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Yeah you are right, there's a lot of work to be done if it's going to be pretty again. In fact, it's in worse condition than I expected from the eBay photo's. It does play well though (apart from some buzz resulting from the nut being well worn out), but I guess that's part of the gamble buying online.
The dilemma I'm wrestling with now is the "restoration vs relic" one.
If this guitar is as rare as I think, it's probably worth a bit as-is. People tell me you can slice the value of a vintage guitar in half if you refinish it, even if (as would be the case here) the new finish makes the guitar look amazing. Then there's the current trend for relicing new guitars to look like they have been played for 40 years. This one has that look in spades!
There's no rush though, and I keep swinging between a full resto and keeping it looking all punk rock.
Looking at the wood in that first and third shot, I'm tempted to talk to a restorer about reproducing the old faded burst look (three colour faded to two like it is now) but maybe a light honey stain to really bring out the flame. Could look really sexy! (plus sanding and painting would likely help remove the built up cigarette smell. I know the whole "Smokey Jazz Bar" mojo looks nice in pictures and sounds nice in theory, but even as an ex smoker, this guitar smells like it it lived in the smoking lounge at an international airport. Yuk!)
Anyway, more later including "was this a neck reset" and "Fiberglass? Really?"
Whoa! If those guitars sound half as good as they look...! Gorgeous!
Most 'antiques' are like that - touch the original finish and you've trashed the value (furniture, at least). If it turns out not to be particularly valuable to a collector, I'd do a nice restore/refinish myself.
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