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DONE !!! Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:06 pm
by raphaël
One of my jobs is to be local reporter. It means I meet a loooooot of people, different people with different stories.
I like this job.
Yesterday, this job gave me a NGD.
I like this job even better now :D !!!

I met a tattooist (tattooer??) in the big village I live in yesterday to write an article about him being new in town and about his new shop. Suuuuper cool guy, does chicanos realistic stuffs (learnt this yesterday ;) ) and the guy had a guitar laying around, in bad shape but quite ok and only here to decorate.
Poor thing...
I immediately recognized the pickups but had a big doubt with the body shape. I was sure it was 60 's made though, and from Italy.

I then said to the dude that if he wanted to restore it and put it back in his shop before the Grand Opening Soirée, I was his guy because I like old guitars and I like trying to work on them to give a second or third breath to an instrument.
He answered : " oh you know, this guitar spent her life in an attic, a friend gave it to me and I just painted it. But I don't know where to put it in the shop, plus the kids might hurt with it. I don't care of this thing, you should take it and have it and go back home with it".

:ph34r:

So I took it, and now I have it home. He didn't even wanted a good bottle of wine, or beers or anything else.
And guess what?
It's a freakin' 60's Welson Playboy !!!!!!
And it belongs to the "Why..........to me" thread too :D

Pics !!!!

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As you might see there is a lot to do...
The bridge is missing as do the input jack. I didn't saw the guts yet but I guess electronic is kaputt. The guyalso told me he thought the pups where working last time he plugged it. Will see...
The tuners are stiffly and some of them seem to be stuck...I don't know if they work and if they worth the restoration. Could toise be Van Ghents??
The finish is...what it is, and the original clear coat looks like a dry desert.

But!!! The nut is perfect, the fretboard is super beautiful, the fret are more than ok, 5 ply binding and heavy radius (by eye it seems to be even radiused that this 7'25" I love.

Excited !!!!
I'm so happy I got this guitar.
What makes me feel stupid right now is that I have 4 projects right now...but I 'm happy : I have 4 projects right now :D :D !!!! And one of them is a Welson 8)

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:25 pm
by Pacafeliz
Gosh that is SO cool congrats!!! :w00t:

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 9:31 pm
by HH1978
Hey Raph,

That’s a fantastic project! I should change my job, it’s unlikely that one of my students ever brings a vintage guitar to me ;D

Actually I like that finish!

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:56 am
by Squirrel
Nice! Should be easy enough to get back to the original finish with some 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper.
raphaël wrote:
Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:06 pm
The tuners are stiffly and some of them seem to be stuck...I don't know if they work and if they worth the restoration. Could toise be Van Ghents??
Yeah, they're Van Ghents and are definitely worth saving. Give them some 3 in one oil and they'll be fine.

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 6:18 am
by HH1978
But!!! The nut is perfect, the fretboard is super beautiful, the fret are more than ok, 5 ply binding and heavy radius (by eye it seems to be even radiused that this 7'25" I love.
Actually, the nut doesn't have much importance, as there's a fret zero. But you will probably need some kind of bar on the headstock to maintain downward pressure on the strings.

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 7:20 am
by raphaël
Thanks guys

Yes Hugues, but for the nut I meant it as "I'm happy the nut is perfect so I won't have to change it because it's a perfect shaped string guide" ;)
I actually find the finish quite nice, it's somehow fun...but the blue paint is very thick and there is a hand written "Rock'n'roll", which I really can't stand.
Anyway, I've started the "peeling the paint off" phase and it's going to be fine...yet very time consuming, I'm doing it by hand, with the tip of a screwdriver, very gently. I'll try something else later in the week, it's sunday, every shops are closed.
The original clear coat is under the paint. Cool.

There is absolutly no wire under the pickguard. Everything else is here though, so no big deal.
I think the pickups will need a rewound...or maybe not. There is no wire also, check on that later.

As it is a non-expected guitar and as it is one more guitar in the family and as I like the way I had it/it's a vintage hollow body guitar/I "wanted" a Welson/I'll spend time and money on it, I need to legitimate it to my girlfriend :D : this guitar will have extremely high gauge strings tuned to the tension I usually have with my 10s so it will somehow be a baritone guitar :w00t: !!

The tuners are currently bathing in oil, hope it'll work !!!

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 10:18 am
by HH1978
Oh, I didn't even notice the writing, it's big though ;D

Great news about the clear coat! I've seen one in original condition on Reverb, great looking guitar!

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2018 10:38 am
by HH1978
By the way, did you notice the F-hole is not the more common version? They also seem to have come in various configurations : 1 to 3 pu's, some with switches, some without, some with bound fretboard, some without...

As for the pickups, they are apparently the same as Crucianelli's, Bartolini's and Gemelli's from the same era , under a different cover. If yours don't work, rewinding them is certainly an option, but finding period correct replacements and putting them in the Welson covers could also be.

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:37 am
by Shadoweclipse13
That is lovely!! I'm with HH1978, I kinda like the finish ;D It's unique and not obnoxious. Would be cool to see it stock though!!

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:01 am
by raphaël
I know what you mean, but it's too late now. Here is the guitar right now :

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I'm actually contemplating the idea of living it like this.
The blue might stay if I leave the gold swirls as is. If I remove the swirls, I feel the blue would have to go.
I don't know what to do though...because the guitar would be nice stock. The burst seems beautiful, and I don't have one like this on any guitar. It's either red or 3TS.
I need to sleep on this.
Good news is that I already bought a bridge, should be here within 10 days.

Also waiting for a reply for the rewind of the pickups ;)

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:08 pm
by Embenny
Man this is so cool. Can't wait to see how it shapes up!

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 1:42 pm
by antisymmetric
^^What he said! :) 8)

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:04 am
by mgeek
very cool- perservere! It'll look way better buffed back to the og sunburst imo

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 3:53 am
by raphaël
Thanks guys !!

I think the choice has been taken now. I don't think I will keep the "art" the guy made on it.
I will remove everything, back to the original finish,make it nice and clean and glorious again (if it had already been glorious at some point :D ) and THEN I'll do a special pickguard (don't know how yet, in one or two or three pieces, keeping the original one by including it in the design or not...will see).
One guitar I'm dreaming of for ages is this Bartolini hollow body:

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I think this guitar looks absolutly stunning.
I never saw another one in photo, or for sale or anything else.
Welson is somehow in the same family, I thought my guitar would be the perfect candidate for "faking" it !!
And the mod would be harmless, just a pickguard and yes, ok, few more screw holes in the body.

I think this will make me veeery happy.

Re: Unexpected NGD leads to a restoration project

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:42 am
by raphaël
New bridge day !!

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It's old and it's beautiful and it fits perfectly the arch top of the guitar 8)