Been AGES, hasn't it?

I have been out of the guitar buying game for some time, just busy with life and busy with taking care of my sick wife that I disappeared from blogging. 

I had (have still) some guitars in Japan that I delayed shipping for 2 years...yeah ridiculous but I just forgot about them and I suppose was avoiding the heart attack the shipping fees would amount to. 

Well a couple of week ago I bit the bullet and had the higher end models shipped as they were too important to have go missing. 

So $900 later in shipping fees they arrived at my doorstep (5 of em). 

They are as follows:

1981 Argus AA ES-335

One of the coolest of the rare brands of MIJ, short lived high end & made under Mr Shiino.

It seems they used various builders depending on the model of guitar made.

They all came with classic braided pickups that had no markings on the underside but honestly sound as good as DRY Z's (perhaps they are?).

All lacquer, flamed maple sandwich with awesome details such as flamed maple inside the cavities.

Fret edge binding which has yellowed beautifully along with a super dark rosewood board that almost looks ebony. Possibly Brazilian, who knows.

I have a few 335s and this might be my new fave, taking the place of my 76 Heerby.

1981 Vint*** Les Paul

Next up is another rare brand, I bought this on a buy it now for so ridiculously cheap as the owner had no idea what it was and most likely figured it to be junk.

The 3 photos were old webcam quality but I could see what looked like aniline dye fading and fret binding.

I am so happy I hit that double digit BIN.

I am almost positive that this LP was made at the same factory the Argus LPs were, same knob placement, bridge/tail, same brown back plastics, same inlays, and same pup rings tight against the fretboard.

Will update the others later...this takes too damn long haha. 

A few shots taken a week ago, out in the sun for some fading.

Finally strung up and played for the 1st time in a few months and it plays as good as ever but feels better.

Hard to explain but it feels old and new at the same moment and the Manlius pickups in it sound great.

May toss the Deacci Green's in there sometime soon to see how they fare but for now I will leave her. 

99% done minus the stamper that has been over a month to receive after my custom order was screwed up and I was sent the wrong one...and the place is 2 hours from me, total hassle. 

Still need to age & fade the finish a bit but that will be over the next few months.

Not gonna do the razor blade method...hell no.

White pup rings arrived today,  gave em a quick ageing and tossed em on.
These rings are about a mm wider and longer than Dimarzios  and the holes are off by a mm but they still work well.
Had to lightly sand the guard so they fit however but unlike the Dimarzio rings, these have some nice pliability to them but are still a solid white.
The colour in this photo is almost dead accurate but still a slight tinge of red vs in person it is more brown.

Lacquer has sat for awhile to off gas so polished it up a bit, reamed the overflow of lacquer out of the pot and switch holes (minus a little piece chipping off and patching it back with some thinner).

Put the bridge posts back in yada yada.

Not much news on the Navigator other than adding a few more top coats of clear for sanding back/levelling it out and also adding some darker colour to the back followed by a few coats of clear.

Enjoy your weekend folks & the crappy cellphone pics.

Did a few little touch ups & clear coats on the Nav burst refinish today.
It hit 18C today...in March!!
Some arm wear was done last night and it came out pretty decent I think.
Lacquer is still off gassing so it isn't smoothed yet but you get the idea.
The colours below are almost dead on how it looks in person, bursts are a bitch to photograph accurately.

Scraped the binding yesterday and tossed on a coat of clear both front and back.

It looks so much more cherry and darker in the photos than it does in person.

Excuse the crappy cell phone photos.

Managed to shoot 3 coats of Nitro today after work, used as the base coat/sealer.
Putting clear lacquer on as a base vs sanding sealer is my preferred method since lacquer is so much easier to sand off if ever a refinish is needed again in the future.
Plus it makes things SO much easier to sand back a mistake in the bursting/colouring without hitting the wood.
Here are a few shots while it was curing in our warm spring sun.

Cured for 1.5 hours (below), VERY slightly soft if you press on it but hard enough to wet sand with 400 grit.

Will check it tomorrow to see if there are any pores or raised grain. If not she will be ready for her 1st coat of yellow/amber. =D