Telecaster refinish

H.Chinaski

Looking for y’all’s thoughts and advice here. I’m in New Zealand where guitars ain’t cheap but this popped up on my radar and it’s a fucking travesty whoever carved this thing up but could result in a nice price for a made in the USA tele. What would refinishing this thing look like?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/music-instruments/instruments/guitar-bass/electric-guitars/auction-3170269350.htm

dudeman

That could be a good project. If that is marker, a Magic Eraser should take care of it. 

If it's carved into the wood, sanding and refinishing is about the only option. If you do this, just be aware that removing thickness from the front of the body will effectively make the bridge sit lower. Sometimes the saddle screws are long enough to compensate, sometimes not. You may have to shim the bridge back up. 

If it's cheap and you are looking for a project, that would be a fun and rewarding one. 

Jason P

yikes!

Third Coast Guitars estimates a Fender body total refinish at $650 US and up which includes the work Dudeman described.  You also have to wonder what else was done to the guitar. 

H.Chinaski

dudeman said:

That could be a good project. If that is marker, a Magic Eraser should take care of it. 

If it's carved into the wood, sanding and refinishing is about the only option. If you do this, just be aware that removing thickness from the front of the body will effectively make the bridge sit lower. Sometimes the saddle screws are long enough to compensate, sometimes not. You may have to shim the bridge back up. 

If it's cheap and you are looking for a project, that would be a fun and rewarding one. 

Sadly I think it’s been carved or possibly even wood burnt. 

Jason P

Have you considered looking at the US market if New Zealand prices are too high?  I bought a ... magical box ... a Synthstrom Deluge ... made in Wellington, NZ and there wasn't any VAT or US tax on the purchase ... shipping via DHL was reasonable.

H.Chinaski

Jason P said:

Have you considered looking at the US market if New Zealand prices are too high?  I bought a ... magical box ... a Synthstrom Deluge ... made in Wellington, NZ and there wasn't any VAT or US tax on the purchase ... shipping via DHL was reasonable.

Not really I’ve got quite a lot of gear in storage in the states I have just been looking to pic something up locally

gimmesometruth27

i don't want to be a downer here, but i would steer clear of that guitar unfortunately.

first off you haven't played it. you may buy it, receive it, and hate it and then be stuck with it.

secondly, i think the person who owns it may have ruined it. especially if that stuff is burned into the wood.

one time i approached my friend who is a vintage guitar dealer about potentially refinishing an old early 90s  flying v because i did not like the color. he basically said that if you try to have that done and the person doing it fucks up at any point it in the process is going to cost even more out of pocket to fix any mistakes. he said it is just too risky to have someone mess with it if they do not do a lot of that kind of work. and if you take it somewhere who specializes in that kind of thing it may be more expensive than what the guitar is worth. if you were to refinish it and plan to sell the guitar later that is one thing. but if you buy it and do not refinish it, you may get stuck with it.

if you are wanting a project and you know what you are doing you may be ok, but for me, i would pass on this one.

H.Chinaski

gimmesometruth27 said:

i don't want to be a downer here, but i would steer clear of that guitar unfortunately.

first off you haven't played it. you may buy it, receive it, and hate it and then be stuck with it.

secondly, i think the person who owns it may have ruined it. especially if that stuff is burned into the wood.

one time i approached my friend who is a vintage guitar dealer about potentially refinishing an old early 90s  flying v because i did not like the color. he basically said that if you try to have that done and the person doing it fucks up at any point it in the process is going to cost even more out of pocket to fix any mistakes. he said it is just too risky to have someone mess with it if they do not do a lot of that kind of work. and if you take it somewhere who specializes in that kind of thing it may be more expensive than what the guitar is worth. if you were to refinish it and plan to sell the guitar later that is one thing. but if you buy it and do not refinish it, you may get stuck with it.

if you are wanting a project and you know what you are doing you may be ok, but for me, i would pass on this one.

Yeah it’s pretty wrecked and it’s a damn shame but I used a have a 52 RI and traded for a Les Paul… so I am familiar with it. This one is the hot rod version too. I’d love it have one again…. And it’d be a project. 

 

dudeman

H.Chinaski said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

i don't want to be a downer here, but i would steer clear of that guitar unfortunately.

first off you haven't played it. you may buy it, receive it, and hate it and then be stuck with it.

secondly, i think the person who owns it may have ruined it. especially if that stuff is burned into the wood.

one time i approached my friend who is a vintage guitar dealer about potentially refinishing an old early 90s  flying v because i did not like the color. he basically said that if you try to have that done and the person doing it fucks up at any point it in the process is going to cost even more out of pocket to fix any mistakes. he said it is just too risky to have someone mess with it if they do not do a lot of that kind of work. and if you take it somewhere who specializes in that kind of thing it may be more expensive than what the guitar is worth. if you were to refinish it and plan to sell the guitar later that is one thing. but if you buy it and do not refinish it, you may get stuck with it.

if you are wanting a project and you know what you are doing you may be ok, but for me, i would pass on this one.

Yeah it’s pretty wrecked and it’s a damn shame but I used a have a 52 RI and traded for a Les Paul… so I am familiar with it. This one is the hot rod version too. I’d love it have one again…. And it’d be a project. 

 

If the price was right, I would do it. Had a similar situation a few years ago with a wrecked P-Bass. The previous owner played punk and he had trashed that thing. It was covered in stickers and nasty, deep gouges that went through the finish and into the wood. It had a busted bridge and was missing the Tone control too.

I gave him like, $40.00 and got started. I sanded the body down and refinished it using polyurethane for wood floors. Replaced the wiring and electronics, put in a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickup and added an ESP hi-mass bridge. 

Since then, I swapped the neck for a new MIM Fender neck and replaced the pickguard recently.

Anyway, it was fun, I learned a lot and I now have a cool bass that I have a special bond with.

dudeman

This is what it looks like now. It started out as a black MIM Fender Standard Precision Bass. 

H.Chinaski

dudeman said:

This is what it looks like now. It started out as a black MIM Fender Standard Precision Bass. 

Looks killer! Nice work

H.Chinaski

The price went higher than it should have and I passed on the Tele…