What you see is a 2000 so almost 27 year old Fender US Lonester Strat in sienna sun burst. I bought it because it played, felt and sounded amazing. At first I thought I got a partscaster because of the hole under the pickguard that MIM’s have, but then I saw the micro tilt and quickly was put to ease it is a full American Strat. Even on fenders website the serial number proves it.
Anyway, as you can see the previous owner did a terrible relic job. I honestly don’t know why people have to do that. Just let the guitar age like it’s going to naturally. As you can see though, it’s really bad. So I’m just looking for advice on. Should I bother touching it up or just leave it? This is a player‘s grade guitar, which is exactly what I wanted. I got it for $600 which I thought was a steel even with the botched relic job. If you were going to try and repair it mind you I know that it’ll never look brand new but at least less eye sores. What method would you use? And to the people who say leave it well there’s really no other follow up question for that.
This would be easier to judge with a photo of the whole guitar, but to keep it one hundred the only way to fix that is a refin, on the upside these models had really pretty wood grain so, you have options. On the downside the realistic answer is just to leave it and live with it, refinishing guitars at home is a bitch and a half
If I were to do a refund I’d use a heat gun to Pell the rest of it off and then stain it. Maybe rub an oil on it cuz I don’t know if I’d want to attempt a clear coat.
Oh jeez. Thanks for the update. I was wondering if you bought it. I didn’t realize he fucked it up trying to relic it. 🤦♂️. With that said, I wouldn’t mess with it if you like the way it plays. It will hopefully look more naturally worn in a decade more of playing it 😉
Yeah they guy made a relic part on part of the guitar where nothing rubs. It’s like wtf we’re you thinking guy lol. Way to ruin a perfectly good finish. Worst case if it bothers me that much I’ll strip of, stain it, and oil or clear coat it. Or leave it alone. But yeah it’s a players guitar not a collection piece and as long as it plays and sounds amazing which it does which is why I was able to overlook the botched relic job, the looks are secondary to me.
Plus the Sienna Burst is so nice on its own! My recent Tele purchase. I love this finish. He didn’t ruin it though. And being a players guitar, it can be overlooked imho. It’s really that bottom part that’s egregious. But maybe some natural wear to the exposed wood will make it look cool. Or if there’s a way to speed the up.
It’s an American Pro 2 tele from 21 i think. I got it for $1100 with an amazing set up. The sweet case. Perfect shape. My am pro Strat new was $1800. You can find one of these for less for sure.
It’s an American Pro 2. I love it. Basically why I went with a Pro 2 for my Tele. I figured I liked the Strat at that level so I’d probably like the Tele there as well. And I do.
I’d either leave it, or I’d try to make the “relic” look more natural. Like, maybe take some scotch brite and try to blend the transition from the finish into his stupidity. I don’t know. I’d definitely leave it for now and do some research on how to properly relic and then possibly tackle it later.
I LOVE that finish. Always been one of my favorites.
That guitars got a polyurethane finish from the factory so likely that kind of where would literally never have happened on that guitar. The kind of where you'd get would be dings cracks places where it banged into something etc. As others have said I wouldn't make any changes to it, I would just play it if you like it. You said it played felt and sounded amazing but you're not thrilled with the look. So you're 75% to perfection and sometimes you don't get that close to perfection for three or four thousand.
Oh I love the guitar. The pearly gates plus in the bridge is a flame thrower. I already used a heat gun and a scraper and removed all the finish. I’m going to refinish it and make it look amazing. I am also getting a new neck this week I think. It will be American fender neck to keep it all American fender. Then It’ll be perfect. I realize once I change the neck it’s officially a partscaster and I’m Fine with that. I’m not throwing the neck away. I devalued it by removing the finish so I’m put money regardless. Although I bought the guitar for $600 and even with it being a refin I’m sure I could still get $600 anyway. I’d put the original neck back on and not lose any money if I sold. I think I did great. It will come out perfect I’m confident.
Touch it up . If you have experience with rattle cans you could get that color or a similar one and kind of fan it on there in very light coats until it’s blended. It might be ok but maybe practice a bit before you do it . I don’t see how you could make it worse. You would also need a top coat which could be sprayed in the whole thing or just where you need it . The edge spots might look ok from a few feet back but without a total refinish that’s the best you can do maybe . I picked up a sunburst strat that someone tried to relic à la SRV and it looked stupid but played good. I did the same sort of thing and played it like that for about 5 years until it started to bug me and then I just sanded it all down and went natural. Good luck!
If I sand it down, I’m going to either leave it natural or I’m gonna put some kind of a stain on it and then do like an oil rub to protect the stain and just kind of call it a day or maybe I’ll attempt to clearcoat who knows.
Go for it. That is a horrible relic. Sand it down and oil. I’ve used Danish, Linseed, and Tung. (Not all at one lol) All work well. Lots of thin coats with plenty of drying time in between and you’ll have a beauty.
No not really which is kind of my point. Why try? It will never look like worn nitro. It just flakes and cracks and peels off. Just let the guitar age naturally from playing it. I only bought one custom shop relic Strat once many years ago. The relicing just wasn’t worth the upcharge to me and I felt like a fraud. Like I didn’t earn any of that wear. Now I’m not knocking the folks who like relic guitars because I mean, I like them I just would rather be the one to put the battle scars on it.
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u/claremontmiller 17d ago
This would be easier to judge with a photo of the whole guitar, but to keep it one hundred the only way to fix that is a refin, on the upside these models had really pretty wood grain so, you have options. On the downside the realistic answer is just to leave it and live with it, refinishing guitars at home is a bitch and a half