Faux binding on my Les Paul LPJ Goldtop : Latest update.Now with polished top.

breakstuff

Been meaning to do this for a while now but have only just grown balls big enough to tackle it.I love my LPJ but the lack of binding on it always bugged me so I thought I'd give the old faux binding a go.This may be of interest to @underdog :-)

This is what it looked like before work started.



I first started out by masking the mahogany back off with thick electric tape and started gently sanding with a course paper and working down yo a mega smooth one.



And the finished product.You may not see on the pictures but I slightly rolled the edges too to make it look a bit more authentic rather than having a sharp edge.Turned out pretty we'll I think.I may just give it a light coat of satin varnish to protect the finish.

Finished product.

not_the_dj

Wow, dramatic improvement.

randomhandclaps

Looks great.  Well done for having the balls to do it.

Adam_MD

Nice looks much better they should really do that at the factory.

underdog

Awesome job that looks really good, now have I got the balls to copy you ?

breakstuff

Thanks guys.Next job is to replace the over sized Gibson logo and add the Les Paul Model script to the headstock.I just need to wait a few weeks for my balls to grow that little bit larger.

Then it's the biggy.Full rewire and pickup replacement,by which time my sack should be just about ready to explode.

underdog

Are you going to wax and buff the top or leaving it?

DartmoorHedgehog

Nice, that's worked really well.

breakstuff

underdog said:

Are you going to wax and buff the top or leaving it?

I was thinking of trying to shine the top up a bit but wasn't sure what to use.It has gone shiny at the top where my arm rests and below the strings where I anchor my pinky.

Have you any suggestions of what to use to bring the shine out?

underdog

breakstuff;617465" said:

underdog said:

Are you going to wax and buff the top or leaving it?





I was thinking of trying to shine the top up a bit but wasn't sure what to use.It has gone shiny at the top where my arm rests and below the strings where I anchor my pinky.Have you any suggestions of what to use to bring the shine out?

Someone (on here) mentioned their mate using furniture wax on one, for the life of me I can't remember who it was

A mid sheen would look lovely, that's what I got planned for mine (in the end).

DannyP

Really well done, mate. That's a dramatic improvement!

breakstuff

Yeah I might give that a go @underdog

Can't do any harm I suppose.Where it's gone shiny it looks quite good so I'd be.looking to match that sheen.

Thanks @DannyP

XWulfhere

You've done a god job there mate, nice one :-)

ICBM

When you compare what it looks like now to what it looked like when you first got it - and bearing in mind the faux binding would be achieved by a simple piece of masking tape in the spraying process, far less work than what you've had to do - it really is shocking how much of the *right* appearance Gibson have thrown away, to save, what... a few dollars?

Good work!

underdog

ICBM;617631" said:

When you compare what it looks like now to what it looked like when you first got it - and bearing in mind the faux binding would be achieved by a simple piece of masking tape in the spraying process, far less work than what you've had to do - it really is shocking how much of the *right* appearance Gibson have thrown away, to save, what... a few dollars?



Good work!

Probably as well as money saving it also uses the model for people to aspire to own a "real" one, if an LPJ came out of the factory with (faux) binding and without the black pickup covers etc then it'd look very close to a standard so why would people want to save for a standard would be how Gibson see it.

mart

That's a vast improvement, and looks fantastic! Well done!

breakstuff said:

Thanks guys.Next job is to replace the over sized Gibson logo and add the Les Paul Model script to the headstock, and the dodgy signature, and the freaky hologram on the back of the headstock..

Fixed for you.

breakstuff

Hehe @mart

It's a 2013 model so thankfully free of such frivolities.

John_P

Very nice - I'm impressed how much better it looks  

flyingv

That Gold Top looks so cool! =D> I done the same sorta thing to my stock Studio, stripped back to bare wood with Acetone, and refinished as a Black Top with faux binding! Plus replaced hardware, pups, wiring

Deijavoo

Awesome. Great job.

rlw

So how did you get the binding look after the rubbing down?  It looks perfect.