PRS Refinish Alternatives to PTC (they've halted such jobs!)

anesthetize

anesthetize

Prog Snob
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Messages
3
Location
New York City, NY
Hi all!

I'm based out of NY and wanted to know if folks had any luck getting their PRS's refinished outside of the PTC.

For context, I reached out to PTC but they have stopped taking refinish jobs owing the manual labor involved (UNRELATED TO COVID-19).

Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars.
Unfortunately we no longer offer this service through the PTC, we don’t have the manpower necessary to perform this type of service.
Sorry.
Click to expand...

The guitar I'm seeking to refinish is a 2002 Singlecut Trem in Black Cherry with a black neck / backside.
I want the finish to be a slightly lighter (hence more visible) version of the current finish, and have a wood varnish on the neck and back (instead of plain black)


Best,
Andy
 
Last edited:
anesthetize said:
Hi all!

I'm based out of NY and wanted to know if folks had any luck getting their PRS's refinished outside of the PTC.

For context, I reached out to PTC but they have stopped taking refinish jobs owing the manual labor involved.

The guitar I'm seeking to refinish is a 2002 Singlecut Trem in Black Cherry with a black neck / backside.
I want the finish to be a slightly lighter (hence more visible) version of the current finish, and have a wood varnish on the neck and back (instead of plain black)


Best,
Andy
Click to expand...
Hey Andy, I assume that the PTC is not doing anything right now due to covid-19 and reduced (or closed) limitations on working/being open. I really hope that's it, cuz they do great work! I've had a couple refinished by them. There are a bunch of guys on the forum from NY, I'm sure one of them can chime in with some options. Marty Bell would be a great option, but I assume you don't want to ship to southern California.
 
I'm in the same boat here...looking to get my HBII refinished. I reached out to Marty Bell and he declined to do it....at least the re-staining part. I'm sure if you wanted a solid paint, he could do it.

Sims Custom Shop agreed to do it, but looking into some reviews, it appears his ETA's are pretty skewed so I haven't committed to that yet.

Seriously hoping the PTC opens back up to doing them again, but I'm gonna stay tuned here to see if anybody has any solid recommendations.
 
Chris Bavaria, who did the finish work for PRS for 17 years, has a shop in Baltimore. It’s best to go through Philtone Music in Baltimore to get to Chris. He doesn’t like to be bothered, as he is usually busy. He’s done 2 of mine that were in bad shape. He will not do work under a deadline, but his work is, of course, first rate. Most of the good finishers now can choose their own work, and don’t want the aggravation of dealing with us picky PRS players.
 
dogrocketp said:
Chris Bavaria, who did the finish work for PRS for 17 years, has a shop in Baltimore. It’s best to go through Philtone Music in Baltimore to get to Chris. He doesn’t like to be bothered, as he is usually busy. He’s done 2 of mine that were in bad shape. He will not do work under a deadline, but his work is, of course, first rate. Most of the good finishers now can choose their own work, and don’t want the aggravation of dealing with us picky PRS players.
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IDK about Chris personally, but +1 on Philtone. I had a hell of a time on a rebuild that I did on a pawn shop pickup (non-PRS). They did an amazing job getting it to where I wanted, for a fair price, in a reasonable time.
 
dogrocketp said:
Phil is my buddy. We play together periodically. He is the man in the DMV.
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Oh, that's cool, are you local? I was recommended to him from some other folks @ one of the local Maker Spaces, and I'm a huge fan.
 
You could reach out to Pat Wilkins Guitars (CA).
Fantastic job on the two Strat bodies he finished for me (one was a custom stain on curly maple top) and I know he was doing refinishing work too.
Unfortunately he had to close temporarily mid-March due to CA's shelter-in-place order and I don't know if he has been able to re-open yet. Once he does I'll be sending couple bodies for finishing his way.
 
I sure hope the refinish halt is only temporary. It’s one of the things that differentiate PRS from Gibson for me.
 
RedGuitars said:
Yep. Part of Maryland closing nonessential businesses.
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Two notes on this:
1) Just about everything except my barber is open
2) The restriction ends at 5:00 Friday. All businesses can reopen at that time.
 
Small word of caution. Everyone isn’t throwing their doors open in Maryland. Openings will be phased in, as they should be. There’s no felling how long it’ll take the factory to get up to full speed. Covid hasn’t suddenly left Maryland.
 
+1 On Philtone. He has done amazing work on several of my guitars. I am hoping that PTC opens soon. I have an S2 Custom 24 that I want to have a Floyd Rose put on.
 
dogrocketp said:
Small word of caution. Everyone isn’t throwing their doors open in Maryland. Openings will be phased in, as they should be. There’s no felling how long it’ll take the factory to get up to full speed. Covid hasn’t suddenly left Maryland.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is definitely true. I can say from my experience that it's really only reinforcing decisions that company leadership has already made. We have 2 local restaurants that we frequent: one stayed open and allowed curbside pickup, the other decided not to. The one that stayed open will now start limited seating, the other will remain closed.

On the other hand, there are other business types that have been clamoring to open, that now can, if they chose. My barber is opening (yay!!), but the wife's hairdresser will only do limited appointments.
 
Hi all, thanks for the many responses i'll definitely reach out to Philtone. Anybody willing to share ballpark $$$ for a refinish job? Basically a new stain, and changing the back and neck from black to natural finish.

FYI PTC stopped accepting refinish jobs late last year, unrelated to COVID-19... :(

Thank you for contacting PRS Guitars. Unfortunately we no longer offer this service through the PTC, we don’t have the manpower necessary to perform this type of service. Sorry.
Click to expand...
 
You’ll need to talk to whoever does the finish work to get a realistic price. Mine were refinished 4 years ago, plus I’ve known Chris for years.
 
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