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Thread: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

  1. #1
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    Default Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    I have this 87 Flatiron Festival I got here on the Cafe a few years back, I thought it was decent but more of a "beater" instrument for me to "festival" with. I took it to some North East Fall jams, and was surprised to see the black lacquer top turn green when the temperature dropped below 60 F. Lets just say it had seen better days, so I took it down to Mr. Tom Dobrovich near Binghamton NY. He told me the lacquer must have faded, hence the wierd temperature reaction. I asked him to remove the old lacquer and re finish it in gloss black. He wet sanded it and taped the binding. He also cleaned up the fret board and frets, replaced a plastic nut with bone, and reinforced the bridge with veneer (something he did on my mandola). While the tone is still not as deep as some of my other F5s, I will say it has improved considerably, after Toms TLC. There is considerably more bottom end, more volume , more ring and the setup is slick. I don't have any pre - refinish pictures but I can't say enough about Tom's excellent work.

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    Stormy Morning Orchestra

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  3. #2
    Registered User Mando Esq's Avatar
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Looks great!

    The glossy black is super classy.
    Eastman MD515 mandolin
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  4. #3
    Registered User urobouros's Avatar
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Slick! I love the blacktop aesthetic.
    2020 Northfield Big Mon
    2016 Skip Kelley A5
    2011 Weber Gallatin A20
    2021 Northfield Flattop Octave Mandolin
    2019 Pono Flattop Octave
    Richard Beard Celtic Flattop
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  5. #4

    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Very nice! Having done this process myself, I'm guessing he only leveled the existing lacquer enough to get a good base for dying and new lacquer (as opposed to stripping it all the way down to the wood).

    Did he do his refin in traditional nitro lacquer?

  6. #5
    Registered User Eric Platt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Nice look. Always liked the looks of the Festival models in black. Or really any Flatiron instrument.
    Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Big Muddy M-11, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Roy View Post
    Very nice! Having done this process myself, I'm guessing he only leveled the existing lacquer enough to get a good base for dying and new lacquer (as opposed to stripping it all the way down to the wood).

    Did he do his refin in traditional nitro lacquer?
    I don't have pictures nor did I converse with Tom during the process as he is very private and does not even use the internet.
    I did ask him to remove the existing lacquer ( not wanting too heavy of a layer on top of the wood)
    he said he wet- sanded, so I assume he went down to grain though probably did not completely remove the stain.
    I will say it has considerably "improved tone", but still a little thin on the bottom end. The important thing he keeps telling me is bridges sag, and he always reinforces then with veneer, I think this is a huge contribution to the improved tone.
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

    My YouTube Channel

    "Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
    Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
    All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"

  8. #7
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    I put the tone guard on it and that helped boost it even more, here's a run at Reischman's "Indian Arm" , I think the tone has improved considerably.

    Stormy Morning Orchestra

    My YouTube Channel

    "Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
    Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
    All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"

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  10. #8
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    I used to live in the area and Tom was the only luthier I’ve ever used. He worked on several of my old Gibson A’s. Always did a good job. Last time was several years ago and my wife was a bit frustrated with all the time I spent chatting with him while she waited!

    Jim

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  12. #9
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    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    I can't say enough good things about the quality of his work, truly impatience has no place in his craft.
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

    My YouTube Channel

    "Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
    Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
    All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"

  13. #10

    Default Re: Refinished 87 Flatiron Festival

    Quote Originally Posted by tmsweeney View Post
    I put the tone guard on it and that helped boost it even more, here's a run at Reischman's "Indian Arm" , I think the tone has improved considerably.

    Awesome! and you say this is your backup mandolin? You should have trouble if you're stuck using it in an ensemble situation.

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