Restoring a vintage Hofner Colorama II (lots of pics)

[irishstu]

Hi all,

 

For those of you that don't frequent Marks place, I thought I'd show what I'm working on at the moment. It's a 1963 Hofner Colorama. Basically anything that could possibly be wrong with it IS wrong with it, and more. It probably should've just been thrown in the bin, but I completely ruined one of these guitars about 25 years ago, and I'm trying to redeem myself. Anyway, here’s a list of the main problems:

 

 

1. Neck – The neck is back bowed and the fretboard is both badly gouged in the cowboy chord positions and has a crack running the length of several frets. The frets themselves are badly worn in places too, so a total refret will be required. The neck needs to be completely re-lacquered, the tuners need replacing with something a bit closer to original (and the extra screw holes from the replacement tuners will need to be filled in too). The logo will need replacing due to having to re-lacquer the neck.

 

 

 

2. Body – The paint needs to be stripped and the body refinished. The paint is literally flaking off, and there are some cracks where the pieces of wood are joined.

 

 

 

3. Pickguard and back vibrato cover – Both plastic covers are warped and are now somewhat convex in shape. The screws have obviously been lost/replaced over time and are a bit of a (bad) mix now, so will need replacing.

 

 

 

4. Vibrato/tremolo – The thumbscrew that holds the vibrato arm on is missing and the arm is held on only because the threaded stud had been hammered down like a rivet, destroying it in the process. Also, the chrome vibrato cover has completely split where the screw at the front end goes in.

 

 

 

5. Bridge – The bridge has been replaced with one that has the wrong spacing, radius, and won’t intonate correctly, due to being straight across, so will need to be replaced (at least the top part).

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--1U1Jm2WfM0/ToFi9u8DjhI/AAAAAAAAAuo/MI6ctky6mYw/s320/bridge.jpg

 

6. Volume/tone knobs – Oh boy, would you look at the state of those? They're in dreadful condition and will all need to be replaced. The knob markers/pointers are also really, really rusty and will need a thorough cleaning.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KmeyuwHuPcw/ToFjB_oHwCI/AAAAAAAAAuw/BX7-i63-Ov4/s320/knobs.jpg

 

7. Electronics – The pots are not behaving well at all (cutting out, very scratchy, etc.) and will need to be cleaned out. Additionally, one of the pickups does not appear to be behaving well, although that might (hopefully) be fixed after giving the pots some attention. The output jack could probably do with some attention too.

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lEL8YcAqVAU/ToFjHDuw3SI/AAAAAAAAAu4/xd2trsI02fc/s320/electronics.jpg

Wow, what a lot of work for just one guitar, but, hey, think how much FUN it’s going to be! Amirite? Plus, you know, this will totally sort me out with the Hofner karma police. So stay tuned as all of these jobs get tackled over the next few posts.

[Adam Poland]

Subscribed. I've always wanted to see someone restore these things.

[meandi]

[Mike Fiasco]

You're a brave brave man.

[lowbrow]

Reminds me a lot of the Kapa Continental I worked on earlier this year:

 

[Preacher]

Wow, right on. Looking forward to the highs and lows!

[WRGKMC]

I'd focus on playability only. Leave the rest vintage so long as its functional.

Its taken decades to get the finish checking. I'd definately leave that alone.

The only other mod I'd probibly do id put a real bridge on there that can be

intonated. A roller bridge is best for a whammy. Save the old bridge for resale.

[irishstu]

Thanks for the comments, all.

 

lowbrow, I definitely see similarities.

 

 

I'd focus on playability only. Leave the rest vintage so long as its functional. Its taken decades to get the finish checking. I'd definately leave that alone. The only other mod I'd probibly do id put a real bridge on there that can be intonated. A roller bridge is best for a whammy. Save the old bridge for resale.

 

 

WRGKMC, I'd love to keep the finish on both the body and the neck, but, alas, the paint and lacquer are literally flaking off. Also, this thing shows some character in the photos, but it really does look awful in real life. I don't think this crazing has been the result of decades of loving use, but rather it has become evident that the guitar has either been stored in a damp environment for several years or more likely actually got very wet at some stage. I'm going to keep it original as much as possible, but the paint and lacquer have to go, unfortunately.

 

About the bridge, it's the wrong one anyway, so no need to keep it. My plan is to keep the bottom half and fabricate a new (compensated) top half. Even if I were to track down an original bridge, they were compensated for a wound G string, so I'm going to make a new one based on the original, but adjusted for modern strings. That's the plan anyway.

[guitarcapo]

 

I'd focus on playability only. Leave the rest vintage so long as its functional. Its taken decades to get the finish checking. I'd definately leave that alone. The only other mod I'd probibly do id put a real bridge on there that can be intonated. A roller bridge is best for a whammy. Save the old bridge for resale.

 

 

+1 Don't you dare touch that paint.

 

Do everything to make it playable and sound good. Swap pots, straighten the neck, swap the tuners. Intonatable bridge...fill structural cracks with epoxy.... But if you refinish it...why not just go buy a new guitar?

[irishstu]

Anyway (with apologies to WRGKMC), let's tackle the neck first.

 

1. The frets need replacing (total refret).

2. The fingerboard is very uneven and needs re-radiusing (sanding down to the correct curvature again).

3. There is a long crack/gap running along the fingerboard that will need to be filled in (luckily this is not a structural problem).

4. The nut needs to be removed and replaced.

5. The old lacquer needs to be removed and the neck needs to be re-lacquered.

6. A new waterslide-decal logo needs to be made and applied.

7. The relief on the neck needs to be dealt with (it is back-bowed, even when the truss rod is completely loosened).

 

Today we will just deal with the stripping down stage.

 

First thing to do is remove the neck from the guitar as follows:

 

 

The machine heads (tuners) and string retainer are also removed, leaving us with this:

 

 

Before we can do any more work, the neck needs to be supported or clamped down in some way, so a quick neck rig is made from a piece of wood and a screw is passed from the back of that into one of the holes at the heel of the neck. A second screw passes through one of the machine head holes to hold the neck firmly (this can be removed, or moved to another hole, when doing any delicate work in that area).

 

 

If you ever decide to tackle a project like this, I cannot stress this enough

[irishstu]

A radiused sanding block with 400 grade sandpaper is now used to sand the fretboard down. Some of the cowboy-chord finger positions are really worn down, but we will try to get the fretboard as good as possible without having to lower the entire surface by too much. Also, in an attempt to minimise the effect of the back bow, the fretboard is sanded more heavily towards the middle of the neck.

 

 

Neck relief (back bow):

 

 

Since a lot of lovely rosewood dust is getting spread all over the fretboard, and since, coincidentally, we need to fill in a big long crack, this is a perfect (and very convenient) time to drip superglue along the crack, sealing that dust into the gap. Once the superglue has dried, it is actually easier to remove any excess with a fine file, rather than clogging up the sandpaper. A bit more sanding with the radiused sanding block and we should be done with the fretboard.

 

The crack before we started sanding:

 

 

After a bit of sanding, you can see the crack getting filled with rosewood dust:

 

 

Superglue is applied along the length of the crack:

 

 

A similar technique was later used on the deepest gouge in the cowboy chord positions of the fretboard.

 

 

Now onto the lacquer removal. Since the lacquer is literally flaking off this neck, there is no doubt what the best method is to strip this

[irishstu]

The tuners have been replaced at least once, and a couple of the tuners have been replaced several times, leaving it with a LOT of holes where there shouldn

[irishstu]

 

But if you refinish it...why not just go buy a new guitar?

 

 

Hey guitarcapo, see my reply to WRGKMC about why this needs to be refinished. As for why I wouldn't just buy a new guitar, well, where would the fun be in that? I'm doing this for many reasons, but one of them is to learn and practice new techniques that I have never done before. Also, for many years, I have wanted to get this exact make and model of guitar, since I had the exact same one as my first ever electric guitar (which I completely wrecked).

 

The guitar itself isn't worth much (you can pick one up in excellent condition for about $300), and if I hadn't ended up buying this one with a view to restoring it, it would surely have ended up getting thrown out. In short, it's very much a labour of love and nothing more.

[JR13]

sub'd. looks good so far

[cratz2]

I love projects like this... but they make me feel like a rookie with my oil-finished necks and Duplicolor finished bodies.

 

[harold heckuba]

I would just wipe that finish down with water thin superglue. That will bind the old flaking finish to the wood and keep if from getting worse. I lot less work, and you can still refin later if you choose.

[Jan Deal]

Cool thread, I'll be watching this one.

[=JL=]

 

I completely ruined one of these guitars about 25 years ago, and I'm trying to redeem myself.       6. Volume/tone knobs

[poolshark]

F the haters, this is B.A. Baracus right here. Keep at it.

[cratz2]

Right on! An unplayable guitar that hangs on the wall, ignored, isn't really worth much.

 

If you make it playable, you've increased the value to most players.

 

But as a fan of very checked finishes, I think I'd be tempted to try the thin glue suggestion above to preserve the finish.

 

I'd also be tempted to not radically improve the finish of the metal bits and probably not replace those knobs... I'd just clean them with a toothbrush and warm water.

[WRGKMC]

the way to preserve a finish is with lacquer thinner. It reliquifies the old lacquer and makes it stick again.

You could have the vintage checqued look and have it properly bound. Then clear coat over.

He's beyond that now so its a moot point.

 

I repair allot of vintage guitars like this one so all the challanges your seeing are pretty common place for

closet cases like this. Those frets were toast in the low positions so thay definately had to go.

The crack in the fretbooard could have been the result of the truss being overtightened at some point.

Its hard to tell from a pic. I dont think Hofner made any reverse relief truss systems where loosening the

truss rod reduced relief but its always good to check on those kinds of facts.

 

Heating the wood will work sometimes on newer woods, but with the age of that one it would be pointless.

Sanding the neck flat is the best option if you dont have to remove too much meat.

 

The bridge looked like a teisco bridge someone stuck on there.

A suggestion might be to use a rickenbacker bridge. Generics can be bought cheap

and they use the metal base like you have there. I think it would give a hofner a great tone.

But thats a personal choice you'll have to make for yourself. String spacing will be important

in any case. The rick bridge will handel narrower string spacing if thats whats needed.

 

Id go for a roller version in any case because you do have a whammy and any set bridge will

rock, wear, and cause major tuning issues with saddle friction. Fabricating a roller bridge would be very difficult.

 

Found these and they may be just what you need.

http://www.winfieldvintage.com/parts/roller-bridge.html

 

You will need to match the radius and string spacing though.

Maybe the Shaller roller bridge would work better. It has adjustable string spacing

if its needed so you dont have strings edgeing off the neck.

http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/item/1266?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2011-12-gp

You can get paul type roller bridges easy enough too.

[xrleroyx]

Who the {censored} cares whether or not he strips the guitar? He wants to rebuild his first guitar, or improve it, or something. I personally think it's cool that someone's finally refinishing a {censored}ty paint job.

 

There was also a thread here about a guy who sanded the neck on his '59 LP Jr. Props to you.

[=JL=]

Hey I don't care, he can round up all the Coloramas and burn them for all I care, I had one.

It just struck me as odd that someone who works on old guitars doesn't seem to like their "oldness".

[WRGKMC]

 

Who the {censored} cares whether or not he strips the guitar? He wants to rebuild his first guitar, or improve it, or something. I personally think it's cool that someone's finally refinishing a {censored}ty paint job.

 

 

Dont disagree. Some do buy instruments restore them then resell them for a profit.

With vintage stuff you can often get allot more money for untouched vintage than

you can for something restored half assed. The OP seems to want to use the instrument

and has some decent restoring skills so it doesnt look like he's going to butcher it.

It will take a hit on its value but he doesnt seem to mind.

 

If it was something he was planning on making maximum cash off of like many guitar investors,

repairing the things that make it playable then sticking the thing in storeage for 10 years,

I can see that guitar jumping up in value to grand or more easily.

You sure cant invest money in a bank or stocks and expect that kind of return on your money.

[csm]

I have a vague childhood memory of the Colorama being finished in a kind of leatheretty red vinyl rather than paint. Or was that the Colorama I?