Any suggestions about restore / repair on this incredibly crazed / checked finish on this Strom Eagle reso?
Or is a complete strip-down and refinish in my future?
I've seen Frank Ford's method of using "Cellosolve" to fix small areas of checking / crazing, but the Cellosolve is nasty stuff, and I'm not sure how it would worlk over 1 1/2 square feet of resonator !
Scott. I had the same resonator. Off of an old Strom banjo. I am including pics in case it helps with your restoration.
That to me looks like a complete refinish job. Others who know better will chime in. Please keep in mind that eagle inlay is very very thin wood, so go slow and fine if you use any sand paper.
Good luck and have fun.
I've used butyl cellosolve and I can assure you it will not repair this finish.
I see only two paths forward:
1 live with it
2 completely strip and refinish it.
The eagle is veneer marquetry and not a decal?
Edit to ad:
From the looks of it you will have dark lines of oxidized wood where the finish checks go all the way through the finish. Those probably cannot be removed without danger of scraping/sanding through the veneer, so expectations of less than looking like new will be in order if refinishing is undertaken.
Edited by - sunburst on 06/07/2023 08:39:29
Scott,
So you got the Strom from eBay last week ?
Tom
Coating it would be a mistake and make the problem worse.
I would completely and delicately strip and refinish it, either by dry scraping with a razor blade or with some kind of strip chemicals that would not unglue the marquetry eagle.
quote:
Originally posted by TLGScott,
So you got the Strom from eBay last week ?
Tom
Tommy, yes I did. I looked at it 2 or 3 times, then the seller emailed me a discount offer, so I bought it.
The neck (tenor) is a mess. 4 wood screws holding the ears onto the headstock, fingerboard inlays missing, the fretboard has divots worn into it that are worse than what I've seen on 70 - 80 year old instruments. Interestingly, the finish on the neck is in pretty good shape....sure not crazed like the reso.
I plan on removing the "Strom" pearl block inlay from the headstock, and the "Eagle" pearl block inlay from the fretboard, and using them on some sort of "new" (5 string) neck.
Thanks Scott,
I almost purchased it, but I already have several Stroms & a Double Eagle 5 string, & a bunch of parts.
I was a Strom dealer back in the early 1970's. I played one for a couple years & I kinda like them.
Tommy
John, the eagle is wood marquetry, not a decal. And, I didn't think the butyl cellosolve would work, and you've confirmed that....thank you.
Ken, I believe stripping it down and refinishing is the way to go. I had pretty much resigned myself to that option, but thought I'd ask about it, see if anyone had some sort of "magic" fix.
Alvin, I hope to get my reso looking like the one in your picture ! I see your Strom had the resonator mounting center screw. The resonator on mine had the center hole drilled, obviously before the back was veneered, but then was veneered, inlaid with the eagle. You can see the drilled hole from the inside of the resonator. This reso was attached with Gibson-type wall lugs, L-brackets, and thumbscrews.
Thanks everyone for the input, it's much appreciated !!
Interesting thread & banjo , hope we get to hear it some time (:o)
Many yrs ago when Ode was selling out to Baldwin I bought some excess parts they had for sale & built a maple banjo from some of the parts . At the time Constantine had an American eagle wood marquetery about the size of a resonator that I inlaid into the maple resonator back . Wish I had taken pics . I eventually sold the banjo to a friend in Ontario. The resonator was held on by friction to the flange q=when+did+Ode+banjo+sell+out+to+Baldwin+%3F&form=ANSPH1&refig=956cb7f8a79a452fa8ab236d2775f551&pc=U531https://www.bing.com/search?
Edited by - heavy5 on 06/07/2023 10:30:36
In the piano biz, there are numerous products called "Amalgamators" which supposedly take care of this by sort-of melting the finish together. None of them work as advertised. They seem to be just diluted strippers.
You'll have to be careful, but a re=finish, I believe, is your only hope.
Bob,
I have one of those Eagle marquetery I inlayed on a Vega reso. You can still get them from a eBay vendor, last I checked.
Tom
