Hey guys I'm new to this forum,
I have an American Vintage series '57 Stratocaster its in surf green. The finish has been partly damaged and i was thinking about a re-finish because i know there is plenty of people who own guitars that do that... frankly i really don't know anything about it and i don't want to get into it and try it on a guitar i paid 1200 dollars for because as an amateur at guitar re-finishing i know it wont be perfect... is there anywhere where Fender guitars can be sent out so you can pay someone professional to do it for you? I really don't care how much it cost because over the past 2 years its started to really really bother me as its my primary guitar i use when my band plays gigs.

it has lots of normal wear and tear, belt rash on the back, scratches in many different areas but the main problem with it is, that when i first got the guitar their was a factory blemish in the lower left part of the part if your holding it up looking at the front of it, my father tried to buff it out with some kinda of polisher or cleaning solution that was definitely not for use on guitars... it basically burned away the nitrocellulose lacquer and left a permanent discoloration blemish in the guitar that looks like a circle where he tried to buff it out with a cloth. its like a big discolored circle about 4 inches by 4 inches wide... it does NOT look like natural aging of the guitar lol.. and if you rub your hand over it it feels rough to. It's definitely my favorite out of all my guitars and i cant stand seeing it all messed up!!

This is why they switched from lacquer to poly finishes in the first place. Since it had a blemish from the factory ... did you at least get a discount? You could see about sending the body off to somewhere that does finishing like that ... Warmoth, B.Hefner and Musikraft come to mind. There are other refinishing shops around you might be able to find if you google "guitar re-finishing". Another option would be to see about a local automotive body shop. The paint color is PPG/Ditzler paint code 797A. They should be able to get the exact color in an acrylic lacquer. Before I get flamed abot it not being "nitro" ... Fender used discontinued automotive paint, and during that time, most factories were transitioning between nitrocellulose and acrylic paint anyway. Lots of old Strats came from the factory wearing a coat of acrylic lacquer. It won't effect the tone of the guitar. It won't, period, trust me.

ok thanks so much!

If you can get the paint I would talk to a custom cabinet shop about doing the work. Those guys spray alot of lacquer.

This is good advice.

And if anyone bothers to start flaming you on the nitro thing, Kemmery, you'll find plenty of us on your side!

cessnan1315efw, if you can't find a guitar finisher to do the work for you then every town has car body shops doing repair work on car paint. Which is exactly what you have on your Fender, so it's the same process (essentially).

If you want to cut the cost of the job a bit you could sand down the old paint yourself. If you are having it refinned in the same color there is no need to strip it to the timber. But sand all over to a nice smooth surface with P320 paper: that puts it in the zone the spray shop will need.

Good luck - C

I'm going to throw my quick $.02 worth in here...

I would be "cautious" about sending the body out to an automotive refinishing place for one simple reason...a lot of "car guys" can be really ham-fisted with something like a guitar. They may do a lovely job on cars, but a guitar is NOT a car. I'm sure that most folks here would agree with me in that just hanging the body in a spray booth and shooting it is NOT all that's involved when we're talking lacquer (be it acrylic or nitro). If you want a truly "factory-like" finish, there's a lot of polishing involved...wet sanding between coats, the final polishing steps, etc., and this is where I'd get VERY nervous about letting a car guy do it. I'm not saying that ALL auto refinishing guys are like this, but many are...that whole adjusting a tiny screw with a sledge hammer mentality.

Seriously...if the OP isn't going to send it out to a place that specializes in guitar refinishing, at least go with the cabinet maker suggestion as those folks are used to dealing with "wood".

I do agree with Ceri in that there's no substantial difference in tone between Nitro and Acrylic...at least when it comes to things like "tone". Typically the single biggest factor with a guitar finish in regards to tone is usually just how thick the finish is applied. I can't really prove this either way but most people tend to feel that a thinner finish will allow the wood to resonate easier where as a thicker finish will typically choke the wood a little. Of course I typically think this whole issue is rather negated by other factors such as pickups and the amp and such. How the finish looks as it ages though...that's a bit different. Again, just an opinion here but I tend to believe that acrylic, as with polys, tends to retain more if it's luster (for lack of a better word) than nitro does where as nitro as it ages tends to have a more natural looking aged look for a guitar (I hope that makes sense).

Again, just my own opinions here...please use them for what they're worth.

Jim

Not to quibble, you make some valid points, just adding another $.02 ...

I would say that, I would be cautious about WHICH auto body shop I took it to, but, as you stated, there is a LOT more to finishing a guitar (or a car) than just shooting it with paint. Most of your good shops will be very adept at the wet sanding and polishing process you described. I've worked in and around the automotive industry at various points in my life, and the perception of the "Goober" mechanic is unfortunately baggage best left in the past. I'm not talking about Wal-Mart Auto center or your local Quicky Lube, but most qualified mechanics and body repair specialists are probably just as smart as you, know a LOT more about what they are doing than you ever will, and conduct their work in a highly professional manner. No offense intended to any particular individual, but on the whole, they are a WHOLE lot smarter and more professional than most professional musicians I have known, and I have known quite a few of each. That being said ... I would check around and see about a place, if I was not familiar with it, before handing over my guitar body to them. Contrary to what would SEEM with most of the popular "relic" models of guitars, the paint on old guitars doesn't loose it's luster, or shine over time, be it nitrocellulose or acrylic based. Too many "relic" guitars have "dull" finishes that are a dead-giveaway that they are NOT authentic, and to me, look cheesy and fake. Nitorcellulose based lacquers will "yellow" over time more than acrylics though, and are more prone to the phenomenon of weather checking. It would take a fairly adept expert to tell which is which on an old guitar however without some fairly advanced chemical analysis equipment. Enviornmental factors will determine more of how that old Strat aged than whether or not it was originally shot with nitro or acrylic lacquer. Unless it was gone over with steel wool or left outside, the finish, what's left of it, should still retain quite a bit of shine, and not be flat and dull.

My 0.02 here. Good points by both.

The auto painters I know ( there's a couple I know quite well,) they really know paint.When I did the Ibanez project I consulted with one of them when I was choosing my finish. he gave me good advice, and he was the one who pointed out the expense, but I wanted a certain effect, so that didn't really matter. If I weren't doing refinishes for fun, i wouldn't hesitate to use any of my auto painter friends.

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

You are absolutely correct in that there -are- some guys (and probably even some gals too) out there who are really quite good at what they do and do really know their stuff...certainly far better than I do. I don't debate this at all. That said, there are guys out there who don't. A lot of guys. I think in a round about way, we are both saying the same thing here in that anyone considering this should make sure they go to someone they -know- does good work. It always pays to do one's homework in such a case.

The sole point of my post is again as I stated before "be cautious". For all the guys out there who do a really decent job and could probably do an excellent job on something like a guitar, there's just as many guys from Earl Schieb and Macco who could screw that instrument up well beyond any possible hope of repair. No really...."I'll paint that guitar for just $99.95! Bring the neck, I'll paint that too! Bring your mother...your girlfriend...your wife...just $99.95!"

Point made