Hamer USA Diablo II Blue Metal Flake

There's a lot of information to share on this particular Hamer.  While we don't know the history, we can say that when it came in to us, it was in disgusting condition.  It was covered in dirt, rust, grime, and who knows what else.  We went to work on cleaning it up with the hopes of restoring it to playable condition, but the end result was far better than we expected.

We disassembled every part of the guitar and threw away anything that couldn't be re-used.  Here's a run-down of all the work:

• The original Schaller tuners were bent and the gears were rusted.  They were replaced with brand new tuners direct from Schaller Germany.
  
• The nut and string tensioner bar were replaced with new parts direct from Schaller Germany.
• The back of the neck was stained and had multiple dings.  We steamed out the dings, removed most of the stains, and refinished the back of the neck to match the back of the headstock, which had faded to amber.
• The frets were leveled and crowned, the fretboard was smoothed out.
• The body was cleaned and polished, revealing this stunning blue metal flake paint.
• The tremolo saddles were rusted, so they were replaced with brand new saddles direct from Schaller Germany.  The tremolo arm was missing, so a new one from Schaller was added.
• The pickups are original but the poles were rusted and neck/middle pickups were disconnected.  The pickups were cleaned, rust removed, and soldered to the 5-way switch.
• The volume and tone pots had damaged wipers, so they were replaced with new CTS J-taper pots.  The original 5-way switch was cleaned and reinstalled.  A new Switchcraft jack was installed.
•  The input jack plate was replaced with a new black "bullet" style jack from Allparts.  The strap buttons and neck plate/screws were also replaced with new ones from Allparts.
• Every screw was replaced with new black screws.

As you can see from the photos, this guitar cleaned up really well.  The finish on the body is most likely not original, as I don't believe this was a paint option from Hamer, but I don't know the history so I can't say with certainty.  The paint is in good shape but there are some noticeable scratches, a few small dings, and some imperfections in the clear coat that may have resulted in how this guitar was stored.  We are not a full-service paint facility, but we did the best we could to make it look great.  The base color is a dark blue with blue, purple, and gold metal flakes that shine differently depending on how the light hits it.  We included pictures with our studio lights and pictures from outside to show all the different variations.  If a picture looks like there's dust spots, it's not dust - it's the metal flakes doing what they do best.

With the new parts, fret work, and setup, this guitar plays like a new guitar!  The action is low, the neck is straight, and it's fast.  It's not as thin as a Wizard neck, it has some depth to it, so it fits comfortably in your hand.  The Tone Zone and Air Norton pickups sound awesome in this guitar as well.  We're including a brand new Gator Transit-series gig bag as well.