Fixing an old guitar (flamenco-style)

The_Glad_Hatter

So i was browsing the inventory a local fleamarket/ mass yardsale that opens tomorrow, and i saw three flamenco-style accoustic guitars. 2 of them were of equel quality to my own beginner model from years ago, but one caught my eye.
The frets had inlayed markers
back of the body was comprised of 2 pieces of wood, glued to gether with "inlay" line between them (don't know the english word for this).
The edge of the body had the same kind of pinstripe lay-in line
the name of the luthier was layed in in mother-of-pearl-eque blocks in the base of the body.
The laquer/ body was very damaged and scratched, altough they seemed superficial. Neck was all dull and worn.

So clearly, not a $50 walmart accoustic.

I forgot to thoroughly inspect the neck and body, but needles to say, i was intrigued.

So i googled the luthier's name, and apparently he had his own workshop nearby. So there's this handcrafted guitar, lying in a fleamarket down my street, and the opening bid is going to be $7,50. i'm on this.

But i was wondering:
TLDR: Any advice on fixing up an old guitar? Is it feasible? Little experience but high on motivation, dedication and creativity. Any Books/ youtube channels or sites i should really be checking out?

Space Pickle

Honestly, I doubt if there's anybody on this forum who is truly knowledgeable about guitar repair. You should check out some acoustic guitar forums.

One resource I can point you to is the book "The Guitar Player's Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine. Bear in mind that it could very well end up costing much more than the guitar is actually worth to repair it, unless you're just going to tinker with it for fun.

Belgarion

The_Glad_Hatter wrote: »

So i was browsing the inventory a local fleamarket/ mass yardsale that opens tomorrow, and i saw three flamenco-style accoustic guitars. 2 of them were of equel quality to my own beginner model from years ago, but one caught my eye.
The frets had inlayed markers
back of the body was comprised of 2 pieces of wood, glued to gether with "inlay" line between them (don't know the english word for this).
The edge of the body had the same kind of pinstripe lay-in line
the name of the luthier was layed in in mother-of-pearl-eque blocks in the base of the body.
The laquer/ body was very damaged and scratched, altough they seemed superficial. Neck was all dull and worn.

So clearly, not a $50 walmart accoustic.

I forgot to thoroughly inspect the neck and body, but needles to say, i was intrigued.

So i googled the luthier's name, and apparently he had his own workshop nearby. So there's this handcrafted guitar, lying in a fleamarket down my street, and the opening bid is going to be $7,50. i'm on this.

But i was wondering:
TLDR: Any advice on fixing up an old guitar? Is it feasible? Little experience but high on motivation, dedication and creativity. Any Books/ youtube channels or sites i should really be checking out?

You need to take this guitar to a professional. Don't even attempt to try this on your own.

Godfather

I used to work at a guitar repair shop for a while last year.

Honestly, this thing sounds a bit too messed up to repair. It might even cost more to repair than it would to just buy a brand new one.

JaysonFour

Well, if you win it, take it to a good repair place and get an estimate. If you want to play it, then decide if the price is worth it. If you want to try and sell it after you get it fixed, also ask what a restored version might be worth.

If it really is a hand-crafted guitar, it might be worth it to save it. The OP sounds like he wants to get it restored so he could play it, I think.

The_Glad_Hatter

I went to check it out this morning, bidding opens in a few hours. It's from 1975, from what i've googled the luthier had had over a decade of experience by then.

The neck's still straight, and most of the body damage seems to be to the laquer only. Perhaps i can even get away with a mere polishing. I tuned it there and my D chord sounded right (only had the top 3 strings left..).
The lowest frets were a bit worn down, and there was some rusting in the screw wire for the tuning pegs. Bridge white thingy (english term??) should also be replaced.

It is my intention to play it eventually, since the only accoustic i have is my POS-made-in-taiwan flamenco style one. (which i still love to death, since it was my first guitar).

Thanks for the tip about checking other forums. I forgot the rule that states "if a man can spend more than five minutes or five dollars on it, there's a forum for it".

So for now my plan is taking it to my regular guitar shop and see what he suggest/ thinks.
And then either freewheel and polish it or sand it and apply spraycan nitro myself.
Of have my luthier do it after i've cleaned the body.

But from your comments i gather that i should be more careful than i had even planned to be. (been around guitars all my life, but never really fixed 'em up).

The preliminary bid is up to $17, so i'm curious how high it'll go. There's a zither that seems to be attracting more attention, luckily.

The_Glad_Hatter

Because Guitar threads should by like puppy threads: pics mandatory!



I won the auction, paying $50 for the guitar.
Spent the entire afternoon cleaning the flightcase and wiping/ destringing the guitar.

ceres

Congrats on winning it!

McViking

Just seeing this thread, but if you think it's worth anything at all, please don't take sandpaper or anything harsher than water to the finish of this guitar. And don't spray it with lacquer finish, either, or you'll probably be making a mess that somebody else will need to fix later. Just this weekend I was playing with somebody who had a 1940s Gibson that some well-meaning lug-head had sanded in the hopes of "cleaning it up". Of course, they scratched the hell out of it, and ruined the thickness of the top in places that then had to be reinforced by a luthier later. Bye-bye resale value.

If you're pretty sure it's not worth anything, then have at it and enjoy yourself. But if you think it's worth more than the $50 you paid for it, don't touch it with anything more than a damp cloth before you've let a professional luthier have a look at it. Please.

Esh

McViking wrote: »

Just seeing this thread, but if you think it's worth anything at all, please don't take sandpaper or anything harsher than water to the finish of this guitar. And don't spray it with lacquer finish, either, or you'll probably be making a mess that somebody else will need to fix later. Just this weekend I was playing with somebody who had a 1940s Gibson that some well-meaning lug-head had sanded in the hopes of "cleaning it up". Of course, they scratched the hell out of it, and ruined the thickness of the top in places that then had to be reinforced by a luthier later. Bye-bye resale value.

If you're pretty sure it's not worth anything, then have at it and enjoy yourself. But if you think it's worth more than the $50 you paid for it, don't touch it with anything more than a damp cloth before you've let a professional luthier have a look at it. Please.

If there's anything that Antiques Roadshow has taught me, it's this.

The_Glad_Hatter

Thanks for the additional comments you guys. i've been reading up on it, and it'll probably look like i'll be doing little or nothing to the body itself it would affect the sound of decently aged lacquer. The only real problem i have with that is that the yellowed lacquer covers up some of the beautiful inlay work. (and the fact that the bottom of the body looks like a door that got scratched on by an anxious dog)

So no sanding or anything for the body till i talk to the doc.

Fretboard cleaning/ oiling does seem to be something i can tackle myself, but i'm probably holding that one off till i get an estimate on a partial refretting. (something i'd only try out myself on a crappier guitar)

i'm keeping this thread open in case i want to double-check some of my decisions before i make 'em

Space Pickle

Have you figured out what the guitar is actually worth? Fretwork is where repairs start to get expensive, and many techs won't even bother with doing a partial refret.

You may have scored a deal, but on the other hand the guitar could also be worth much less than you imagine.

The_Glad_Hatter

I got a mail from its luthier's former pupil, now a fulltime luthier himself.
Apparently the one that made my guitar in '75 passed away 10 years ago, but the guy i mailed wanted to meet me in two weeks (after his holiday) and tell me more about my guitar.

Taking it to my local shop tomorrow. Curious about the worth, but to me, as a player, even its cosmetic shortcomings it's worth more than the 50 i spent.
it's cleaning up rather nicely. (in the meanwhile the flightcase almost looks like new. From a distance).

Sheep

String it up. We gotta know what the problems are before I can tell you how to fix them.

Biggest problem you may run into is fret buzz. What you should do is get something flat and not wide. Basically something that you can put across three frets at a time. See if you can wiggle it or if it's flush with all of the frets, between each string all the way up and down. This will tell you if you have uneven frets.

darqness

Congrats! If it turns out the guitar is nothing special, then I would think it would make a cool wall hanger. Here are some things you can check yourself for the most part:
Before stringing it, hold it underneath the headstock and let it hang from your hand perpendicular to the ground. Tap the body with your finger all around to determine if any braces may be loose inside of the guitar. The braces keep the top and back from warping and losing their shape. After this, run yur hand along the body under the bridge to feel for any warping of the top.
String it up, tune it to pitch and check the bridge to make sure it isn't pulling away from the body.
Look down the neck from the bottom of the body and look for any bows, humps, or twisting of the neck. If the neck is warped, then you won't want to pay anyone to fix this thing unless it's a $3,000 guitar.
Check the nut (white piece at the headstock) and make sure it isn't cracked. Do the same for the saddle (white piece in the bridge).

Honestly, I would leave it with it's cosmetic defects and only fix it as far to make it playable.
I think it looks great when a musician has a guitar that looks like a beat up POS that sounds great. It's the same reason Fender sells those aged and "relic'd" guitars for over 1k.

The_Glad_Hatter

Thanks for the very specific tips Darqness!
The guy at my guitarshop said it was a great purchase. Slight neck bending (inevitable for that age), and a slight bulge in the body where the bridge pulls it up. Nut and saddle are bone and in primo condition.
After i finish cleaning the fretboard i'm gonna string her up again.

I probably won't do anything to the lacquer.

The_Glad_Hatter

Just a final update for any guitarpeople that posted advice in here:
I went to the guitar's luthier's apprentice, a professional builder himself now.
Model like that would've costed 2500 guilders (1250 euros/dollars) in the 1980s. The damage seems mostly superficial, except for some cracks that could be glued if i ever choose to re-lacquer it.

Strung her up, and although there was a weird "rattle" for a few days when playing loudly, the wood seems to have set and adjusted to the string tension.
Plays like a dream and really sings when well-tuned!

55 bucks well-spent!