Next step in finishing this A Model Gibson

[Tim]

Hello

I acquired this A model that someone has stripped the finish off of. Can i get some suggestions where to go from here as far as finish sanding, stain type and general process for making this a player. I have a grandchild that wants to learn to play and simce i only have $200 in it, i figure its at least as good as a cheap chinese starter instrument.

I have refinished antiques and done some woodworking, so im not completely im the dark, but am concerned about any special considerations when it comes to vintage instruments.

Thanks for any input!

Tim

[Roger Häggström]

This was an understatement; "at least as good as a cheap chinese starter instrument". It's way, way, WAY better! You should never remove the finish on old valuable instruments. The soul of the instrument is the finish. The history is wiped away...

Well, the damage is done. If I were you I would put spirit varnish on it with a fine brush. You only need 4-5 layers with some wet sanding in between for a nice and thin finish. Easy to do and good for the tone.

[Tim]

I hear ya, but like you said, the damage is done. What about staining to give it some appearance of the original?

What grit would you suggest between coats?

[Roger Häggström]

Sorry, missed that you bought it already sanded down! I was too upset :-)

Spruce is the hardest wood to stain. The stain will always be more or less blotchy. I have had the best result using water or spirit based stain on raw wood, really wet saturating the spruce with the stain. Using a piece of paper towel to get it on the wood quick and plenty. That way the color will be pretty even. Then clear spirit varnish on top.

The other way is to use very light colored spirit varnish in many coats and build up an even color that way. Painting each coat with the brush in different directions. May take 10-20 coats to get a full color and you can't do any mistakes on the way. No or very light sanding between layers to keep the color even. After a couple of finishing clear coats, you can wet sand to get it smooth without sanding away the color. The good thing is if you do make a mistake, the varnish can always be removed with spirit for another go.

I use 600 paper to smooth the varnish every other clear coat layer. The last shiny layer of clear spirit varnish can be deglossed with the finest steel wool followed with some elbow grease using a cotton or even better a linen cloth. The varnish will need a week or two to harden, when it's dry enough you can get a better shine using the cloth.

[Tim]

Thank you so much, Roger. Is spirit varnish available to purchase or is this something that needs to be mixed via some “recipe”?

[Roger Häggström]

I buy it from www.hammerl.com. But there are recipes on the net, in the old days every builder made his own varnish.

[George Roberts]

Gibson mandolins from that time period were often "Sheraton Brown."  If you google "Sheraton Brown stain" you will find a number of suggestions as to how to replicate that color.

[Tim]

Thank you, George

[Tim]

Well spent the last two hours looking for sheraton brown recipes...geez. No closer than i was. Lots of opinions and debate about finishes on anything Gibson for sure.

[George Roberts]

Tim,

Didn't mean to mislead you.  Most of the information about Sheraton Brown involves people trying to match the color, and that presumes that you have something to match.  Are your back and sides the original color?  If not, do you have access to a mandolin with an original finish?  If the back and sides are original, there was a comment posted that the birch back and sides were darker than the top, but the color would still get you into the ballpark.

I wonder if anyone has ever taken an instrument into Home Depot.  They have a color analyzer that is remarkably good at matching paint colors.  I would be willing to give it a try with my 1921 Sheraton brown A-2.

[Tim]

All the finish has been removed from this one. I dont know anyone local that has one.

Thats a great idea on using the color analyzer...i have seen them come remarkably close with other stains.
Would be an interesting experiment.

[Mark McLean]

Since it is sanded back to bare wood you could do anything you like.  And as you are planning to gift it to your grandchild you could give him/her the choice.  She might like to have a nice pink one - although Roger would probably not approve (I am waiting for his reply - probably won't take long). 

For discussion - "instruments built long ago were always brown - therefore they must always stay brown, and all instruments built today must also be brown." 

[Tim]

Her fav color is purple.. guess they make purple dye right?