• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

1958 Goldtop

j45

Active member
Joined
Jun 14, 2002
Messages
9,081
I recently read an excerpt from a Gibson book that you can find on Google where someone who used to work there explained the Goldtop. He said, (and I'm paraphrasing)..."we then sprayed 1 or 2 coats of gold, making sure it had good coverage."

I'll see if I can find the reference, although to be honest, I have no idea how I found it in the first place.


UPDATE: I found the book and the section. Read the paragraphs under "The Finishing Process":

https://books.google.com/books?id=N...v=onepage&q=gibson goldtop gold coats&f=false



Maybe I missed it but still doesn't address the all-gold models with extra clear coats between the extra gold coats....as in photo shown in Eric's post. Different process.... at least appears to be much different than a goldtop. For whatever reason they did it...they sure age horribly once they start getting all over wear...
 

mingus

Active member
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
4,243
Great shot of the layering. This layering is typical to all of the all-gold goldtops I've seen or owned. I don't know that I've seen these layers on a standard goldtop. Does anyone know FOR SURE why this was done on all-golds?? Always wondered and speculated but never came up with a logical reason that put it to rest in my mind...

Kerry, I've seen a couple of non-"all gold" GTs that had two layers of gold paint on the tops. We can only guess the reason: perhaps the flake didn't lay down uniformly or the coverage was spotty for some reason (humidity, clog, etc.). Remember that killer '58 GT that Jimmy had at the Dallas show you attended with Lyle (playing Carmelita) back around '07 or so? As clean as that one was (and a monster sounding/playing guitar) at the binding in the area where the arm wear first occurs, there was evidence of two coats of gold.

303-1.jpg



EDIT: I understand there was some kind of break down and mistake at Capsule recently... still, even not knowing a thing about them... would hesitate in letting that be something that becomes comments reflective of their actual integrity. Mistakes happen... don't know the details that transpired leading up to the incident but I could tell stories of MUCH bigger, well respected names that have made mistakes. We are talking about very, very tiny percentages when looking at long term reputable individuals that may have made a single mistake over the course of tens of thousands of events. And even then, rectified immediately. You really have to look at the whole picture, prior history as well as how a mistake is handled before popping off on the internet. Our membership does carry weight in the world-wide vintage guitar community and we should govern ourselves accordingly, take time to truly investigate before making what could be possibly damaging and inaccurate assumptions about integrity of others.

+ a million! Some people just love to get worked up and bring out the pitchforks and mob mentality in an ill-informed effort at cyber-vigilante justice. There are several very BIG names in the business, whom we all know and respect, who have been fooled. It happens.
 

sws1

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
2,846
Maybe I missed it but still doesn't address the all-gold models with extra clear coats between the extra gold coats....as in photo shown in Eric's post. Different process.... at least appears to be much different than a goldtop. For whatever reason they did it...they sure age horribly once they start getting all over wear...

Right. It just speaks to the gold on the maple top. Pertaining to the guitar in the OP, having 2 coats on the top could explain the excess of gold in the neck cavity compared to other regular gold tops. Or it could be refinned. I know I've seen other regular gold tops that show multiple layers on wear on the top, and different than many 'single layer' gold tops.
 

JJ Blair

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
3,462
Maybe I missed it but still doesn't address the all-gold models with extra clear coats between the extra gold coats....as in photo shown in Eric's post. Different process.... at least appears to be much different than a goldtop. For whatever reason they did it...they sure age horribly once they start getting all over wear...

I think I explained it in my post. If you ever spray a gold top, you'd be surprised what shows through. First, you don't know how opaque it's going to be until it dries, then sometimes, once you spray clear over the gold, something shows through that didn't show when it was just gold on top. It's a pain in the ass finish to spray, in my experience. I've only done a few, and it's my least favorite.

The last one I did was a '60s V, in sparkling burgundy, and I had to get the gold good before spraying the cherry. Gold over mahogany was a much bigger pain than gold over maple. I went through a lot of that coat to not have the wood show through.
 
Last edited:

talonmm

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Messages
179
I purchased this gold top guitar last week and just want to say that dealing with Rob was a great experience!

I love the guitar and look forward to playing this guitar for a very long time (and replacing the wrong items).

The guitar was purchased at a significant discount - perhaps it being for sale for such a long time helped.

As far as I can tell, I need to replace (4) knobs, the switch tip and the input jack plate.

I found an ebay seller who has the vintage knobs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-195...106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a54bae9ba

Can anyone please verify these are the correct knobs and that they look authentic?

Thanks!
 

marshall1987

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
3,278
I spotted the oxidation, but it looks different than the white stuff in the tenon crack. Could be the lighting.

In this photo, the oxidation is very different looking. The white stuff looks styrofoam-ish.


17993441558_8c1cfbe325_k.jpg


Not too far from me. Maybe I'll go check it out.

Or old buffing compound??
 

sunburst1

Active member
Joined
Sep 3, 2002
Messages
3,989
Kerry, I've seen a couple of non-"all gold" GTs that had two layers of gold paint on the tops. We can only guess the reason: perhaps the flake didn't lay down uniformly or the coverage was spotty for some reason (humidity, clog, etc.). Remember that killer '58 GT that Jimmy had at the Dallas show you attended with Lyle (playing Carmelita) back around '07 or so? As clean as that one was (and a monster sounding/playing guitar) at the binding in the area where the arm wear first occurs, there was evidence of two coats of gold.

303-1.jpg




Owned that example many years ago. It was 8 2795 and was really clean , it had some orange peeling effect on the top.

It came with a photo of the org. owner "Stan" playing back in the day. The case had damage from the toggle switch impacting that area.

Bought it from Solidbody Guitar for 35K in cash. Later sold it to a friend who flipped to Patrick who owned the Relics collection. Think Jim must have

gotten it after that , not sure. It had a really nice flamed mahogany back and sides. The neck PAF was stronger than the bridge PAF which were both in the 7's as I recall.

It was indeed a great example of a 1958 GT. Wonder where it is now? Odd for for such a nice example it got flipped and sold a bunch of times.

Think I remember JB saying he was offered that example , but didn't like the orange peel effect , so he passed.

I believe the guitar was 100% with no issues. Never had any reason the think otherwise , OMMV.
 

Stoj

Active member
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
3,514
Nice Score Congrats on a great '58 :dude: :salude


I purchased this gold top guitar last week and just want to say that dealing with Rob was a great experience!

I love the guitar and look forward to playing this guitar for a very long time (and replacing the wrong items).

The guitar was purchased at a significant discount - perhaps it being for sale for such a long time helped.

As far as I can tell, I need to replace (4) knobs, the switch tip and the input jack plate.

I found an ebay seller who has the vintage knobs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-195...106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a54bae9ba

Can anyone please verify these are the correct knobs and that they look authentic?

Thanks!
 

reznor62

New member
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
14
Rob is the owner of Dtown Guitars and is a straight up guy. He had a '60 standard a few years ago with a headstock repair and disclosed all the issues with that one as well. It took a while for him to move it but eventually it did go. He has a nice shop with a few vintage guitars and amps every so often. I like going in every so often just to stay on top of it. He is also a good friend of George Alessandro of Alessandro Amps, etc who is also good folk. I wouldn't have a problem buying vintage from him but would, as anyone on here would advise, ask all the questions I would ask of anyone else selling it. He's an honest guy in my book.

pm me please !
 
Top