"Sunburst finish with amazing aged flame finish ..."

[uwe]

Not an idle boast either:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1993-Gibson-Les-Paul-Sunburst-Bass-No-Reserve-/230575662787?pt=Guitar&hash=item35af6166c3

[eb2]

And on the top only.  Surely a custom shop piece.

Count me among the amazed.

[ack1961]

with a little love and a little less "imagination" that could be beautiful...again

[Basvarken]

Wonder if the user has caustic sweat maybe?   
Look at that poor B string

[uwe]

Some people's sweat is acid. Count my son among them, must have something to do with puberty and that spring fountain of testosterone he has in him. No finish can withstand - he could always get a job in the aging department of the Gibson Custom Shop.

Actually, I don't find it so ugly, but it is weird that the wear and tear concentrates on the rim area of the maple top only. If he really did that himself just by playing the thing then that particular DeLuxe was both well-loved and well-used.

Incidentally, the above pic is helpful to see the non-roller bridge Gibson used on those five string DeLuxe LPs (and the Specials too). Might be from Schaller as well.

[Dave W]

Now that's a sensible bridge! 

The "wear" pattern tells me this was artificially poseured reliced. Acid sweat could do that much damage to the finish, but sweat wouldn't drip around the perimeter of the top and nowhere else.

[gearHed289]

Hack job....

[godofthunder]

Now that's a sensible bridge! 

The "wear" pattern tells me this was artificially poseured reliced. Acid sweat could do that much damage to the finish, but sweat wouldn't drip around the perimeter of the top and nowhere else.

yeah wouldn't the back of the neck look similar ?

[uwe]

I wondered about that too, but could it be that the fin holds better on maho than on maple?

Maho necks with the fin worn off are rare (if not unheard of), but on maple necks it is much more common. Just speculating, no scientific back up!!!!

[TBird1958]

 Count me amongst those with the caustic sweat my nitro finished '89 has stained very nicely where my hand contacts it, also on it's lovely backside where it rests on my tummy.
 That poor LP is the victim of a real poor "relicing", not to bash that....

[Dave W]

I wondered about that too, but could it be that the fin holds better on maho than on maple?

Maho necks with the fin worn off are rare (if not unheard of), but on maple necks it is much more common. Just speculating, no scientific back up!!!!

You haven't seen a lot of old Gibson guitars then. I've seen tons mahogany necks with worn off finishes. Maple looks dirtier but there's no difference in the way the finish adheres.

[Basvarken]

Of course that LP is the victim of relicing! I was only joking. (not about that dirty B string)
Why would sweat go round the edge of the lower bout?

But it looks salvageable.

[Highlander]

Amazing the things you can do with an anglegrinder...

[Rob]

Hack job....

+1 On that!
There doesn't appear to be any finish damage on the bottom.  Only the top