Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
This vintage custom electric guitar was abandoned in a damp, dirty attic for about 50 years. So restoring and repairing it was a real challenge.
Briefly about the restoration work I did on this guitar:
Refinishing / Painting
Tuning pegs restoration
Electronics repair
Replacing a fretboard
Frets replacement
Bridge replacement
Removing rust from pickups
I know very little about this guitar: it is at least 50 years old, it was made by a luthier (this guitar is custom, after all), and this guitar was abandoned and kept in a bad conditions for many, many years. The body shape of this guitar is a bit like a superstrat, but in a kind of punk style. With its "irregular" shape, it looks like a Univox Hi-Flier or Mosrite Gospel Mark IV. And its sharp horns reminds of Aria Pro II CS-350. But still, it has its own unique custom shape.
It was dirty and rusty. The varnish and paint were peeling off. The electronics were somehow cut. So, I had to remove the old finish from the guitar, paint it (I used stain), and varnish it. I had to fill some holes with wood putty.
In the process, I found something strange - there was an old 35mm photo slide in the battery compartment. Maybe someone put it there for good luck, so after the restoration I put it back.
I was very surprised (in a bad way) to find several large bolts on the fingerboard - this is how the neck is attached to the body. These bolts were hidden under a velvet sticker (most likely, this guitar has already been restored at some point.). Since there was no way to remove them, I decided to add a wooden overlay (top) to the fretboard. Then I cut fret slots and installed new frets.
This guitar has some very strange active pickups (more precisely, it's one big pickup). I was thinking of changing them to modern ones, but since I was able to fix the old ones, I decided to keep them. Also I removed the rust from the decorative chrome pickup covers.
Due to the lack of a bridge, I installed a new Strat-style bridge, but at the same time I left the old tailpiece (after removing the rust).
I covered the old, yellowed pegs with white (or rather ivory) acrylic varnish.
Overall, I tried to keep as much of its original appearance as possible. Last time I did a guitar restoration - youtu.be/7COje12dBSY - I received a lot of negative feedback because I replaced most of the old parts with new ones and changed the finish color. So, this time I tried to restore the ORIGINAL – weird shaped, vintage, punk-style, controversial electronics.
00:00 Intro
00:18 Removing dust and dirt from guitar body
00:54 Checking the condition of the guitar electronics
02:06 Removing guitar parts (pickguard, pickups, pegs, tailpiece, old frets)
06:03 Removal of old finish (varnish and paint)
07:45 Sanding a guitar
09:01 Filling holes in the body and neck with putty
09:46 New finish - painting and varnishing the guitar
11:30 New fretboard topper and new fret installation
12:19 Repair and installation of electronics (pickups)
15:15 Removing rust from pickup covers, tailpiece, screws
16:49 Cleaning, restoration and installation of the pickguard
18:33 Tuning pegs restoration and installation
19:34 Guitar bridge installation
20:15 Tailpiece installation
20:37 Installing new strings
21:02 Installing strap buttons and new volume and tone knobs
21:32 Before and after and sound demonstration
This vintage custom electric guitar was abandoned in a damp, dirty attic for about 50 years. So restoring and repairing it was a real challenge.
Briefly about the restoration work I did on this guitar:
Refinishing / Painting
Tuning pegs restoration
Electronics repair
Replacing a fretboard
Frets replacement
Bridge replacement
Removing rust from pickups
I know very little about this guitar: it is at least 50 years old, it was made by a luthier (this guitar is custom, after all), and this guitar was abandoned and kept in a bad conditions for many, many years. The body shape of this guitar is a bit like a superstrat, but in a kind of punk style. With its "irregular" shape, it looks like a Univox Hi-Flier or Mosrite Gospel Mark IV. And its sharp horns reminds of Aria Pro II CS-350. But still, it has its own unique custom shape.
It was dirty and rusty. The varnish and paint were peeling off. The electronics were somehow cut. So, I had to remove the old finish from the guitar, paint it (I used stain), and varnish it. I had to fill some holes with wood putty.
In the process, I found something strange - there was an old 35mm photo slide in the battery compartment. Maybe someone put it there for good luck, so after the restoration I put it back.
I was very surprised (in a bad way) to find several large bolts on the fingerboard - this is how the neck is attached to the body. These bolts were hidden under a velvet sticker (most likely, this guitar has already been restored at some point.). Since there was no way to remove them, I decided to add a wooden overlay (top) to the fretboard. Then I cut fret slots and installed new frets.
This guitar has some very strange active pickups (more precisely, it's one big pickup). I was thinking of changing them to modern ones, but since I was able to fix the old ones, I decided to keep them. Also I removed the rust from the decorative chrome pickup covers.
Due to the lack of a bridge, I installed a new Strat-style bridge, but at the same time I left the old tailpiece (after removing the rust).
I covered the old, yellowed pegs with white (or rather ivory) acrylic varnish.
Overall, I tried to keep as much of its original appearance as possible. Last time I did a guitar restoration - youtu.be/7COje12dBSY - I received a lot of negative feedback because I replaced most of the old parts with new ones and changed the finish color. So, this time I tried to restore the ORIGINAL – weird shaped, vintage, punk-style, controversial electronics.
00:00 Intro
00:18 Removing dust and dirt from guitar body
00:54 Checking the condition of the guitar electronics
02:06 Removing guitar parts (pickguard, pickups, pegs, tailpiece, old frets)
06:03 Removal of old finish (varnish and paint)
07:45 Sanding a guitar
09:01 Filling holes in the body and neck with putty
09:46 New finish - painting and varnishing the guitar
11:30 New fretboard topper and new fret installation
12:19 Repair and installation of electronics (pickups)
15:15 Removing rust from pickup covers, tailpiece, screws
16:49 Cleaning, restoration and installation of the pickguard
18:33 Tuning pegs restoration and installation
19:34 Guitar bridge installation
20:15 Tailpiece installation
20:37 Installing new strings
21:02 Installing strap buttons and new volume and tone knobs
21:32 Before and after and sound demonstration
