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Restoration of a Höfner " Hofner" Jazz guitar 470SE2

Here I show a challenge of a special kind. This sweetheart already had some unattractive repairs behind her and she first had to be woken up again from her slumber.

This jazz guitar is according to the owner from the year of manufacture 1961 and was built in the "Golden Age" in the early to mid sixties. Striking are the "flower pot inlays" of the headstock and the high quality veneer inlays on the back. The ebony fingerboard is inlaid with bow tie mother of pearl. Top and back are made of laminated spruce and beautifully flamed maple. All signs of particularly high quality master guitars from this period.

But until everything shines again in its old beauty, there is still some work to do! The following photos document the condition before the restoration. Noticeable damages were:

  • Neck angle too flat according to "Hobby-Ponalatacke" = Neck Reset
  • Strong rattling from inside of the body = loose beading
  • Inlays torn out at the head, partially filled with white glue = renew
  • Neck break unplastered but stable = clean and seal
  • Sticky oil varnish with wool sweater Lint in arm area = remove old varnish and renew
  • axles of the pots too small, turning in the wood = renew

Although the bridge is all the way down and the knurled nuts are already gone, the string action is too high and the pickups are touched when playing. In the right picture you can see the sticky oil surface and wrinkles.

Also, 40 grit sandpaper was used in the previous "paint job" as you can see from the sanding marks.

The headstock: vine leaf filled up with glue, dots missing, wood blown off during tuners installation - a pity picture! The zero fret was also removed and "artistically" supplemented with a base of Fender picks.

Scuffed areas on the left, in the right picture the white glue joint (type "courage to the gap") and the fret ends filed off much too far. Slipping guaranteed!

Broken neck on the headstock.

If you remove the neck, you can only see how missing binding was replaced and in what quantity white glue was poured.

Potis are available with the 8mm or 10mm axis. Here one had apparently not the correct at hand and so the nut should probably cover the 2mm gap around and at the same time secure against twisting. That is just botched.

After the attachments were dismantled, the neck removed, I started to remove the old surface. As a solvent, nitro has been best suited. Especially in the right picture you can see the beautiful original blond. The back had already had a decent damage and during the repair, the beautiful maple Funrier was sanded through. Since the base color must then be adjusted during painting.

The head plate is cleaned, the missing inlays are traced and cut out of mother of pearl and inserted.

The missing dot I have to make myself, the diameter is not standard. Missing spots in the black wood are filled with colored epoxy.

You can see the beams through the pickup cutouts. If you press against them with a screwdriver, they gape far away. The loose beams are difficult to fix. With long spatulas and strongly curved fingers, you can already get to the places that need glue. With wedges and clamps, the beams are fixed to dry the glue.

The neckline has suffered and also needs to be patched.

Since the break is stable, it is repaired and sanded. The neckline is adjusted to the angle of the neck and fixed with hide glue.

During the painting process, the color inconsistencies are touched up with the colors of the adjacent surfaces (Touch Up).

Some intermediate sanding is necessary. The good piece is painted with high gloss nitro paint.

The electrical system is rebuilt. For this it is wired outside in the correct cable lengths and then buchsiert with tweezers and clamps to the right places.

The attachments will be put back on, a new saddle will be made and of course the strings too.

So, now she looks like a beauty again - and so she does sound!