GIBSON J-200 REFINISH FROM NATURAL TO CHERRYBURST

This customer was a very trusting STUDIO-CALIFORNIA.COM fan. Although we don’t specialize in Gibsons, we’re certainly called on to do our share of work on them. In this case, the customer (also a Rickenbacker guy!) had two nice premium Gibson acoustics: a Cherryburst Hummingbird, and a natural J-200. He had always wanted a matched pair, so after some inner turmoil, he decided to send the J-200 to us, with photos of the Hummingbird for reference.

In the end, it proved to be quite the project! It went through the usual process of removing the old finish and much masking, and then the very ornate and delicate bridge was very carefully removed with the judicious application of heat. Next, an exact mask needed to be cut to cover the area of the bridge, as glue doesn’t stick to slick paint! Next, the pick guard was removed using the same methods as the bridge. The aim, of course, was to keep the fragile top from losing one tiny bit of wood. Briefly, then, the amount of prep work was intense.

Applying the finish was fairly straightforward, but scraping the binding was very tedious (not complaining; merely commenting…). Three double coats of our premium clear coat were applied, sanding between coats. The clear coat was wet-sanded absolutely flat, and this was followed as always with hand and machine buffing, waxing, and reassembly.

The results, as can be seen are simply stunning. The customer tells us that this instrument elicits gasps every time its case is opened!