For all you thinking about refinishing your guitars...

thrip

Thanks Shawn. I'd say this guitar is pretty similar in sound to other Jorgenson models, but it seems quite a bit louder and livelier, and possibly a bit drier than usual for a Gitane. According to the previous owner the guitar sounds very different than it did before stripping. I like the tone of it, and especially the feel of the natural neck. I think all guitars I have from now on will have necks like it!

bom-boga

Hi everyone, I was looking forward to refinish my cigano gj-15, it's my cheapest guitar and I just wanted to have some fun moding it.
The thing is i found a problem to do so... it seems that the rosette of this guitar is not a real rosette but a sticker or something like that, therefore if I sant the finish of I will destroy it.
So my question is could i make a real rosette for this guitar or will the top be too thin? and if so, is there a way to buy another sticker or some other way to have this done? Thanks everyone!

Goatherd

I am hardly, a master luthier, but I have a decent number of repairs under my belt. Most of my experience is with really old guitars. They normally have shellac as a finish. I love it. The sound is open and spot repairs are relatively easy.

I was recently working on a Martin made in the 1850's. I was repairing some side cracks and trying to improve some repair work previously done to the guitar. Misaligned cracks can sometimes be put right with judicious heat and pressure from an iron. I have been able to do this with French polish finishes without any damage to the finish. Of course the key is patience and a GRADUAL, cautious increase in heat. Knowing when to quit is also advised.

I recently was fortunate enough to find a reparable vintage GJ guitar made by Busato. Shellac was the only way to go.

That being said, the finish on the guitar in this thread looks fine and it should be durable.