1980 F-100 S2, restoration help, OG color

[broomhandle]

Hello,

Brand new to the forums. And my 1st G&L. I have always wanted one. I purchased this F-100 as a project thinking. "this needs to be saved".

Somebody routed the body pretty bad. They cut up the pickup cavity for some humbuckers and routed out a area for unknown reason. I am only missing a few parts besides the pickups.

[#1] bridge. (which I think is the same as the new fulcrum)
[#2 ] 3 bolt plate... (not sure where I will get that.
[#3] string tree. (not sure where to get that).

my question is... color. This green looks original to me. Or possible is a natural with a green not from the factory.

Can anybody confirm this is originally green? I think I can save the green. But will need to be creative fixing the routed areas.

any help will be great.

[broomhandle]

Body OG color?:

[broomhandle]

I’m new to these forums. Is anybody on these forms anymore?. I would like to know if the green is original paint. If not, I will probably strip it off. Waiting to determine if it’s original or not.

[john o]

howdy, i don't recall a green as an early ('80-'81) color. that finish looks original on the body, though. could have been a transparent blue that morphed to green from conditions and exposure. the crazing of the finish looks original as well. there were greens a little later ('82-'85+). occasionally someone at the factory would do a one off. you've got your work cut out for you! when Craig fixes the gallery software i'll post a pic of mine. if i wanna post a pic on the forum, i first size it and save it in the gallery. then it is relatively easy to post to the forum. regards,

[broomhandle]

Cool thank you. I feel that the green is original as well. When I purchased it, I was going to strip it. But looking closer at the control cavity I feel that green is the original color. Hopefully somebody can confirm.

[Tooslowhand]

Perhaps it was blue and the color faded over time.

[broomhandle]

Did G&L have a custom color? It looks like it was maybe a jade green. If you look at the neck plate and under the control cover. I also cleaned up the pickup area and it is green. The neck PU area looks like somebody painted blue, and did a really weird mod..

[Challenger]

It was/is clear blue. The nitro finish has yellowed with age making it look green.

[tomanche]

It was/is clear blue. The nitro finish has yellowed with age making it look green.

This, exactly. A well-known phenomenon.
Good luck with the project!!

[broomhandle]

It was/is clear blue. The nitro finish has yellowed with age making it look green.

This, exactly. A well-known phenomenon.
Good luck with the project!!

Thank you! makes sense.I think I am going to keep the "blue". Blending the new wood to the green may be challenge...

Next question is, would this be an Ash body? I thought colors were poplar, but the grain looks to be Ash.

...and next I need to find parts. I feel the neck plate will be hard, on ebay there are a few but they are in odd condition. And the string tree looks to be impossible to find. G&L sells a bass string tree that looks the same, but I bet it is different.

A bridge I can find, it just might take time...

[Craig]

Body wood is Ash. The available woods were Mahogany, Ash and Poplar in 1980.

[Craig]

It was/is clear blue. The nitro finish has yellowed with age making it look green.

This, exactly. A well-known phenomenon.
Good luck with the project!!

Thank you! makes sense.I think I am going to keep the "blue". Blending the new wood to the green may be challenge...

Next question is, would this be an Ash body? I thought colors were poplar, but the grain looks to be Ash.

...and next I need to find parts. I feel the neck plate will be hard, on ebay there are a few but they are in odd condition. And the string tree looks to be impossible to find. G&L sells a bass string tree that looks the same, but I bet it is different.

A bridge I can find, it just might take time...

Yes, that string tree will fit on your F-100 and is available on G&L's Webstore. See: string-retainer-rectangular.

Hope this helps.

[broomhandle]

Awesome, and the 3 bolt plate will have to be used, right? Pickups I am thinking P-90 until I can figure something out.

[Tooslowhand]

I would think frequent checking of E-Bay and Reverb could yield some original F-100 humbucking pickups. I would search a while before settling for something else. Maybe repairs@bbesound.com could give you some advice on locating some. That body is pretty beat up, and you might want to fill in some of the extraneous routing, so you will have to decide whether you want to completely refinish the body. You will find people here both in favor of and opposed to doing so. Your choice. No idea if possible, but maybe G&L would be willing to refinish it in its original color (with aging) for a price.

[broomhandle]

Hello,

I am getting very discourage by this project and wish I did not purchase this. The parts I am after are close to impossible which kills the project. The neck plate... I purchased a bass 3 bolt thinking they should be the same. Wrong. I just lost out on a bid war for a "guitar" neck plate. These are just not around. Would a fender 3 bolt plate fit on my 1980 G&L?

pickups are impossible. I will go with P90's.

Bridge I am hoping G&L restocks and just go with a new bridge.

So right now... biggest issue is neck plate... any thoughts?

[DanDoulogos]

Sigh. I feel that pain.

I am reminded of these paleontologists who have a pile of broken bits of bone and shards, and essentially guessing at what the bone ought to look like begin to apply heavy doses of plaster etc. in an attempt to restore the skeleton to its original form - even if 90% of the skeleton they finally "make" is a mixture of 90% plaster and artistry.

Looking at what you have to work with, well, it is daunting to say the least.

[tomanche]

Despite the other difficulties, you have options for the pickups. I am reasonably sure that the P90 shape fits the F100 slot, which increases the choices. First to my mind is the DiMarzio Super Distortion Humbucker in the P90 size (which I had in the bridge position on a Les Paul for decades, a la Boston's Tom Scholz); this is the DP209. That is a four-conductor pickup that allows split and parallel modes.
Here's a link to all DiMarzio P90 size pickups: https://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/p90-soap-bar