of chemical reaction between the paint and the clearcoat over the years. It definitely not Hameritis (although there is a tiny bit of this at the fingerboard/nut as expected for a 1995 Hamer); its much more subtle than that and looks like chalky finger smudges. These hazy marks are under the clearcoat and cannot (I believe) be simply buffed-out.
Nonetheless, I was still interested and - in spite of the bargain asking price - I made the seller an almost-insulting offer and, to my amazement, he accepted.
I thought to begin with I could ignore the cosmetic anomalies, but it turns out I just can't (the black color doesn't help!). And to make matters worse, I've really bonded with this guitar: I love the feel of the neck and body and the wide-awake tone. So I've decided its worth putting some money and thought into bringing it back to par - which means refinishing.
And this brings me to my dilemma: Do I do a straight-up restoration and have the guitar repainted black, retain all existing hardware etc (which is in excellent condition), OR treat the refin as an opportunity to create something more unique... perhaps a color that's not associated with this model, route for full humbuckers etc.?
Any thoughts, suggestions, perspective and sanity-checks welcome...
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Jellyfish
I posted here a week or so ago about a mysterious Eclipse that had cropped up for sale locally for silly (low, sub-MIK) money... Anyway, I finally met with the seller to check out the guitar, which turned out to be USA production in fine playing condition with a comfortable (and surprisingly full) neck, unworn frets, electronics in 100% working order, etc. Aside from the absence of the original case, the one and only catch is that the finish is has light discolorations, not from normal wear-and-tear but from some sort of chemical reaction between the paint and the clearcoat over the years. It definitely not Hameritis (although there is a tiny bit of this at the fingerboard/nut as expected for a 1995 Hamer); its much more subtle than that and looks like chalky finger smudges. These hazy marks are under the clearcoat and cannot (I believe) be simply buffed-out.
Nonetheless, I was still interested and - in spite of the bargain asking price - I made the seller an almost-insulting offer and, to my amazement, he accepted.
I thought to begin with I could ignore the cosmetic anomalies, but it turns out I just can't (the black color doesn't help!). And to make matters worse, I've really bonded with this guitar: I love the feel of the neck and body and the wide-awake tone. So I've decided its worth putting some money and thought into bringing it back to par - which means refinishing.
And this brings me to my dilemma: Do I do a straight-up restoration and have the guitar repainted black, retain all existing hardware etc (which is in excellent condition), OR treat the refin as an opportunity to create something more unique... perhaps a color that's not associated with this model, route for full humbuckers etc.?
Any thoughts, suggestions, perspective and sanity-checks welcome...
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