Question for the Gibson vintage finish gurus..

[LtDave32]

Hey fellas..

I have a 1962 vintage SG jr in for a refin.

What I want to know is, did Gibson ever offer a TV white finish on the 62 SG junior?

..just trying to uncover an undercoat mystery here.

 

[Joe Desperado]

61 for sure, so probably 62 too. TV finish was available on the 62 Special, so assume Junior too.

 

[efstop]

I can find lots of solid Polaris White but not TV White.
The Custom Shop Brian Ray '62 SG Junior Reissue is TV White, so maybe a custom color in '62?

Reverb says TV Yellow, White, Cherry

 

[LtDave32]

I think I may have uncovered one.

Either TV white or polaris white.

This thing was never red nor yellow. Or Phelam blue.

There is a white undercoat, then black with white swirl. That's all. Nothing else.

 

[58 special]

i recall in the vintage section some time ago there was a discussion of a white under the yellow ( grain filler??? ) on the TV yellow specials and juniors.

Ps searching a little here tells me I'm not giving anybody here any new info.

 

[LtDave32]

i recall in the vintage section some time ago there was a discussion of a white under the yellow ( grain filler??? ) on the TV yellow specials and juniors.

Yessir. Always white undercoat with TY yellow. It's how I do my TV yellow finishes; a light dusty coat of white (enhances the yellow color coat), then color, grain fill, clear.

Even in the pup cavity, it's just black with white underneath.

 

[valvetoneman]

I've never seen one so can't help, I prefer TV yellow anyway

 

[fernieite]

This well researched site should help.

SG Junior

Introduced in 1961, the Junior slotted above the Melody Maker and below the Special. It was produced continuously for a decade, until both the Junior and Melody Maker were effectively replaced in mid-1971 by the SG-100. However, there was a limited run of SG-100 Junior models in 1972. Since...

solidguitar.fandom.com

 

[VictorB]

1962 Gibson SG TV JR Junior Leslie West Owned Polaris White > Guitars Electric Solid Body | Rivington Guitars

Here's a vintage original SG TV Jr. in original Polaris White previously owned and played by Leslie West of Mountain. Plays and sounds just incredible, maybe the best playing SG JR we've had. Nice ...

www.gbase.com

 

[lowatter]

I got nothing but I'd sure like to see that guitar with before and after shots. I'm sure you'll nail it Dave.

 

[Joe Desperado]

Sorry brother I may have led astray..

I was focusing in on TV finish (the process) and not the color itself. 61 and early 62 had TV YELLOW for sure. Seems mid 62 also saw TV WHITE…

There was actually two different TV yellow colors in 50s too. One was standard TV Yellow and one was more of a wheat color.

 

[LtDave32]

Okay, thanks fellas. There has been zero evidence of any other color close to the wood, except white. There is black throughout, and white.

Dat's it. Even in the cavities. Weird. Must have been a Polaris White guitar.

Now from the pics of the old broad..

Here's a shot of the headstock with some naptha poured on it. It is what it will look like after the refin clear coat..

Someone had sprayed some gold paint in the cavities. Not conductive copper paint, but common gold paint. This was over the black.

And to the front. It had been modified to accept a humbucker, switch, TOM and stop-bar. It will keep these, I'm just trying to clean up the old girl for a proper TV yellow refin.

Here's the front.

And here is the proper TV yellow it will be refinished to:

Now, THAT'S a TV yellow. None of that taxi-cab, fire hydrant mess.

You google TV yellow, you get every friggin' yellow under the sun. And the sun too. Horrible.

It has to be a "mustard wheat" with the dominant color wheat. I know there were several TV yellows over the years; wheat, almost white, this color above, and this color with a bit more lime thrown in, like this:

But we are shooting for that first pic.

We'll get there, I'm certain.

 

[pshupe]

Nice guitar. Are you taking it back to a "JR", meaning filling the humbucker route?

Cheers Peter.

 

[LtDave32]

Nice guitar. Are you taking it back to a "JR", meaning filling the humbucker route?

Cheers Peter.

No, Pete. Just a refin.

 

[valvetoneman]

Here's one of my TV finishes, love how it turned out, fortunately I had a few originals to look at for reference.

 

[Duane_the_tub]

@bossaddict would be my go-to for any questions about vintage SG specs.

 

[bossaddict]

@bossaddict would be my go-to for any questions about vintage SG specs.

I think most people posting here have pretty much got it. I'm not aware of any TV White SGs from 1962, but there were plenty of Polaris White ones (Juniors, Specials, and Customs) and also some TV Yellow ones, albeit far fewer.

 

[LtDave32]

I think most people posting here have pretty much got it. I'm not aware of any TV White SGs from 1962, but there were plenty of Polaris White ones (Juniors, Specials, and Customs) and also some TV Yellow ones, albeit far fewer.

I'm thinking polaris white.

 

[lowatter]

Sorry...been watching the grandkids too much lately.

 

[LtDave32]

Here she is, grain-filled and ready for the clear-coating ritual: