Question re Headstock finish restoration

Matt Bianco

Here is my beloved 83 Ibanzez Roadstar II which I am in the middle of trying to bring it back to its former glory. I picked this guitar up back in 1996 and although others have come and gone it's served me really well.

When I picked it up in the States, the headstock had been butchered with permanent markers and biro as the previous owner had tried to remove the Ibanez decal and draw a Fender logo over it (it didn't work!). I recently set about trying to remove the ink and scratches and picked up a replica decal via Rothko and Frost in the UK. After removing the ink through a few products, baking soda paste eventually did the trick. However, the lacquer has been stripped and there is a small indentation where the lacquer has been removed.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is the best way to go about refinishing the area. As you will see from the photo, the maple is left exposed underneath. As the guitar is not the most valuable in terms of € and therefore not warranting a french polisher, I would like to give it a good shot and learn a new skill along the way. There will be a decal covering which may hide any imperfections but the key will be blending it in with the surrounding lacquer.

Any suggestions on products, processes, tips, tricks, tutorials etc would be greatly appreciated!

GerryHayes

If I were you, I'd remove the rest of the finish from the front of the headstock. It's going to be very difficult to get a good repair that blends in.
Get a few grades of sandpaper, take off the tuners and hardware, and sand back all of the finish. Flatten and smooth off the maple to about 220 grit, mask off the sides, back and fingerboard and respray (you'll get some clear lacquer in Halfords or equivalent). Spray a few coats, position your logo, and pop a few coats over that (leave drying time between them all).
In my opinion, it'll give a much better result than trying to blend in the existing 'hole'

punchdrunk

your biggest problem will be the vintage tint of the lacquer that's on there already (it's either polyurethane or nitrocellulose-more than likely tinted poly)

it will also have aged due to UV exposure over the past 30 years

it's going to be hard for an amateur to get that to blend naturally with the rest of the neck

I'd be leaning to either a gloss black headstock front or a full neck refin

Matt Bianco

I was hoping that there would be a quick fix but didn't think that there would be any way around refinishing the whole headstock. I will give Gerry's suggestion a go - I see that there is an English company selling specific nitro lacquers with tints so will use that on the finish. I'll post photos when finished to show you the outcome.

Thanks lads for the help!

Doc_Savage

as gerry said... just clean it all back to the wood and put on one coat of laquer, only on the front, mask everything else off! i wouldn't be too worried about the matching of colours, a nice clear rattle can laquer will give a nice result and the more coats you get the yellower it will look. anyway, one coat, decal, more coats..... but test the laquer out on a spare decal first as nearly all reproduction decals get disolved by laquers and it pays to test first! i've got some really good results doing this in the past and wouldn't hesitate using the same approach again.... so yes do go with what gerry suggests!

Matt Bianco

Thanks Doc - the next challenge will be getting the nitrocellulose as it cannot be sent via mail as it is a hazardous substance. I heard that MRCB off Thomas Street may have it so that's my next stop!

Doc_Savage

don't bother with nitro.... it's not worth the hassle!

Matt Bianco

Looking like I won't be as MRCB only have 5L tins at €40 a pop

Will swing by Halfords and Woodies and see whats in stock

Matt Bianco

Following on from the advice I got I had a stab at the sanding and lacquering as recommended to me by Gerry, Doc and Punchdrunk. I sanded it down with a combination of 240, 180 and 100 grade sandpaper and then put a couple of mist layers of acrylic lacquer from Consort. I then applied the decal and then applied a couple more mist layers before some fine sanding with 600 grade paper. I then completed it with a couple of heavier coats. All in all I'm very happy with the outcome and picked up some skills in case a ding is only hanging around the corner!

Thanks again for all the help and proves what a valuable resource this forum is!

punchdrunk

Matt Bianco wrote: »

Following on from the advice I got I had a stab at the sanding and lacquering as recommended to me by Gerry, Doc and Punchdrunk. I sanded it down with a combination of 240, 180 and 100 grade sandpaper and then put a couple of mist layers of acrylic lacquer from Consort. I then applied the decal and then applied a couple more mist layers before some fine sanding with 600 grade paper. I then completed it with a couple of heavier coats. All in all I'm very happy with the outcome and picked up some skills in case a ding is only hanging around the corner!

Thanks again for all the help and proves what a valuable resource this forum is!

good stuff! how does it blend with the original finish?

Matt Bianco

There is a difference from shading for sure but unavoidable without using a tinted nitrocellulose lacquer. For my first foray into lacquering I didn't feel confident enough to strip the whole neck especially when there is discussion on other boards about finding it difficult to get rid of a sticky feel on a maple neck when refinishing. The guitar is a dream to play and I didn't want to tamper with it more than essential (hey it took me fifteen years to grasp this nettle!)

Keeley TS9DX serving me well - hope the DSD3 doing the same for you

punchdrunk

Matt Bianco wrote: »

There is a difference from shading for sure but unavoidable without using a tinted nitrocellulose lacquer. For my first foray into lacquering I didn't feel confident enough to strip the whole neck especially when there is discussion on other boards about finding it difficult to get rid of a sticky feel on a maple neck when refinishing. The guitar is a dream to play and I didn't want to tamper with it more than essential (hey it took me fifteen years to grasp this nettle!)

Keeley TS9DX serving me well - hope the DSD3 doing the same for you

cool,it does look good...the decal definitely looks well
maybe put it out in the garden when we get some sun and the UV will darken it a bit!
I remember the bass player form supergrass using an Ibanez with this type of headstock always thought it looked really cool

still making my funny noises with the DSD3! :pac:
glad the keeley is still going strong

Doc_Savage

looks great... good job!

nialldabass

Nice job, i would of chimed in earlier , but you where given the right advice and I had nothing to add, glad to see the outcome, and isn't it nice learning new skills? Well done.