Brian Molyneux's Gibson Les Paul

Brian delivered this Les Paul to me via a friend as he resides in the Isle of Man. He was unhappy with pretty much every aspect of the guitar having purchased it a few months ago - from its' refinished top (which had removed the aged yellow lacquer and thus turned the binding on the top face back to white.....contrasting with the yellow of the sides, to the fretting (Brian prefers Jumbo frets) to the pickups - the PAF's were to go in favour of EMG's.

Defretting the guitar

Here is the Les Paul wearing new frets - the whole refretting stage was fraught with problems as this guitar has suffered some neglect from its' previous owners and as such the fretboard was dry and rotten in places. It has taken a good deal of repair to make it a playable surface, but the finished product is better than anticipated.

The next stage is to lacquer the top and sides with a "Vintage" lacquer - this lacquer is yellowed by additives in order to give it that "aged" look...ideal for matching maple necks when they are refretted, and thus resprayed, and creating a vintage looking instrument.