The lower right side of the front had a sloppy hole cut into it to access the wiring, even though the P90 slot is one of the easiest to work with. I patched it the best I could, going light on the sanding. I tried to match the 45 y.o. burst, but without an airbrush I was doomed, so I ended up painting it fire engine red. Try as I may, I just didn't warm to it. So I painted it black and hoped to hide the hole better. But the paint still sank in. To do it right, I would take off all the paint and use 2 part epoxy, at least in that spot. It levels with a much tougher finish. Yet there it sat.
I got lucky and scored a vintage pickup. Twice. So I decided since the thing was already buttholed, I had the freedom to make some tasteful improvements. This weekend I routed for the bridge pickup and knobs. I like single pickup guitars, but this one needed a little extra swagger. Next I will touch up the black, shine it up, and assemble. I ended up with both cream and black dogear covers. I can always buy one of each, but a matching black one seems fitting. The back and sides are the original Hostess fruit pie red with lots of nice checking. I over-sprayed it because hunks of it were chipping off.
