NZGuitars.com

As some of you may know, I have been thinking of taking my Les Paul back to a 'natural' finish. Probably me being a huge Kossoff & Bloomfield fan was the impetus for me wanting an LP in the first place, but I've had lustings for something like Koss's LP for many years



GrantB has agreed to the task of stripping it back to basics, just curious to know what you would do?



Would you be afraid to lose a great looking burst? Should I enjoy and make the most of having a rather stunning looking LP and leave it as it is or just do it?

Just make sure you'll be keeping it. Otherwise you're spending money to lose more in resale.

I would leave it as it is given I hate plain flamed maple...but it is your guitar and if you have longed for a koss then go for it

just play the fuckin' fucker!!

Buy a set of tinted glasses - cheaper than stripping.

Just leave it in the sun and under lights, it'll soon get there. Most of those washed out classic bursts were the result of natural use rather than a heat gun etc.( Mick Ronson and Mark Bolan's cutoms being the exceptions )

I say leave it. You tend to turn-over guitars a bit (not as much as some ) and you'll struggle to recoup your money if you decide to flick it on.

godgrinder wrote:Just make sure you'll be keeping it. Otherwise you're spending money to lose more in resale.

I second this.

I think you should let Grant peel it. He won't get many chances to do something like that.

Since you're asking, I think you're nuts but it's your guitar and if it brings you happiness, go for it.

Get a vinyl sticker done with that finish and then you can peel it off when you want to sell it.

I'd leave it
Flog it
Buy another
Ect ect

I think that finish looks killer. If i had a Les Paul that I LOVED everything about it, and was pretty confident that I'd like to keep it - I'd def consider it. IF it's a guitar that doesn't quite tick all of the boxes, I'd be less inclined to do it - as I know I'd still be looking for a better les paul to come along at some stage.

Like most people have said, I would agree that stripping it will kill resale - I speak from experience. I picked up a Studio from a mate a few years back that had been stripped back to natural by him and his old man, and although they'd done a good job, they weren't able to move it for ages until I threw a cheeky offer in. I had it about 6 months and it took almost the same amount of time to shift on TM with most people querying the look.

I would leave it as is unless you're 100% going to keep this for 5-10+ years. As Molly mentioned, you turn over gear regularly so this could backfire on you in terms of resale if you don't love it for any reason.

#2cents

times have changed, I include my self in this. caught myself wanting to mod the shyte out of an old 80`s classic last night. then regained sensibility and backed off.
morning came: thought, bugger resale, I could make it a personalised weapon of rock...
but post internet, this stuff about resale is sinking in. priorities change, messages from the boards sink in. we evaluate and change to suit and fit in.
we begin to curate instead of create
we loose individuality

but, we keep resale
attention we stand, enamoured by brand

anyway: it`s a nah from me

Thanks for all the replies, honestly a bit surprised at how slanted the poll is! Some excellent and valid points throughout this thread, all of which I’ll consider.

Will keep you posted