NGD - 1961 Emerald Star II

[BradHK]

Done! The overlay has been finished in aged nitro wet sanded and polished. I did not overspray any of the original finish on the side of the headstock as I wanted to keep that as original as possible. I just polished the original finish to better match the shine of the new finish. Now to string it up and play!

before:



after:

 

[GGJaguar]

Wow, that came out fantastic!

 

[BradHK]

Wow, that came out fantastic!

Thanks!

 

[jp]

Outstanding work, Brad! Nice job!

 

[northbayj]

Spectacular!

 

[FNG]

Not sure how I missed this thread. Awesome work!

 

[swiveltung]

very cool and nice work. So the whole guitar appears to be a refin?

 

[BradHK]

very cool and nice work. So the whole guitar appears to be a refin?

Nope. All original finish except the headstock veneer. Very, very dark green. I just cleaned it up and polished it before putting it back together.

 

[Zoomanderson]

What’s the story on these? Only time I’ve heard the name Emerald Star is a song on a Lord Huron album.

 

[BradHK]

What’s the story on these? Only time I’ve heard the name Emerald Star is a song on a Lord Huron album.

For a brief period in the early 1960’s the green and black Starfires had their own model name, “Emerald Star” and “Black Star”. Page 62 of The Guild Guitar Book gives a little more detail. In the book it states that there are black ones with the label “Blackfire” but the only one I have seen had “Black Star” on the label.

 

[swiveltung]

Nope. All original finish except the headstock veneer. Very, very dark green. I just cleaned it up and polished it before putting it back together.

Interesting, I've not seen a Guild with that much orange peel in a stock finish before, which is why I asked.

 

[BradHK]

Interesting, I've not seen a Guild with that much orange peel in a stock finish before, which is why I asked

Agree, in the photos it does look like a bad orange peel refinish! However, in person you can see that the body is covered with tiny lacquer checking and it gives it that weird light reflection. I think it has just aged that way and probably not stored properly with temp and such.

 

[Zoomanderson]

For a brief period in the early 1960’s the green and black Starfires had their own model name, “Emerald Star” and “Black Star”. Page 62 of The Guild Guitar Book gives a little more detail. In the book it states that there are black ones with the label “Blackfire” but the only one I have seen had “Black Star” on the label.

So would it make them like a Squier or Imperial, to use an obscure automotive reference?