Edging On Les Paul

[Guest Andir]

I have not touched a guitar for about 18 years and only ever done work on Fender and Ibanez slab basses back then but I have painted a lot of cars (does this qualify me) so when a butchered LP Recording came by me I thought I would have a go again. Now the thrust of this post is to find out about the edging on the guitar body. What is it made of, is it removable / replacable and if not how do I deal with it when refinishing the body.

Also any info on the Les Paul Recording would be very handy as mine is missing all the electronics bar the pick-ups so I need to find out about the switches (especially the decade switch) and the transformer specs.

Andir

[marksound]

A quick Google search for Les Paul Recording Model brought up this site. Pretty interesting stuff.

LES PAUL PERSONAL (PROFESSIONAL AND RECORDING)

[mammoth guitars]

The material wrapped around the body edge is called binding and its usually made of plastic or celluloid. Gibson paints over this and scrapes it clean before applying clear coats. Some people mask it off before color is applied and then only cleaning and scraping touch-up is needed before clear coats. If the binding is badly damaged it can be replaced by removing it. Depending on how yours was built some of them had a laminated binding made of multiple layers of different colors (black/white/cream/ etc).

The transformer is just for the XLR balanced output. I would put it back with a traditional unbalanced 1/4 inch jack so it could be played with a standard guitar amp, unless it will not be played.