New inlays on my '74 Les Paul?

They really look worn, and pieces are coming off.
What kind of pearl inlays do you recommend on a '74 Les Paul, and can I fix it myself? It's a player, so I don't worry about a loss of value. Thanks.

PL, is this a custom?

JJC said:

PL, is this a custom?

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No, it's a routed Deluxe.

Someone posted a thread on the forum and documented the entire procedure - but I can't seem to find it. But there are plenty of tips in other threads doing a search on "replace inlay".

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145124&highlight=buyusfear+inlay

here it is :salude

PLarson said:

They really look worn, and pieces are coming off.
What kind of pearl inlays do you recommend on a '74 Les Paul, and can I fix it myself? It's a player, so I don't worry about a loss of value. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I would like to see a pic of what thy look like now. I don't pay much attention to 70's models but from few times I did, they are celluloid like the 50's and 60's but they are much busier.

if you want them to look like they are original: Find right material, cut to fit your routes, deepen the inlay routes so they are not sanded too thin all over again, about .060 is a good zone.

It usually happens when they are refretted and the board is leveled, the high areas get sanded the most. So, it usually happens to just some of the inlays. There are some bone head luthiers that will install new inlays without deepening the routes, in which case you end up with inlays that are once again too thin. Not that they should be badmouthed or called out on the carpet here, but a good horse whipping or cattle prodding would do. :headbange

It is not hard to deepen the routes using a Dremel with router base and 1/8" spiral downcut router bits (both at Stewmac). The corners are done using ex-acto blades, some carving, some scraping till the new inlays dry fit is just right.

The way to prevent sanding down inlays is to determine if there are areas of the board that are too high and removing those inlays when and where it is necessary. Than level it as needed, deepen the removed inlay route, kiss-off the top of the inlays to be flush with board.
Most glues are heat reactive, but it's walking a tite rope when your dealing with celluloid which has a tendancy to shrink, burn or evan ignite when overheated. Pick set is used to pry out the effected inlays, sometimes they just will not come out without breaking them up which means they'd have to be replaced.

I know this is the forum with a low tolerance for spam, EDIT: oh just saw your screen name, never mind

Thanks. I'm not sure if I've got the skills to pull this through.
But thanks anyway. This might be a future project.

Hmmm, why would I spam?