My uncle gave me this old Kramer PDG (Paul Dean something something, it’s repainted originally it was yellow). It’s one of his first guitars, but after he got injured, it hasn’t been played or maintained for about 30 years.

The problem is, I’m a new player, and I’ve been playing only acoustic for less than a year. This Kramer needs some maintenance: the fretboard is extremely dirty, the frets are almost worn flat, and there’s some rust here and there.

I have no idea about its possible value or how much it’s worth spending on repairs. I don’t have any problem with cleaning, restringing and working on electronics, but I’m more concerned about the refretting process, which I’ve never done before and would have to learn as I go. Is it possible to do it on my own without expensive professional tools and without making a disaster? Or would it be better to go to a professional for this task? How much would they charge for this job?

  • Twodozeneggs@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    Cool guitar! I would clean it up the best you can, take the strings off and clean the fretboard with baby wipes to get the gunk off, and apply lemon oil if it seems dry.

    Then take it to a guitar repair shop and get their input on the frets. It’s possible they can recrown the frets instead of replacing them completely which is much more expensive.

    I’ve been quoted ~150 to recrown the frets to give you an idea.

    As far as value, I’d suggest finding the serial number on the guitar and figuring out the exact model and year of manufacture. Then find similar guitars for sale on reverb.

    Cheers and Good luck!