Can this be recovered on a nicely faded 1994 10-Top?

[LaPanthere]

Hello

I am new to this forum, proud owner of a 1994 PRS Custom 24 10-Top since 25 years now.

Unfortunately, almost 20 years ago when sharing a rehearsal room with another band, some fool didn't respect the rules (we were ok that they can use our amps if needed but not our guitars) and I found my beauty in the hardcase with alot of beer bottls shards. Of course you can imagine that this didn't very well for the finish of the body, and I was somewhat devasted because the damage is on the beautiful top!

Well in my region there isn't really someone I wanted to pass my guitar for a ''recover'' - I didn't want a full refinish because the original whale blue has fadesd to a gorgeous greyish/brownish blue which I LOVE!

Also many ''luthiers'' here are real butchers and there is nothing like a Private Stock Dealer in neither France nor Switzerland (my country of origin).

My question is, can this damage be recovered without altering the faded color? I don't care about the little spots from personal usage, but those big spots on the bottom of the guitar I really hate them!

I have added photos of the shard damage and details for the faded color. Thank you for any advice!

The Damage:

The Faded Color:

Some little usage wear & color:

Full Body View:

 

[gush]

Oh man........I don't have any advice but that would have really freakin pissed me off beyond belief.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

We can certainly refinish it as "Faded Whale Blue", but I can't say it will look exactly like the fade on this 24 year old guitar.

 

[AP515]

I would be so mad! What a beauty.

If you must fix it yourself, try this. The damage looks a lot like rock impacts on a windshield. As such there is a way to fill them. Get one of those windshield nick repair kits from an auto-parts store. They pull a vacuum around the damage spot and that sucks the air out and fills it with clear plastic. I would use touch up paint as close to the grey as you can find on the bare wood spots and then use the window patching kit to fill the poly. let it dry and polish. I would try a spot on the back first to make sure it doesn't mess up the finish and if it works I'd go for it. If there isn't a spot on the back I'd find a cheap used Squier Strat or something with poly on it and make a similar damage spot and try it there first..Just a thought.

 

[LaPanthere]

We can certainly refinish it as "Faded Whale Blue", but I can't say it will look exactly like the fade on this 24 year old guitar.

Thank you for the feedback Shawn. Yes of course a refinish, even faded is possible, but is also my biggest fear (I had offers from some luthiers making it ''even better than new'' but I absolutely don't want it like this) Honestly, it was a real stunner way back in 1991 (sorry was misstyping in the initial post, it's not a 1994 but a 1991) - but I totally dig & love this faded brownish/greyish/blueish color thing it has now and changing depending from the angle of view - it's just gorgeous

Eventually I will try to get infos if it is possible to just fix (at best possible) the damaged corner on bottom of the body and not a full refinish. Hey this guitar was really ''blue'' back then lol as you can see on those 2 pictures (Don't laugh about my dressing on the second photo, I had to play a gala and hated it lol) - but it shows best the blue of the guitar as it was taken a couple of days after I bought it

 

[LaPanthere]

I would be so mad! What a beauty.

If you must fix it yourself, try this. The damage looks a lot like rock impacts on a windshield. As such there is a way to fill them. Get one of those windshield nick repair kits from an auto-parts store. They pull a vacuum around the damage spot and that sucks the air out and fills it with clear plastic. I would use touch up paint as close to the grey as you can find on the bare wood spots and then use the window patching kit to fill the poly. let it dry and polish. I would try a spot on the back first to make sure it doesn't mess up the finish and if it works I'd go for it. If there isn't a spot on the back I'd find a cheap used Squier Strat or something with poly on it and make a similar damage spot and try it there first..Just a thought.

Thank you AP515

I also think that ''eventually'' it is just the clear coating over the original paint that is damaged, as it makes sort of those ''white'' spots (like a windshield as you say) and surely doesn't go down to the wood.... anyway I am and always was a total noob in DIY - tried a DIY-Guitar Kit once and it aws a disaster as well. I know I really have to left hands for almost anything like this. Back in the 90's even the number 1 luthier in my hometown (Gary Levinsons - founder of Blade/Levinson Guitars) didn't want to touch it in his custom shop to not ''mess it up''. Now, 25 years later of course I ''can'' live with ot, but it still gives me some pain each time I take it out of the hardcase - not my own wear, not all the little dings & scratches or the back ''down to wood'' from playing it and where I have for each little spot the memories relied to it - this guitar shared half of my life with me everywhere and especially for any state of mind - anger, love, deceiption and joy, and since 1996 it's my unique guitar, never needed anything else again! It's like my 3rd arm, my baby and my diary

 

[jxe]

i would remove the cracked clear coat around the damage, dab those three gouges with some model paint, fill with clear polyurethane and buff it out.

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

This picture is awesome. The way you've got your arm around the guitar like it's your date to the gala just simply makes it priceless.

 

[LaPanthere]

This picture is awesome. The way you've got your arm around the guitar like it's your date to the gala just simply makes it priceless.

It surely was (and the only one I played that day as so often). The poor Gibsons were taking dust even THAT Vee in the corner had an absolute killer sound (no idea what pickups were in there) but I won't tell you the weight, impossible to play it for more than 20 minutes lol

 

[Steve Dombroski]

@LaPanthere I had the PTC refinish one of my guitars and couldn't speak more highly of their work. I had them do a massive overhaul of one of my guitars and the end result was really really great. Shawn's right though, the blue may not be exactly what you have now, but it will look fantastic nonetheless.

 

[LaPanthere]

@LaPanthere I had the PTC refinish one of my guitars and couldn't speak more highly of their work. I had them do a massive overhaul of one of my guitars and the end result was really really great. Shawn's right though, the blue may not be exactly what you have now, but it will look fantastic nonetheless.

I bet they do an excellent job - But another problem is I am in Europe and as this guitar is 27 years old I don't have those necessary papers for the wood regulations necessary now, so shipping and customs would be a huge problem as well if ever I wanted it to be overhauled by PTC I suppose.