guitar refinishing help.

[almondx]

Guys I need your opinion on this. Sent my guitar to one of the repair shops in SG for refinishing, got their price quote and expected outcome that it would be "like factory-new". Gave it a look through before I left it there to ensure that I knew what state it was then.

Went to check up on it this week, the finish was alright, but had many tiny dots of overspray. Apparently the reason being the finish is meant to be so thin that the buffing cannot be done too much hence the tiny imperfections. Now the problem is the guitar has a new dent, which I am certain was not there before. However it was insisted that when I left the guitar at the shop it's already there. What should I do about it? This is not a cheap guitar it's above the 5K price tag but the shop has some excellent customer support and service.

The finish was definitely not up to my expectations, as I only refinished the front and having told that "it would be as good as the back" this is definitely not what I've expected.

Edit: in all fairness i'm very positive the shop has tried its best already =)

 

[shreddedsweeper]

mind if you pm me the shop name?

 

[bin4christ]

woo a PRS eh?

 

[Kwerty]

Mind pm`ing me the shop name too? Thanks.

 

[ShredCow]

"Trying" one's best but failing short of the mark isn't any excuse at all.

If the finish contains those imperfections, I will demand a refund, esp after all those empty promises.

If a store/person cannot keep his word/promises, I don't see how they deserve any form of praise or "compensation" (e.g. they did try their best ...).

Your claim of a new dent, there's nothing you can do about it. Its just your word against theirs, no pictures, middlemen, nothing.

Question, does a thin finish mean you CANNOT buff it properly and hence, WILL HAVE many , albeit tiny, imperfections?

almondx, don't pull excuses for the shop.

Did they do a good job or not? Did they live up to their promises, "it would be as good as the back"? Is your baby, getting the very best care from them?

 

[almondx]

Thanks shredcow, I'm very pleased with the customer service, but it's just morally frustrating because the luthier also help me match some colour blemishes which I did not ask for at all with no extra charge. A really nice person. These arent my excuse, I'm just stating down what they told me about the finish being too thin they are afraid extra buffing will make result in a sand through.

Ah but it's my baby. I'm a student and I worked part time all my holidays just for it. Sigh. Got a suggestion that I could send it to Guitar77 who has a factory overseas that can put it back into factory finish condition.

 

[erictay33]

hi, please PM me the shop too?

 

[erictay33]

but i kind of agree wtih Shredcow.

 

[ChanMin]

yo man ... who did this to u?

pls pm me the shop name too ... im thinking of getting some mods done too .. wanna make sure i steer clear of shops who dont deliver.

 

[ShredCow]

almondx, I'm not taking it out on you. I'm just expecting a measure of integrity on the part of the shop.

You said, "in all fairness i'm very positive the shop has tried its best already =)"

So I asked, does "trying" but not reaching the mark make a diff when it comes to working on something like your baby? I can understand when it comes to sports, games or something, but not on a guitar, when its something thats irreversible.

Ask them, if the finish they did, is so thin, that they cannot buff for fear of buffing thru it, then why finish it so thin in the first place? We all know thin finishes = wood can breath blah blah, but thin to the point where buffing cannot be done? You heard of it before? You look at custom guitars by master builders like John Suhr, you see him selling his guitars like that?

Point is, the shop promised, they did not deliver. There is NO obligation for you on any part.

They touched up the guitar for you huh?

Was that the job?

No.

The "job" was to refinish your guitar to "like factory-new" and "it would be as good as the back".

Don't be intimidated. Don't have to be "nice" like this. The guy did NOT do his job as a "luthier" and could not deliver on his promise but instead, gave some excuse that the finish that he applied was too thin so cannot buff enough.

Integrity? Gone.

So now you want to send your guitar to a factory. You got to spend again? What if your guitar comes back with some dent you "claim" wasn't there before?

I think you should get your money back.

 

[shreddedsweeper]

did you request for a extremely thin finish? :?:

 

[bluepowder]

Umm is there a particular reason why the shops name isnt being mentioned...!!!!

I think if there is a problem with a certain shop, you should let your fellow customers know abt it...unless there is some agreement that i wasnt aware of that forbid us from posting shop names....

orite maybe its your choice in the end...would save u a lot of pms...but in any case..i would like to know the shop too...

 

[almondx]

My guitar is still at the shop so i'm kinda worried for it if i do mention the shop's name here =X who knows what may happen to it. To all those interested I shall of course pm =)

To shreddedsweeper: no I did not request for an extremely thin finish. They just told me that my guitar's factory finish is very thin - about 2 coats of clear as opposed to say 8 coats of clear on a fender strat. Hence they fear about buffing through and therefore unable to buff to perfection. It was NOT brought to my attention about this risk.

 

[almondx]

Oh and thanks shredcow for all your help and input. I do agree with you 100%. But now I just have to think of a way to get it back with refunds without hard feelings between the shop and me.

 

[Ruff-Muff]

Hi Almondx, could you PM me the shop name too? I was just about to approach one of the shops in Excelsior for a refinish job too. Thanks!

Think i should steer clear of that shop you visited...

 

[LimpPisskit]

sorry 2 hear about yur troubles.....

Maybe you could ask them do it again until they got it right or consider another type of finish

but to make things worse.... maybe you should just appreciate the guitar from a player's perspective and live with thhe tiny defects cause on the investment side......yur guitar probably dropped about 50% in value cuz of the refin so you should think about from a $2k guitar perspective from now on

 

[p4zl]

may i know how much does it cost u? and also can i have the name of the shop? PM pls.. thanks

 

[ShredCow]

Oh and thanks shredcow for all your help and input. I do agree with you 100%. But now I just have to think of a way to get it back with refunds without hard feelings between the shop and me.

Hard feelings? What hard feelings when you wouldn't go back to deal with them again?

No seriously, be nice but firm, rope in your parents if need be.

 

[bluepowder]

limppisskit...i am sorry i completely disagree with your perspective....A PLAYERS PERSPECTIVE does not consist of only the playability of the guitar...it is always the whole package....besides,believe it or not the finish does have an effect on the tone...a bad finish could be that thing in your tone you cannot put your finger on...

its like telling your kid...oh cmon kid its ok...those 3rd degree burns on your hand dun matter..u can still use it :lol:

besides he paid money for it 8O

 

[Phil]

Poor guy, poor shop, now no one's going to go to them.