Another Ripper! And some more advice needed, please.

PhilT · March 21, 2011, 06:29:27 PM

So, having bored you all to death with my 78 Ebony Ripper, I finally got it to sound like I wanted and now love it to bits. So much so that I've bought another one. Not quite the same, though, and with cosmetic issues rather than electronic.

This is/was a natural finish, serial number 182193, which Guitar Dater suggests is 1970-72, but I guess must actually be 73 or 74. It has the pickups with screws through the body and the 4-way chicken head selector pointing north, but the ring with the numbers on is missing. Knobs look original, maybe missing metal position markers? I'm not at all certain about the pickguard - it has one small hole above and two below each pickup and they look very neat to be a DIY addition. Pickups are good, except the bridge pup has an indentation in the top - looks like it's been screwed down too tight at some point. Works fine though, both pickups sound great and all the selector positions work.

On to the finish. The body has been resprayed matt black, with a lot of orange peel all over and a lot of buckle rash on the back. Haven't had the pickguard off, but it looks like there might be original finish under it. Where the black is worn away it feels like the original finish is still there. Neck has some kind of clear lacquer on it, worn in places. Serial number, with Made in USA under it, is quite faint and there is what looks like lacquer runs around it, so I suspect it's been tampered with. Great low action, neck plays very nicely despite the worn finish.

Main question then is - what would you do with it? Is it likely to be feasible to remove the black back to the natural finish, if so any tips on how? What about the neck, would you do anything about the lacquer? Any thoughts on original bits that may be missing?

PhilT · March 21, 2011, 06:31:28 PM

Pictures of course ....

More on Photo Bucket http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/ff24/philtrory/Gibson%20Ripper/Natural%20Ripper/

Aussie Mark · March 21, 2011, 08:39:38 PM

If you got it for a bargain price, I'd be inclined to strip it and have it refinished in the colour of your choice.

PhilT · March 22, 2011, 04:40:36 AM

So the gods wouldn't be offended by a period and model incorrect colour choice, like

Aussie Mark · March 22, 2011, 05:17:52 AM

Quote from: PhilT on March 22, 2011, 04:40:36 AM
So the gods wouldn't be offended by a period and model incorrect colour choice, like

Not me. I think most of us Gibson fans would love the opportunity to cost effectively own a Ripper in any other colour than black or natural.

Barklessdog · March 22, 2011, 05:28:50 AM

The only other color I would consider on one.

shadowcastaz · March 22, 2011, 06:34:28 AM

I remember her!

uwe · March 22, 2011, 07:13:53 AM

Excluding fins is silly, you like it, you paint it that way. This looks like one of the very early ones with the plump shape - those also existed in a fireburst type fin, so if you want to stay period-correct you have one more option.

dadagoboi · March 22, 2011, 08:02:13 AM

Quote from: uwe on March 22, 2011, 07:13:53 AM
Excluding fins is silly, you like it, you paint it that way.

Damn straight...and if you don't like it after you paint it, do it again until you do!

PhilT · March 22, 2011, 08:47:41 AM

Quote from: uwe on March 22, 2011, 07:13:53 AM
Excluding fins is silly, you like it, you paint it that way. This looks like one of the very early ones with the plump shape - those also existed in a fireburst type fin, so if you want to stay period-correct you have one more option.

Definitely early, shape is different from the 78, string through is just holes at the back, not a plate. Looking at it in daylight, the neck has been varnished over the dot markers. Pickguard is still a puzzle, it's 2-ply black, not dark tort, and there's a raised insert underneath it which brings it up to 5-ply thickness.

I've just emailed the local luthier to see if he'll take on a refin. Not a fan of that fireburst (the 77 fretless on Jules' site?), either the solid CAR or that translucent red are leading the pack so far.

Highlander · March 22, 2011, 06:26:23 PM

I'll give her a nice fin for you, Phil...

(no guarantees which decade though...)

PhilT · March 23, 2011, 10:19:43 AM

Ballpark estimate for professional job is just slightly less than the bass cost. I see a summer of 800 grit and rattle cans.

Trouble is, I'm starting to see the character in its faults. A bit like loving an ugly child.

Lightyear · March 23, 2011, 10:47:59 AM

Did you ask him how much it would cost if you brought it to him ready to paint? The stripping, sanding and prep work are the hardest, and nastiest, bits to do and the price may come way down if you bring to him bare of hardware and electronics clean and sanded to 320. Just a thought.

dadagoboi · March 23, 2011, 11:48:01 AM

I'd never let somebody I didn't know prep a body for me to shoot. That is truly the job that requires the most experience to do correctly IMO. Amateurs almost invariably have no idea how level a surface has to be to get a ripple free mirror finish. The most I would do is to let the customer disassemble and chemically strip it and charge an hourly rate for the rest of the prep work.

I say DIY, the finish will be as good as the mental and physical prep you put into it. If you're using a solid color there's no need to strip the finish, it's basically auto body work.

Denis · March 23, 2011, 01:54:03 PM

Congrats, Phil!
After getting my black Ripper (an '80) I found a project natural one as well.
I used naptha to remove the hideous blue paint on the Smurf Ripper.

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=3092.0