Help with 1985? Superhawk identification

I have what appears to be a 1985 Superhawk going by the serial number. They body looks like it was repainted at some point. I just got this guitar a few day ago off ebay and the owner didn't seem to have much information on it and pics on ebay really didn't show the extent of damage to guitar. It will need a new nut, non original pickups which it looks like somebody tried to open up the bridge humbucker cavity. The guitar was complete and assemble when I got it but took apart when it arrived. Has original string lock parts and Kahler tremolo. I have more pics if anybody wants to see them. One question I have is I always thought the headstocks were painted liked the guitar, and not sure what the original color was. I plan on refinishing the guitar with nitro but would like to find original color is possible or something close.

One question I have is I always thought the headstocks were painted liked the guitar, and not sure what the original color was.

My guess would be it used to be bone white, and it has yellowed nicely.
Often under the string lock baseplate is some finish that hasn't faded (where the sun don't shine ).


Good to see an old Superhawk getting some love.

congrats

Last edited by Elwood on Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

thanks a lot for all the great information guys, very helpful. I have posted some more pictures below with a couple shots of the pots and the guitar with some sanding on the finish.
All three pots are the same 250K audio " / JF5513R 250k aud R1378218". Does it look like someone shot primer and red over the original paint? If I was to try to find date on neck pocket would you try to sand it or use something else to remove it.

Thanks, Brett

i have nothing to contribute regarding dating.

but what a cool project.

Checked my archives and just happen to have that page. It used to be white with a 7-26-84 build date.
Regards
HLG

thanks a lot for all the great information guys, very helpful. I have posted some more pictures below with a couple shots of the pots and the guitar with some sanding on the finish.
All three pots are the same 250K audio " / JF5513R 250k aud R1378218". Does it look like someone shot primer and red over the original paint? If I was to try to find date on neck pocket would you try to sand it or use something else to remove it.

Thanks, Brett

Thanks HLG

If I was to try to find date on neck pocket would you try to sand it or use something else to remove it.

With an '84 'Hawk, you have a decent chance of finding nice maple grain under all that red paint. Even if you don't try to remove any more of the body paint, I would try to very carefully sand the neck pocket to get wood-to-wood contact. If you go slowly and carefully, you may still be able to find the body date stamp under the red paint and primer. The factory would have left bare wood in the pocket. I was able to get my horribly refinished project L-1000 back to relatively clean wood in the pocket.

Ken

Hi bwgintegra, Congrats on that Superhawk! What a great guitar. I was talking about this auction on the lunch report last week. I was THISclose to bidding on that auction. I had the auction up and with 20 seconds left I decided to pass on it because I want to order a new Fallout. I have a Rampage that has an Oct. '84 body date and a Feb. '85 neck date. And Ken is more than likely correct about it being a maple body. If so, you won't need to grain seal before priming.

Here is my '86 Rampage that has the same finish as your Superhawk. It originally looked like this. The finish fades to a yellowish tint over the years like your headstock.


Here are before and after pics of an '85 Invader that I restored. The guitar was originally yellow, but someone had spray painted it black. I finished it red. The Superhawk, Rampage and Invader were the same guitars, just different pickup options.


I would HIGHLY recommend you get new springs for the Kahler while you have it removed from the guitar. They advise to replace them every few years. Otherwise they will return flat when you use the vibrato. You can get them for about $7-$8. I think Wammiworld sells them. If you have any questions about the guitar or the orginal parts, feel free to PM me.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing!
Dave

Appreciate everybody's help and information. Below are a few more pictures of the fretboard that needs a good cleaning and polishing of the frets, I've already removed the old nut and have a new bone nut on the way. The tremolo needs a good cleaning and need to replace two of the fine tuners. If anyone knows where I can source the fine tuners please let me know. Not sure, is this rosewood or ebony board?

however numerous pages were taken after the company was sold by several employees as momentos

--that's a great anecdote!

Being an '84, it should be an ebony board. It will probably darken a little when it's cleaned up, conditioned and the grime removed. Wammiworld.com has the Kahler fine tuners and all the parts you will need for it.

Hope this helps,
Dave

Thanks Dave, will be ordering parts for the Kahler trem from wammiworld. Did some sanding on the neck pocket lastnight and looks like it says May 14 1984 to me. Afraid if I sand anymore it will be gone. I noticed both the neck and neck pocket have a circle with a 2 in it, anybody know what that means?

I believe the stamps identified the employees who built your guitar. All of mine have those stamps. Once your guitar is back together, you may find that having the neck pocket clear of paint ads improves the overall tone and sustain.

I agree with Dave that ebony is the most likely fretboard. Rosewood was in use at that point, so that could be a possibility still. Please post a photo or two once you get the fretboard cleaned (FWIW, I use a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a soft rag, and if any gunk doesn't come clean I use a toothbrush - I follow that by letting food-grade walnut oil soak into the wood). Be aware that G&L did not stain the ebony boards back in the 80s, so it won't be the uniform black color you see from other manufacturers or on modern G&Ls. Visible grain and lighter colored streaks are to be expected.

Ken

Being an '84, it should be an ebony board. It will probably darken a little when it's cleaned up, conditioned and the grime removed. Wammiworld.com has the Kahler fine tuners and all the parts you will need for it.

Hope this helps,
Dave

The Logbook page says ebony.
HLG

Welcome to the forum BW. This is really turning into a neat project. The white on that one has really aged. I would be tempted to strip the body and start over with what you would like. Keep us posted as this unfolds.-- Darwin

Being an '84, it should be an ebony board. It will probably darken a little when it's cleaned up, conditioned and the grime removed. Wammiworld.com has the Kahler fine tuners and all the parts you will need for it.

Hope this helps,
Dave

The Logbook page says ebony.
HLG

Does the logbook say what type of body wood?

This is a great thread! Thanks for keeping us updated, I like following your progress. It's probably maple. But the logbook will confirm the wood. I know a guy who has the string locks for the locking nut if you're wanting to keep them original. And he also has or had the G&L logo waterslides for the headstock if you need it. He bought a ton of NOS G&L parts years ago. Let me know if you need the info. When I did my Invader I photographed the headstock logo and made a PDF file of the exact size of the logo. Then printed it onto a blank waterslide. Have you decided on the new color yet?

Thanks,
Dave

This is a great thread! Thanks for keeping us updated, I like following your progress. It's probably maple. But the logbook will confirm the wood. I know a guy who has the string locks for the locking nut if you're wanting to keep them original. And he also has or had the G&L logo waterslides for the headstock if you need it. He bought a ton of NOS G&L parts years ago. Let me know if you need the info. When I did my Invader I photographed the headstock logo and made a PDF file of the exact size of the logo. Then printed it onto a blank waterslide. Have you decided on the new color yet? The grain and streaks on the fretboard defiantly makes me think it's ebony.

Thanks,
Dave

Hey Dave,

Some nice guitars you got there! I will be PM you about some parts I'm looking for. I would like to go with a nitro ivory finish or aged white. I'm a newbie when it comes to finishing guitars. I don't really have a setup and most likely use rattle cans from reranch or another company I know that has good nitro products. posting some pictures below of the fretboard cleaned and conditioned. I also polished the frets and wet sanded the back of the neck a little. I'm not going to refinish the neck, i like the way the neck finished has aged and checked nicely. Polishing the tuners now and then onto disassembling the bridge.

That is a maple body, and the board is very typical of how G&L's ebony looked in the 80s. Have you thought about getting the rest of the red off the sides and seeing how it looks with what's left of the original finish? I'm not a fan of artificially "relicked" finishes, but yours would be genuine. It would also give you the best chance of having the painted headstock still match the body.

Ken

Being an '84, it should be an ebony board. It will probably darken a little when it's cleaned up, conditioned and the grime removed. Wammiworld.com has the Kahler fine tuners and all the parts you will need for it.

Hope this helps,
Dave

The Logbook page says ebony.
HLG

Does the logbook say what type of body wood?

Typically the type of body wood is never stated unless there has been a natural/clear finish applied. The fingerboard materials e.g. rosewood, ebony, maple are always noted.

Couple new pics added, I have also installed a new bone nut on the neck. I will be putting the guitar back together soon. I don't have a good place right now to refinish and it's becoming winter here in Michigan.

Yeah, this guit is defineitely from 1984. The body is a soft maple body with a hardrock maple neck and an ebony fingerboard. Look at my Superhawk I ordered last year from Seattle to my home in Germany
I changed the pickups and the nut (has now that Earvana thing). I still want to change the tuners and the frets. It has very nice finish checkings. As you see, it is in a really good condition. The blue stripes on the body are a homage to the Fender Mustang that reminds me with regard to the body shape. I love that guitar a lot. Although I mainly play 7 strings, this one is my favorite 6 string.

Those are some great pictures JulDani ,
It must sound pretty meaty with your ENGL setup.

elwood

bad azz !!