Early G&L

[jclarkyall]

Hi everyone I am new to the forum, came here specifically to see if anyone can tell me more about a guitar I have as I don't know enough about it. It's a G&L F-100 but most pictures I have seen are usually Series 1 or 2, mine does not say either of those on the headstock. I know its from early 80s as I got it as a child in the mid 80s. So if anyone can tell me the year this guitar was made or any other info about it I would appreciate it. Heres some pics. Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can provide.

[Fred Finisher]

Hi and welcome,
From the looks of the neck heel, it looks like a 1984 model. I can't see the neck pocket well enough to see if there is a date stamp in there to confirm when the body was made. Based on the red pen around the base of the neck, the original color was probably Candy Apple Red. You should be able to find some gold base color in the cavities if you look closely. The body is Maple so the Candy Red is most likely correct. Hope this helps a bit,
Fred

[jclarkyall]

Thanks for the info, any idea of the value of this instrument in its current condition? Thinking about selling it so someone can finish the restoration of it and enjoy it, since its just sitting in the case in my closet.

[jclarkyall]

It was red and it did have gold underneath, so you are correct I thought it was originally gold and painted over red. Why did they use a gold base coat?

[Miles Smiles]

Thanks for the info, any idea of the value of this instrument in its current condition? Thinking about selling it so someone can finish the restoration of it and enjoy it, since its just sitting in the case in my closet.

If you put it together again, so it's fully working and set up, you maybe will get around 400 $.
If you leave it, as it is, I wouldn't pay more than 250 $, but only if it's complete and there's not any screw missing.

[Fred Finisher]

Jclarkyall,
The reason for the gold base coat was to create a subdued, more metallic effect. If the red were shot directly on the maple, not only would the grain show through, but the red would be very bright. The gold we used was a powder that was suspended in clear. The value is hard to determine because most collectors don't want guitars modified. The ones that do, want to start out cheap because the mods can be very expensive. Finishing done right is one of the most costly mods you can do.
Fred

[jclarkyall]

I see. thank you for the info, wish I would have treated this gem better during my teenage years, I didn't realize what I had back then. Thanks again for the insight.