Been a while but thought I would post some progress on a few guitars I have been working on that are finally done.
1st up is this old 1982 Tokai TE-60 I refinished from a poorly done spray bombed red into a nice lightly aged shell pink.

Next up is a mid to late 80s Burny Les Paul Custom slim.

Bought it bare bones and the original black finish was a little messed so I was going to redo it in black lacquer but decided, after stripping it, that the mahogany was too damn nice to cover up so I instead put about 8 thin coats of tung oil on it followed by 2 light coats of nitro and a mild faded burst. 

Last minute decision on the Tokai =D
Shell pink with the original 1 ply white guard all the way.
Excuse the cell phone pics today.

Well now that work has ended I am have a paid summer off I have been super busy trying to get my 1966 Econoline all finished so I can start driving it during the screaming hot weather we have been getting and enjoy it. Well that and get it ready to be a company vehicle for our hot sauce we are rolling out. =)

So in between the 5 days @ 5 hours per day of truck work I have been refinishing guitars to sell and play.
Sold another 2 yesterday, helps out the bank account!

1st up was this Kurt Cobain'ed JM66 Jazzmaster someone had to of thrown into the air, way up, and allowed it to come down hard as the neck is cracked along the grain behind the 5th to 7th frets and unrepairable along with the body being split and cracked in 5 places, right through! I filled all the cracks with hot hide glue and clamped to dry. Then scraped off all the black poly to wood and filled to level the best I could (mad rhymes!). The filled areas below are "some" of those cracks.

And covered here in some mixed white nitro I did up, after a few base coats of clear to seal it up. 

And now, as of today, covered in my custom mixed lemongrass green. 

Also strippped a horrible home jobbed Fiesta Red on this 2 piece center seamed alder Tokai TE60? and deciding on what pastel colour to do.

Also finishing up the thinline Burny custom (laying flat) after 6 coats of tung and allowed to dry followed by a light burst and some amber lacquer. 

Also the Edwards LP (hanging up) with an aged Fiesta Red top and now finished Russet Amber Aniline dyed back. 

That is all for now, folks!

After playing a few friends LS80's & LS100's etc I always dug these old Tokai's.
The lacquer finish just feels old and worn in like a favourite t-shirt or shoes.
I ended up buying this 1980 LS80 last summer but finally had it shipped this past week.
Weighs in at 9 lbs 7 ounces (not one of the lighter Tokai's that seem to be more common) & the stock Gotoh pickups were nothing special on this one however.
Not sure why Tokai, if modelled after a true 1958 Les Paul, squared off their neck heels?
Not a huge fan of them vs a true well rounded heel but it is a minor gripe I suppose.

Appears the previous owner played this a lot and it showed but it was quite a bummer to see he had it on a shitty rubber stand that melted the lacquer on the lower body and little rubber flecks have randomly melted into the finish throughout. Ah well, adds to the overall mojo I suppose. :D

Decided to swap the pups for some old double cream Tokai X stamped pups I had. Same font as the Z's and they sounded great but I really wanted the new set of A3 Mojotones in there.

While it was unstrung I did a quick re-crown and fret end dressing as these frets, while at about 60%, were a bit worn.

So back on the bench it went for the double cream A3 Mojo's and they shall stay for now, such awesome best bang for your buck pickups! I think I have 4 sets thus far and when they go on sale I jump at em.

That is all for now folks, off to work...

Neck all done and polished... Logo looks legit and tops. Body is almost done!

Body sanded with 600, then 1500, and finally 2500.

Finished with a rottenstone polish and beeswax.

Glossy but not too glossy since it is a 33 year old bass

Headstock stripped and done with an aged lacquer.

Waterslide logo applied and waiting to dry for 24 hours before I can apply the final coats of sealer lacquer.

Shitty cell phone pic below.

Sun is shining so time to kick it into full swing.

Project #1 for this year is my friend's 1980 Tokai Jazz Bass JB45 refinish.

Originally all black poly (neck, headstock, and body) I stripped all of it and aged the neck with amber lacquer and the body in an aged faded Daphne Blue lacquer.

Should be done this week hopefully.

FOR SALE $750 shipped within North America

1978 Tokai ST-50 but this is the 1st ST-50 I have seen with a 2 piece center seamed body.

Nice slab of Sen Ash and VERY well played via worn aged pickup covers, guard, screws, fretboard, etc but frets are still over 50%.

Sounds woody and old...I think this was meant to be an ST-60 or 80 but Tokai was too into its infancy to get their model designation correct.

Rare 1985 Tokai Grandy SG-60

Long time sold.