Occasionally we are asked to repair or restore a vintage case. We will consider this work on a case-by-case basis. (Pardon the pun.) Please email information and pictures if possible. Restoration work is limited primarily to 1950's Lifton, Bulwin, Stone, ESS & ESS, Geib and similar cases. We do not do repair or restoration on chipboard cases.
The upper case is original to a 1954 Stratocaster and came to us falling apart, literally. The leather ends were long gone. We dismantled the case and reconstructed and reinforced it to be stronger than when it was manufactured. We salvaged leather ends from a donor case and colored them to match the original scrap of leather that remained with the case. We used a spectral analyzer to match the color exactly.
The middle case is for an early 1950's Fender. It came to us in two plastic bags, missing hardware. The sides were detached from the top and bottom. After gluing, since these cases are Masonite and suffer from delamination, the joints were Fiberglas reinforced so that the case is now stronger and more secure than when it was made. The restoration was completed in six weeks and the customer was surprised and pleased with the results.
Below the Fender is a 5-latch Lifton for a 1959 Les Paul that had gotten soaked and, as a result, the top and bottom plywood had delaminated to the point they could not be salvaged. The interior was removed, a new top and bottom were made and the interior re-installed.
All restoration work is based on time and materials. Please email if you have a case in need of repair. Attach images, if possible.
