Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Exceptional restoration is in the details

Moderator: jingle_jangle

User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by jingle_jangle »

firstbassman wrote:
jingle_jangle wrote:The simplest color painted on a Rick is, of course, Mapleglo

Hey Paul. Were you being sarcastic?
Is there really any paint involved in MGs?



PS: If that is a photo with your daughter, congrats! Anyone ever mention that she looks like a young Claire Danes?

I only get to see my daughter (currently) for the summer and in December.
:(
I consider any coating that sits in a film on top of the surface, a paint. Anything that penetrates the wood is a stain. Then there are oiled finishes, which penetrate somewhat but also form a film.

My daughter, Juliana, has a lot of different looks, but is quite an ode to genetic variation, being half Brasilian Portuguese and half Polish. And Claire starred in Polish wedding...there is a slight resemblance.
User avatar
simer4001
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 4288
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2000 8:14 pm

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by simer4001 »

I believe this is what John's original 1958 325 looks like now. This is after going from black to natural. I wouldn't call the black jetglo since it wasn't done at RIC. I think this is a good example of the black not being completely removed after sanding. I don't know how this was done, but the job always looked incomplete to me.
Attachments
figura15.jpg
figura15.jpg (7.18 KiB) Viewed 8555 times
User avatar
electrofaro
Senior Member
Posts: 3611
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:25 pm

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by electrofaro »

simer4001 wrote:I think this is a good example of the black not being completely removed after sanding
As you said this one wasn't a JG to begin with... who knows how Lennon painted it black! I think having a factory JG as base for a MG is different...
'67 Fender Coronado II CAB * '17 1963 ES-335 PB * currently rickless
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by jingle_jangle »

Wildberry wrote:
simer4001 wrote:I think this is a good example of the black not being completely removed after sanding
As you said this one wasn't a JG to begin with... who knows how Lennon painted it black! I think having a factory JG as base for a MG is different...
It was painted with coach enamel. The usual way of applying this on coaches (buses) in the day was to open the tin, pour off the oil and vehicles floating on the surface, and then heat the tin in a double boiler to bring the viscosity down, and apply with a very soft flat bristle brush to the surface or item in question. The result looked sprayed--absolutely no brush marks, and because of the high pigment concentration, the finish was much more durable than if the oils and solvents were stirred into the mix instead of being poured off.

An old Cockney painter showed me this trick in the mid-'70s when I worked alongside him in a paint shop. He told me that it was standard procedure in the UK back in the day. He made me promise not to share it, but he's passed on long ago, so I think he wouldn't mind...

If Lennon's Rick was painted by an old pro, there's a good chance it was done with this method.

I wrote a brief critique of the "restoration" of JL's 325, in my "Reflections" section--it was one of the first topics covered back in '06.

You can see the black in the grain of the alder (undoubtedly the black coach paint was applied over a scuffed surface of clear nitro).

You can also see that the alder has been stained a honey color--somewhat unevenly--in the '70s "restoration".

A similar result--black paint in the pores of the wood--can be expected today, when attempting to strip a factory JG finish.
User avatar
beatlefreak
Senior Member
Posts: 6160
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:45 am
Contact:

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by beatlefreak »

Cool - Thanks for the anecdote, Paul. Very interesting insight as to how Lennon's Rick might have been painted.
jingle_jangle wrote:A similar result--black paint in the pores of the wood--can be expected today, when attempting to strip a factory JG finish.
Even with the wood sealed?
Ka is a wheel.
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by jingle_jangle »

My point is that in most cases--whether it be a nitro undercoat (as in the case of Lennon's), a vinyl sealer (which I use) or thinned CV (Rick recent practice), black will usually migrate into the grain somewhat; sometimes this happens in the stripping process.

I've considered using only abrasives or scraping to strip an instrument, but frankly haven't had the time to try this on many JG Ricks yet--truth is, out of over a hundred instruments that I've restored or refinished lately, very few started life as JG and carried their original paintwork! Strange coincidence, considering how popular JG seems to be.

I recently did do one 4003--a 2009, yet--that suffered a bad case of buckle rash, and stripped the back using abrasives only. There was a bit of black in the grain, which more sanding could have taken out, but it was getting new JG, anyway.

I would say that it would depend upon the instrument and its age. Can't judge from only a few cases whether the black will settle in the grain each an every time.

Burgundyglo, OTOH, migrates right through sealer and stains the maple itself...a bear to get out.
ManicBeatle
New member
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:30 pm

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by ManicBeatle »

Ancient post, I know, but I wondered about one thing and wanted to hear back from people in regard. I've seen as many MapleGlo guitars as the next guy, but never really focused on whether all or most guitars that are born MapleGlo have one piece tops. I have an old (1966/7) JetGlo 325 and there is a fine line up the center of the top making it is obvious that the top is two pieces under the original finish, like the one pictured above. So, apart from covering unattractive wood grain, did two piece tops usually get covered in JetGlo?
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Jetglo to Mapleglo??

Post by jps »

ManicBeatle wrote:Ancient post, I know, but I wondered about one thing and wanted to hear back from people in regard. I've seen as many MapleGlo guitars as the next guy, but never really focused on whether all or most guitars that are born MapleGlo have one piece tops. I have an old (1966/7) JetGlo 325 and there is a fine line up the center of the top making it is obvious that the top is two pieces under the original finish, like the one pictured above. So, apart from covering unattractive wood grain, did two piece tops usually get covered in JetGlo?
Most likely, all the tops were two piece (if not more). One piece tops are not very common to most instruments.
Post Reply

Return to “Reflections of a Curmudgeon: by Paul Wilczynski”