Use
browser back button to return to previous page
1965
Fender Stratocaster
I was
sent a 1965 Fender stratocaster (neck date Jan '65) for a possible
refinish and some other work. Upon seeing the guitar, the owner and I discussed
a refinish but it was decided the existing refin had aged quite nicely
and that it would be a shame in some respects to remove it. The eagle eyed
amongst you will probably notice the '62 era pickguard, the pickups too
are from an earlier than '65 guitar, amongst other bits. The guitar had
Gotoh replacement tuners, the original Kluson's were in the case but were
worn and sloppy.
Whilst
the neck lacquer was original, the headstock face had been refinished in
poly and a replacement decal had been applied and over sprayed. This had
all been buffed to a high gloss which looked a little out of place with
the original dull lacquer on the rest of the neck |
I removed
the poly finish and decal, which wasn't particularly good quality anyway.
I removed the nut as this had to be replaced as well, the slots were too
low and the open strings buzzed badly. I mixed a tinted nitro-cellulose
lacquer to match the rest of the neck and resprayed the headstock face |
Once sprayed
a replacement decal was applied, on top of the lacquer, and the edges of
the headstock were lightly distressed to match the rest of the neck. The
lacquer was also dulled to give it a more vintage appearence than the shiny
poly it replaced. Note that the bone nut is a little bright looking, this
picture was taken prior to that being 'aged'.
I sent
the original double line Kluson's off to be serviced, they came back ready
for action and were fitted back onto the neck in place of the replacement
Gotohs.
The previous
owner of this guitar had obviously been a bit of a shielding nut, the cavities
were lined with foil and all of the wiring had been replaced with a shielded
type...not very vintage..... |
It was
decided to return the guitar to as close as possible original condition
under the pickguard, all the shielded wire was removed. Note that the pots
(and switch) are not original, there's a '63 Stackpole and two other of
unknown origin...they worked fine.....so they stayed |
Cloth
covered wire was installed, I moved the pots around as I wanted to use
the '63 as the volume pot...not for any particular reason! |
With the
foil cleaned out of the pickup/control cavity, it was time to re-assemble
everything |
The
frets were levelled, crowned and polished, the guitar was then set up and
is playing beautifully.