When it comes to Gibson’s
Flying V guitars, most
V fanatics rank the Medallion
model as one of the most desirable.
In 1971, Gibson made a
limited edition of 350 of these
guitars, which were intended to
commemorate the then-upcoming
1972 Olympic games. The
design was based on Gibson’s
’67 Flying V, with its short
headstock and detailing. Added
to this was a gold-colored coin
inscribed with the Gibson logo
and inlaid on the front bass side
of the body. Each Medallion V’s
1 7/16"-diameter coin was also
inscribed with a digit representing
its serial and production
number. (Although a few had a
stamped serial number on the
back of the headstock.)
The subject of this month’s
column—#18—was definitely
out of Gibson’s first production
batch. This Medallion Flying
V arrived at our shop in dire
need of a finish restoration.
Most of the original finish had
been stripped away, and the
guitar had then been covered in
a light, handrubbed oil. There
were slight visual signs to confirm
that the original finish was
once a Gibson cherry red.
I used acetone and a white
(I’ll explain later why this is
important), lint-free cotton
cloth to remove the oils that
had soaked into the Honduran
mahogany. To avoid any adhesion
issues, you must do this
before applying any nitrocellulose
lacquer. To fully clean the wood,
I repeatedly wiped the body
with fresh cloths, and I kept
wiping an area until my cloth
didn’t show any oil discoloration.
When working with acetone,
remember to wear protective
gloves and eyewear, and be sure
to have proper ventilation.
During this process, I also
noticed a couple of small dents
and one large body dent. I
knew I needed to tend to these
before I sprayed transparent
cherry red finish on the guitar
again. If I didn’t remove the
dents, they’d glare through the
finish and be an eyesore.
I knew the largest dent—
which measured 1" long, 1/8"
wide, and 1/16" deep—would
be the biggest challenge to
remove and feather in. For my
first attempt at doctoring this
indentation, I poured a little
water into a coffee cup and
brought it to a boil in a microwave.
I then used a Q-Tip to
apply the hot water to the damaged
area, hoping to swell the
compressed wood to its original
state. I wanted to try this technique
first, because it’s the least-abrasive
option.
Before long, I could see that
the wood was not going to move
easily. I only achieved a 15-percent
improvement, so I knew I
needed to really increase the heat
and begin steaming from the
depths below. If you ever try this
technique, I’d suggest first working
on a scrap piece of wood
of the same species to get a feel
for the process before doing it
on a guitar. This will help avoid
incurring further damage.
The main tool I use for
such steaming operations is my
Tenma Temperature Controlled
Digital Solder Station (model
21-1590), which has a temperature
range of 320–900 degrees
Fahrenheit. (Incidentally, if you
work on guitar electronics and
want to achieve clean results
without damaging any components,
the Tenma unit would
be a fantastic addition to your
workbench.)
I attached a 1/8" tip to the
iron and set the temperature
to 900 degrees. Then I took a
white, 5" x 5", lint-free cotton
cloth, moistened it heavily, and
folded it in three layers to create
a thick, protective pad. Laying
this over the dent, I applied the
soldering iron to the pad and
began steaming out the wood.
Sometimes this works
quickly, but for this particular
indentation I needed to
repeatedly moisten the cloth
and reapply heat—always
monitoring the cloth for mild
burning or discoloration. This
is why having a white cloth
is so important: It helps you
avoid damaging the wood,
because you can see when
things are beginning to really
heat up and adjust the temperature
accordingly.
It took about 15 cycles of
moistening the cloth and applying
heat to coax the dent out of
the wood. After giving the body
a light final sanding with 280-
grit abrasive, I was finally ready
to apply the finish.
I hope everyone’s summer is
off to a great start, and you’ve
moved your workbench onto the
patio and next to the grill!
John Brown is the
inventor of the Fretted/Less
bass. He owns and operates
Brown’s Guitar Factory,
a guitar manufacturing,
repair, and restoration facility
staffed by a team of talented
luthiers. His guitar-tool and accessory designs
are used by builders all over the world. Visit
brownsguitarfactory.com or email John at
info@brownsguitarfactory.com.