Charvel 475 Special?

[Carcaridon]

Hello guys.
I have an old Charvel 475 Special from probably '91-'93 that has been sitting in a case for a while now. It's seen better days. The finish is good, nothing too beat up, but the hardware needs help. There's surface rust on the hardware and frets. My question is, is this worth having spruced up or should I just let it go as is to someone and let them deal with it? This was my first real guitar, so I've always kept it out of sentimental value.

Thank you.

[Axegrinder87]

[coloradoman25]

cleaning that stuff up is simple man. 2000 grit sandpaper with tape across the fretboard just for a gentle clean up, then hit it with mag polish or similar. Then douse the trem down with wd-40 and use a soft bristle brush after about a 4 hours soak to clean her up.

[DonP]

I prefer Gorgamyte to sandpaper or steel wool.

Cleaning a guitar isn't hard. If you still decide to sell, it'll make it go easier.

[xenophobe]

Keep it. You'll regret getting rid of it. Set aside an hour, you should be able to clean the frets, condition the fretboard, clean the body and associated parts (I just use a toothbrush and lemon oil on all the bridge parts and to scrub the gunk off fretboards. Maybe get some polish and clean the paint. Put new strings on, and play it.

[straycat]

Sometimes I use never dull on the frets it oils the board at the same time. 0000 steel wool does a great job too just take the neck off and do it outside.
Wipe the neck down with a soft cloth or use compressed air to blow all the wool dust off.

[Carcaridon]

Here are some pics for those that were curious. It's not too bad, but really needs some love.

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-1.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-2.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-3.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-4.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-5.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-6.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-7.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-8.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-9.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-10.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-11.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-12.JPG

https://www.ghostlandmedia.com/temp/Charvel-13.JPG

Thanks.

[RacerX]

The last year for this model was 1991.

What's the serial # ?

[84sups]

Looks awesome. Clean the frets with never dull and get a terry cloth to clean the frets then oil the fretboard. Take the trem off and let it soak over night and scrub it with a toothbrush. Those trems do clean up from that state. All the Schallers I've had looked like that and have cleaned up by just soaking them.

[Carcaridon]

Looks awesome. Clean the frets with never dull and get a terry cloth to clean the frets then oil the fretboard. Take the trem off and let it soak over night and scrub it with a toothbrush. Those trems do clean up from that state. All the Schallers I've had looked like that and have cleaned up by just soaking them.

Thank you for the advice. This is really helpful.

[Carcaridon]

The last year for this model was 1991.

What's the serial # ?

It's 329230.

Thank you for the help.

[Axegrinder87]

That thing looks to be in great shape, by my standards at least.

[DonP]

Keep it. You'll regret getting rid of it.

Listen to Xeno.

They don't make 'em like this any more. A MIJ guitar, with REAL MOP inlays, Germany hardware, bound fretboard, better woods, etc.

Today, you get China, India, Indonesia (Ron will have a field day with my spelling). Fake abalone inlays, who knows what type of wood, pot metal hardware, etc.

Keep it. It's a great axe. And what you'll get for it doesn't reflect what it should really be worth because of the flood of crap out on the market.

[Carcaridon]

Listen to Xeno.

They don't make 'em like this any more. A MIJ guitar, with REAL MOP inlays, Germany hardware, bound fretboard, better woods, etc.

Today, you get China, India, Indonesia (Ron will have a field day with my spelling). Fake abalone inlays, who knows what type of wood, pot metal hardware, etc.

Keep it. It's a great axe. And what you'll get for it doesn't reflect what it should really be worth because of the flood of crap out on the market.

Good advice. Thank you. Time to start fixing it up then and replacing old and worn hardware. I wanted a project guitar, guess this one's it.

[SignoftheDragon]

I expected a lot worse from your description of it- I thought you had maybe posted the wrong series of pics!

DEFINITELY keep that guitar- that is one of the crown jewels of bolt-on charvels. Keep it, fix it up, and PLAY that sucker.