the Fly Clone Project

Hey All

Out of curiosity, what are y'alls thoughts on refinishing a Fly? Aside from the logistical issues of "Can it Be Done?" of course, do you prefer an instrument to be all original or is it okay to slap on a new coat of paint?

It can be done but definitely not for the inexperienced painter or even an experienced painter who’s faint of heart.

I think the quality of the finish is part of what makes a fly what it is.

I have painted cars and many other guitars in the past and consider myself to be fairly capable. My efforts to refinish a mojo were considerable, primarily due to not having access to a booth, a decent gun, or all the hazardous but beautiful and durable paints available today. It’s definitely not like spraying a tele body with a can of krylon in your dusty garage.

The only way I’d buy a fly resprayed by your typical hobbyist, tech, or luthier is as a long frustrating project with no due date.

Would much rather have original finish with some damage.

The only contexts in which I would encourage an owner to personally refinish their Fly is if they’re already an experienced spray gun-painter, or they purchased a beater project to refinish for fun (which is what I did). Otherwise, Chris Raposa (Parker Guitars painter from 1992-‘95, based in Massachusetts, can be reached at [email protected]) and Dave Vogele (Vogele Custom Guitars, Granger, Indiana, can be reached at [email protected]) are the only two commercial refinishers I’ve seen endorsed on this site who won’t leave you wondering if you’ll ever get your guitar back.

In the current market driven by speculators and collectors, the “owner-refinished” Flys are the ones you see perpetually relisted for years. No one wants to be made fun of on some message board for throwing paint covered sponges at their Fly, putting a bunch of iron cross stickers on the fingerboard, and then pretending that the labor of their desecration added value to the guitar.

billy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 7:42 pm It’s definitely not like spraying a tele body with a can of krylon in your dusty garage.

It was for me (Actually, I used several rattle cans of Ace Hardware all-in-one sunshine yellow paint they had on clearance for four dollars a can )

billy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 7:42 pm Would much rather have original finish with some damage.

Same. Aside from fingerboard delamination, a relic’d Fly is still tougher than those worked-over Stratocasters people seem to fetishize. Wasn’t it Roy Smith who had the Shell Pink relic’d Fly he turned a trashed rescue into?


#FinishMatters