77 Les Paul

[jeremyp]

An older friend of mine asked me if I could get his father's old guitar playing again. It is a black Les Paul Custom with gold plated hardware.

The serial number info on the headstock is as follows:

LES PAUL-CUSTOM

MADE IN USA

06209638

I believe that makes it from '77 (according to http://www.guitardaterproject.org)

The guitar is in remarkable condition (His father purchased it new) along with the hard shell case. There are several signs of wear, and age on it.Frets have some wear but don't seem too bad, but the strings on the guitar I think rusted and left some junk behind. I have yet to open it up, but the input jack has corrosion on it and I couldn't even plug in a cable.

What I would like to accomplish is to clean the frets, clean up any corrosion without stripping away the gold plating and get it playing and set up.

Now the most important part is that I don't want to do anything to cause the guitar to lose value. What are definite things not to do that would damage the worth of the guitar? Would polishing the frets be a mistake? How far do I go in repairing electronics? How far do I go with cleaning?

I took a couple pictures that show some of the corroded metal and frets.

http://imgur.com/a/cokfW#0

[westhemann]

I would replace the input jack,but you could soak the original one in baking soda/water and use a wire bottle brush to clean it

http://www.carolinab...ush/default.php

I would also polish the frets up,but mask off the board and clean the frets with micro mesh and the rubber backing pad that comes with the micro mesh.No power tools,as a slip and a burn through could make for a bad day

Open it up and clean any corrosion inside,and take out all of those rusted screws and clean them up.That is what I would do.I would not even level the frets personally.I don't know what that particular guitar is worth,but considering the absolutely ridiculous prices they go for,you can't be "too careful"...and those guitars are awesome when they have that "played in" feel

I don't know if resoldering would hurt any value of it,but if you have a bad connection I can't think that touching it with the soldering iron to melt and refresh a connection would hurt..but before touching it I would look into the value and talk to some Gibson forum members.Do not replace any wiring...the original wiring is important

I don't THINK those are extremely valuable right now,but the value of them tends to go up,and original is important. I would rather be too careful and never see it turn valuable at all than start replacing stuff and see them skyrocket in 40 years.

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3a6e3d9068

Of course,the guy on Ebay is suspect because I believe the "black beauty" had 3 humbuckers..I don't think being black qualifies it by itself.

[Tim37]

I don't know if resoldering would hurt any value of it,but if you have a bad connection I can't think that touching it with the soldering iron to melt and refresh a connection would hurt..but before touching it I would look into the value and talk to some Gibson forum members.Do not replace any wiring...the original wiring is important.

i think you would agree when i say a playable guitar is worth more than an all original wall hanger, but others might not agree.

[westhemann]

Well,there is a correct way to restore things and an incorrect way.It looks to me like a good cleaning would restore it to playable without altering it in any way.

[WezV]

don't do anything you don't have to, and if you do have to change parts keep the originals in the case - these are generally going up in value despite not being the highest regarded gibson period. the black customs are always sought after.

don't clean the screws, or any other corroded parts apart from the jack socket which is corroded enough to actually affect performance.

i would consider a light fret levelling but these are often quite low already from the factory - fretless wonder period

it looks close to collector quality and a collector would often prefer to pick up the guitar in the state its in with small issues that are easy to solve - rather than pick up a guitar that has been worked on and restored

worth about £2500 i would guess

[Mender]

...

Of course,the guy on Ebay is suspect because I believe the "black beauty" had 3 humbuckers..I don't think being black qualifies it by itself.

There were two pickup black beauty LPs. Apart from seeing a couple 'in the flesh', there are some for sale from reputable dealers around the world, including this one, the 13th guitar down http://www.gbase.com/gear/gibson-les-paul-custom-black-bea-1969-black