Hey guys,

I tested out a little bit of sanding on the neck heel of my strat - an 08 MIM standard. It's got sort of a matte finish to it now, it lost the poly shine. I need to get some lighter sandpaper to even out the sanding some but I was wondering if sanding it down to this level is enough to allow my strat to wear? Like nitro finish will rub off with a lot of playing, while poly is virtually indestructible. I want my guitar to age as I play it, but not in the way of a false relic job. Should this be enough? How deep should I sand to get to where the finish will start to wear away?

Or is this an impossible or dumb idea?

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[08 MIM Standard Arctic White] > [Danelectro Fish n Chips EQ > Radial Texas Bones OD > Tonerider British Distortion > Electroharmonix Russian Big Muff Pi > Vox V847 Wah] > FM65R

Modern Fenders just don't age like the nitro finished ones mate. Mine's nearly 25 yrs old now and the back of the neck still polishes up like new. It's had a fair bit of playing, there's plenty of fret wear and some dimples in the (rosewood) fingerboard, but really the Poly finishes are there to stay.
You say you don't want a false relic job, but you've already taken steps to create one. By all means sand the neck for your own playing needs but to try to simulate the aging of nitro finishes is futile. Just compare a Roadworn to a nice CS nitro finished relic. If you really want the nitro look, you should get one man.

I believe that in time, the Poly finishes will develop their own subtle Characteristics.
It may take quite some time

(and for the sanding, go as fine as you like with the sandpaper, 1000-2000-3000, lubed with some car polish, spend some time on it , finish with the polish, works a treat ! )

Goodonya ...Mark.

Damn, so even just taking off the clear coat and leaving the paint wouldn't cause it to wear away over time where my arm / belt rubbed on it?

If all else fails I suppose I'll strip a body off ebay and redo it in nitro

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[08 MIM Standard Arctic White] > [Danelectro Fish n Chips EQ > Radial Texas Bones OD > Tonerider British Distortion > Electroharmonix Russian Big Muff Pi > Vox V847 Wah] > FM65R

You should be able to get a budget nitro body. It doesn't have to be Custom Shop.
The Custom Classic on my avatar is nitro, but I don't really want it to age
I like a nice relic though, I can see where you're coming from.