Restoration job: 1980s Hamer Steve Stevens

[cmjohnson]

I don't usually do restoration jobs but in this case I was referred to a man who has an original (first generation) Hamer Steve Stevens model guitar that had neck damage that was apparently "competently" repaired but the refin work on the neck is nothing that I would want to admit to having done. It's pretty bad.

I agreed to take on the job because it's a type of guitar that I wanted back in the 80s. I still think it's quite a cool guitar.

Color is Fuchsia. Love it or hate it, that's what it is.

It looks like this is going to be a straight forward neck restoration. Sand back bad paint, steam out a few small dents, fill in where necessary,
prime, paint with a PERFECT color match, clearcoat, polish, do the setup, send it home. Not the toughest job ever. Oh, and it gets a refret, too. No problem.

Fortunately the headstock repair seems to be solid. It's held for 20 years now. So I don't have to deal with that.

The only thing that I haven't found for it yet is that I need a source for a reproduction of the original Steve Stevens model decal found on the back
of the headstock. The original decal is still present, but damaged, and it may be almost impossible to save what's left of it. If I can get a reproduction, I'd just use that and that makes the repaint of the headstock just that much easier.

So, does anyone have a source for THAT decal? I can get Hamer headstock decals easily enough. It's the signature model decal that I can't find as of yet.

 

[mistermikev]

Hello, I have a steve stevens... mine was in the northridge quake of 95 and I did a repair to it. Mine had the sig on the front tho. like this one: https://evolutionmusicstore.com/products/hamer-steve-stevens-mk1-headstock-repair
I didn't try to keep mine original... but I did redo that logo using waterslide. Think I just lifted it off of something online. You could print to vinyl sticker stock... you prob already know that. When I get home, and assuming you'd even want it... I can try to find my gaphics for it. You must post some pics... I abso love this guitar. The mahog that was under the paint was not paint grade at all... beautiful stuff. 3 pc quarter sawn maple neck and (I think) brazillian rosewood board? I've owned it since I was 14 so.... 88? anywho

 

[mistermikev]

 

[pbekkerh]

You could have it made. I sent a photo with dimensions of a damaged decal for my bike restoration to a guy and he fixed the damage and produced a fantastic decal exactly as a new original.

 

[Ghostman]

So, does anyone have a source for THAT decal? I can get Hamer headstock decals easily enough. It's the signature model decal that I can't find as of yet.

If you're okay with a reprinted decal, you could look for vinyl sticker printers in your area. I have used a friend of mine who does custom vinyl graphics that she prints out from a laser printer. She does awesome work, but you need to provide her the graphics. Rocket88Designs is her Etsy/Facebook page.

 

[cmjohnson]

As I have completed my initial evaluation of the guitar, and begun the process of stripping back the neck finish, I have discovered the original serial number hidden on the back of the headstock under the AWFUL respray that was done to it. And along with that serial number is the original "Copyright Steve Stevens and Hamer" mark without signature.

It would appear that this guitar originally had the SS signature on the front of the headstock along with the Hamer logo, so that's what I'm going to try to find or have made. The goal is to restore this guitar to as much of its original condition as I am able to achieve.

The previous neck repair was done competently enough, but the finish work is atrocious if you're KIND about it.

I have already had the original body paint computer analyzed and matching basecoat made. The match is dead on the money. It's going to be very successful.

Since I now know the original ink stamped serial number, I will get that made as a waterslide decal which will be applied right where the original was, under the new clearcoat. It goes to doing a thorough and complete job.

 

[cmjohnson]

I have now found, after sanding back the awful goopy GARBAGE paint that the previous "repairman" used on this guitar, under that paint on the headstock I found the original Hamer logo, which had already been ruined and sanded through over a large section, and found the original UNDAMAGED Steve Stevens signature model section of the logo.

This presents a challenge. I can get a waterslide made to duplicate the original (white) Hamer logo. And I can get a waterslide made to duplicate the original SS signature logo now that I have a reference to work from.

So my options for the headstock are to just paint the headstock black and apply waterslides over it and clearcoat it and be done with it, or I can attempt to show the original SS signature which makes the headstock restoration a bit more complicated as I will have to mask that area and apply black paint around it, then apply the Hamer waterslide, then clear the whole headstock face.

Ideally I'd like to preserve as much of the original logos as possible. But it does complicate the restoration process.

Decisions, decisions....

Thoughts, comments, opinions, advice?

I am definitely photographing the original SS signature logo and putting it on the internet for the benefit of others who may need the SS artwork to do a restoration.

 

[dcomiskey]

PICS OR IT DOESN’T EXIST!!

 

[mistermikev]

well if you are good enough to match black to black... then you should. seems like it'd be hard to convincingly match that in such an obvious place. Personally, I'd just do an entirely new logo. looking fwd to seeing this beast.

 

[NHDave]

Might want to check in on the hamer fan club board. I don’t know too much about the decal part of it but I know the topic of restorations comes up from time to time. Some of those guys can point you in right direction.

 

[smk506]

My thoughts are that using the original logo vs decaling a new one on would really depend on the rest of the headstock face. If your restoration work will
Make the rest of the guitar look new but the face is old then that might be an odd look. If there’s little in the way of dents dings and deep scratches then it just might be worth the time to mask and use the original, but otherwise a whole redo might be in order.

 

[cmjohnson]

I'm having new waterslides made for all the logos in any event. I'll TRY to show the original but if it doesn't work out well enough I'll put new ones on instead. What's important is that it looks right when it's all done.

Whomever "fixed" the neck break before was...well, I wouldn't trust him to work on my guitars. I'll say that much. The break was a split and not a complete breaking off of the headstock. Like flipping back a toenail, sorry if the thought hurts. It's a maple neck. Well, he had lots of glue surface area to work with so no worries about the repair but he did not have to drill two holes at an angle through the break to set screws through the break and fill behind them with dowels, but he did exactly that. I'm just going to leave that be as it's been stable for 20 years now. Don't mess with what actually does seem to be working.

 

[cmjohnson]

Refret complete. I LOVE refretting ebony boards. It's the one board that I don't glue frets into unless the slots are sloppy and demand it. I got NO chip-outs when pulling the original frets.

A full sheet of custom waterslide decals is coming to me any time now. I'll make the extras available to others who may need them for an SS restoration.

It's my habit to always nip back the fret tangs and treat even unbound boards as bound fretjobs. Fill in the slot ends with ebony dust, refin/touchup the sides, and it has a smooth classy look with zero chance of fret tangs ever coming out to annoy you in the future.