Luthiers.. I need a few bits of info on 68' LPC "Black Beauty"

[wykked1]

Hi guys,
Recently a 68' Black Beauty Les Paul Custom came into my shop for repair. The owner removed the top binding so that needs to be replaced, also the top needs to be refinished. My questions are :

1) Does the top binding have 7 strips of Black & White binding even though the back has 5 strips? (every pic on the internet I've seen had 7 strips) I'm just trying to verify 7 strips is correct.

2) Having sanded the top for refinishing, I noticed that it was dyed red under the black paint, I've run across this in several Black Gibsons I've refinished, (the red dye leaks up by the binding if you wanna check your LP)... was this a standard thing Gibson did with Black Finishes, or did they start out as Sunbursts but the wood was not figured enough, so they sprayed it black?. I'd can't see any reason for dying the top red before covering it in solid black. I'd like to know, if this was a Standard Practice at Gibson and the reason why they did it.

Thanks!

[jfm07]

You may want to post this question on the Luthier's Corner forum (a sub-forum under The Custom Shop). You could also search that forum for binding info and look for comments from BCRGreg, sort of a guru.

From the Luthier's Corner:

Try Axiom Inc. for multiply celluloid binding . Luthier Mercantile Int. and Int. Luthier Supply both carry
multiply binding but i'm pretty sure it's ABS plastic.

Good luck!