1981 Les Paul Custom flawed finish questions

Hello,
I have a 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom that I bought around 1985. It is a good player, but it has always had a deficiency in its finish.
I am not sure what color it is supposed to be since I have never seen another like it, but assume it is supposed to be a cherry red finish. The finish has very badly orange-peeled. When I was young, I removed the finish from the neck since the orange peel made it difficult to play. Looking back, that was probably a no-no, but I didn't know any better.

Does anyone have any information on this finish flaw? Was this a known issue at the time? Any idea what the finish is supposed to look like?
Is the guitar worth anything with this flaw (and the fact that I removed the neck finish)? Would I be better off re-finishing the guitar, or are guitars of this era not worth the effort?
Again, it's a good player but not much of a looker.

Thank you for your help.

tommytommyg said:

I am not sure what color it is supposed to be since I have never seen another like it, but assume it is supposed to be a cherry red finish.

Click to expand...

That's not cherry red.
Very possibly it is Metallic Sunset, a color common to the LP Custom Lite. :hmm

Tommytommyg: It's your guitar and as it is, as you say, it's not a looker; others will feel the same so if it's resale you are concerned about, I think you already answered your question. If you like it, then do what you want with it. I would strip it and refinish it in my favorite colour if it were mine; I like wine red and this would look great parked next to my black custom. If that orange peel was there back in 85, then I'd strongly suspect that someone else painted it; I can't believe that Gibson would let something that bad leave the factory.

I agree. That paint job and color sux.
Since you like how it plays and resale value is not exceptional why not spend a few hundred on a professional paint job? Why not make it wine red or black beauty?

Spend some money on it. It's a Les Paul!

Thank you everyone for the advice! Much appreciated.

This color looks close. 82 XRIII