refinishing gibson headstock w/ laminate

[eots]

I have a friend that has a Gibson explorer who had repainted it in it's entirety with spraycan chameleon paint sans fretboard. Of course it came out ugly but he's now wanting to refinish with some reranch stain/laquer combo which I used on a 67' melodymaker of his. That one turned out beutiful.

My question is, he had painted over the black laminate headstock after filling in about a 4mm chip and masking off the gibson 'abalone' inlay. Won't sanding affect the gloss black laminate ? Should it be chemically stripped?

[Morben Guitars]

I thought Gibson Headstocks were laminated in Ebony veneer?

[spirit]

they are

[eots]

...which is why I'm asking. Want to keep the laminate shiny if possible. will a chemical stripper harm this. A primer was used under the paint btw.

[HeavnerGuitarWorks]

Do not use a chemical stripper on a neck. The chemicals will most likely make the inlay fall out and will bleach the wood. If it is an ebony veneer, it will most likely fill the pores with bleached paint residue that is nearly impossible to remove and it would remove the original gloss coat anyway.

Now, onto the serious problems. After working for Gibson for several years, I have to say they aren't cracked up to be what most people think. Gibson did use ebony veneers on some of the guitars, but they also used a black plastic laminate that looks exactly like ebony on some of them. It doesn't matter what model it is as to which type was used. It just depends on what they had in stock the day that guitar was manufactured. If it is a plastic laminate, and believe me you can't tell by looking at it, a chemical stripper would most likely melt it. That wouldn't look too great, now would it?

My advice would be to strip it the old fashioned way.... sandpaper and elbow grease. 3M makes a sandpaper made for stipping paint and varnish... I can't remember the name but it is a light green colored paper. I used that to strip the finish on a strat body in under 20 minutes. It would be nearly impossible to stip the spray paint off and still have a gloss coat underneath, so the head will most likely have to be refinished anyway. Just sand it to remove the finish, fine sand, fill the pores, spray some clear coats, wet sand, and buff. It's way more work, but will look way better in the end.

[Devon Headen]

Gibson did use ebony veneers on some of the guitars, but they also used a black plastic laminate that looks exactly like ebony on some of them. It doesn't matter what model it is as to which type was used. It just depends on what they had in stock the day that guitar was manufactured.

I didn't know that...I guess they don't exactly advertise it to try and sell the guitars. Isn't that false advertising? Everywhere I've seen it listed as ebony. I wonder if it melts from the stripper if you can get a replacement since ebony wouldn't have melted.