Refinished CE 22

[JJJ]

Hey guys I haven't been on in a while...

You may remember I bought an emerald CE some time ago. The past owners played it hard, so did I for a while. I had the neck refinished and some other work done, but it ended up just feeling tired and it had run out of wire after the last fret dress. Coupled with an intermittently cloudy finish and some cracks and I thought instead of a new guitar this year it would get some TLC, because I always liked the way it sounded.

So it's had a complete refinish, it's now a sorta faded sky blue and it's got jumbo wire on it. The original headstock face is preserved so you can still tell it's an old CE. This is all poly now. Feels identical to my other PRS which has the old acrylic top coat.

 

[Sybo]

Really nice job from what I can see!!!!

 

[merciful-evans]

thats a great idea. Good job too.

 

[veinbuster]

Nicely done.
I really like the colour.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Owner!

 

[mookyshoots]

Very nice.

 

[markd21]

Sweet!!

 

[Aahzz]

Sweet!!

 

[Warmart]

Wise choice, I bet you're one happy camper! Looking awesome!

 

[Steve's addiction]

Sweet and welcome back!!

 

[Tucson Thump]

That is really well done. Congrats!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Very cool! How about a “before” pic for comparison.

 

[bodia]

Looks sweet! Good call.

 

[JJJ]

Very cool! How about a “before” pic for comparison.

Yeah I'll try dig a decent one up that shows how dull it could get in natural light... I liked the emerald but half the time you couldn't tell it had a maple top on it at all

 

[JJJ]

here's a before. From memory that's natural light and an overhead downlight. It's not so obvious in this image but the areas around the horns and upper bout are all cloudy (especially in the spoon cut). The first winter I had it, those areas almost turned white. Emerald is a pretty colour, so long as your clearcoat stays clear and you've got a nice top under it



The only issue I have now is setup related... I'm not sure the luthier was used to PRS trems so the screws were a bit off and it wasn't sitting on its knife edge in the grooves properly when I got it. I think the knife edges might be damaged but because this was so beat up before and I hardly used the trem, it could have been that way all along. It doesn't quite return to pitch after using the trem, so I'm thinking of blocking it or replacing the bridge plate. I'm thinking of finding a nice dry block of timber and blocking the thing off

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Oh yeah baby! Green to blue... that’s a win in everyone’s book. With one notable exception.

 

[g.wizz]

Beautifully done.

 

[tyfu20]

Very nice!

 

[Jo-]

I love the original emerald but you did a spiffy job too with the new finish. Very nice

 

[dogrocketp]

The new color is fantastic, because as most of us know, blue guitars sound better. Before you replace anything on the trem, look at the position of the trem claw. I have a 2003 CE 24 that would never stay in tune, no matter what we did. I was adjusting the claw one day when it dawned on me that the position looked odd. After some investigation, I figured out that the screws had been drilled at the wrong angle, and that was why the springs slipped. Enter Philtone Music of Baltimore. Phil plugged the holes with a dowel that was glued in, and redrilled new ones. I also had him put in a brass trem claw. He used to work at the factory, so he knew how the claw should be set in. After 4 years of not being able to play it, it’s now a gig staple. This guitar had also been rode hard and put away wet. Enjoy yours to the max.