I was hoping that as I lovingly and carefully beat the sh*t out of my new MIA Olympic White/ Maple Standard Series that the finish would wear and start to "yellow" with a few years of tough love.
Malmsteen's strat was originally Olympic White (I think) but took on a crazy yellow tint as the finish aged. Another musician that I have recently become acquainted with has some Olympic White/ Vintage White instruments that have been beautifully worn, but have not taken to this yellowing effect.
Are there any other strat players with well loved Olympic White guitars that care to chime in on this effect? I intend only to let the instrument wear naturally, but would love to see some of this yellowing. Any feedback is appreciated.

I think that yellowing takes many years, and is helped by having the guitar exposed to smoke filled rooms such as bars.

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

As said above, the yellowing can be in part because of exposure to smoke. But Also can be due to the clear coats aging. Back when lacquer was still used, the clear coats would yellow with exposure to UV light over time. Not all aged the same way, and in fact sometimes Fender just polished out the colour coat, without covering it with clear. these guitars wouldn't yellow from age, though smokey bars would still discolour them a bit. Newer clear coats aren't as photo sensitive, so they won't yellow with age, and in a lot of places bars aren't smokey anymore, so you would have to take the aging process into your own hands, and replicate it.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Interesting. about your sig, I also have a 70s Ventura Gibson SG clone (was my first electric guitar). Always wondered if it was worth anything.

good luck getting your new guitar to yellow naturally.

new guitars just don't age like they used to. in fact, the only thing that really ages much anymore is the pickguard.

Honestly, the best way to age a guitar is to play live with it as much as possible. Stage lights, cigarettes, and sweat will age a guitar beautifully. And, in the case of my guitars, beating them into amps and other equipment gives them a "relic" finish that no expert can duplicate.

well, there was this one guy, cant think, wait a minute, young black guy, who was that?? Jimi something?

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"Wait a minute, somethings wrong here!"

My 1980 strat was white. Don't know if it was Olympic White, Arctic White, or whatever. Whatever white came standard in 1980. It has yellowed over the years but it took a long, long, time. Here's what it looks like now, with a new parchment pick guard:

It is not really worth a lot these days, as they were never a popular brand. However, you probably noticed that it a pretty good guitar and plays great. It's a keeper and player, conversation piece ect. I love mine, and its very rare. I remember all these kids getting Kramers and Ovations and stuff. My Ventura always sounded better to me. I was lucky to get it, as a kid I wanted a LP clone, but my guitar teacher talked her out of it saying that the L6s clone was the best in the price range. I am glad he did that now

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

Hi jnastyNE. As has been indicated, clear coats yellow much more than if the guitar had a '60s nitro or '70s polyester finish where the color coat was buffed to a shine without being clearcoated. Seems that some of the '60s Strats were clearcoated and some weren't, and show more or less yellowing accordingly.

However, unless your MIA is a vintage reissue it will be finished in modern polyurethane, and this yellows less and slower than nitrocellulose. (Personally, I think the function of a finish is to protect the instrument, not to yellow, crack and fall off - but then I'm strange that way...)

Nevertheless: your urethane will gradually yellow in time. I bought an American Series in 2005 which at the time had a beautiful milky pale maple neck. Not everyone's taste, but I loved it. That urethane has yellowed quite noticeably in four years, and the clear coats over your Olympic White will do the same.

Just give it time!

Cheers - C

ceri, the yellowing is a different issue than the checking. personally, not really liking bright white anything I prefer the yellowing (except in the case of underwear, but everything else!)

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hahaha - ew!

Yep, I must admit, a '60s Strat in good condition but with yellowed white paint and a genuine "mint green" pickguard certainly has a visual appeal.

It's the idea of trying to imitate that aging process deliberately I was running off onto - but then that wasn't really jnastyNE's point, so I was straying off topic...

I was never a fan of new bright white Olympic. There is a pale off-white they seem to be using on VW Beatles at the moment which would be much nicer on a guitar, to my eye. And no need to worry about blowing cigarette smoke across it to make it happen!

Cheers - C

No Cheri, I am not looking to do a relic job or start smoking 2 packs a day to get a yellow strat. If it turns yellow, great, if not, I'll live. Either way its a kick $@! guitar.
gadabout, that strat looks awesome!

To bad you could not buy vintage white which is my favorite color. My American tele is Vintage White.

And this was called Vintage White

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

The olympic white is an off white to begin with. Without playing in a smoky pub you can get a slightly more yellow tint after about 3 years of normal use. The best way to notice it is to unscrew the back plate in a few years. UV rays will yellow the polyurethane finish faster though.

Olympic white is a color that needs time to age gracefully. It will, and relatively soon. Enjoy it while it is still "Ivory".

Yep.

I had one of the first Malmsteens in Olympic White/Rosewood. After years of gigs in smoke filled bars (as well as some outdoor ones), it turned that creamy yellow color. Granted, it took a while to get that way as it didn't have a nitro lacquer finish on it.

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The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ