I'm a player, not a collector so I knew there'd eventually be a scratch or two on my new Strat in no time. After a few months of Saturday night jams I finally took the time to look and see what my pocket knife was doing to the back of my Strat. I carry a Spyderco knife on me at all times. It clips to the front right pocket of whatever I'm wearing, usually jeans. Here's the outcome.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Ditch the knife.

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Here's the culprit.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Im glade you never have played one of my guitars..But since the damage is done i would continue to wear the knife for a quick relic effect..By the way Spyerderco's are great knifes but i prefer Benchmade because they allow you to reverse the clip so you can wear it upside down in your back pocket

Many Spydercos have reversible clips. Benchmades are fine knives as well. As far as the guitar, it really only shows if put in the right light. I had to take a dozen or so pics to get it to show. There is a definite rough feel. I do take quite good care of my instruments, especially this one. It gets wiped down and put right back in the case when I'm not using it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it. It's like belt buckle rash I suppose. It's my no. 1 so she will see more nicks, cuts and bruises. As long as she still plays and sounds well, that's what matters the most.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

True statement. Mike

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

This is actually a very very easy fix. I assume you want the finish rash gone, right? The finish on a (modern) strat is polyurethane, which is basically spray on plastic. Go to pepboys, kragen auto, etc. and pick up the automotive scratch removers. I would recommend getting the headlight plastic restoration kits, since the finish of your sunburst strat is most like the plastic on a car headlight. Meguire's makes good stuff, PlastX: http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G12310

Use a cloth and rub by hand and it will be gone. Even better would be an orbital buffer and it will be gone in minutes.

Thats a bummer. You are going to have to make a mental note to either not clip and push the knife down below the pocket line or switch to the back pocket when playing.I would check out the product submaniac told about as it seems it might take care of the situation. Well at least it is your go too ax as we all know they take there lumps and you are right on point as long as she is sounding and playing good that is all that matters.

I actually have some Meguiar's Scratch X, PlastX, and Mother's PowerPlastic. I have an orbital buffer too. Maybe I'll give this a shot and see what happens.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Well, I'm happy to report that ScratchX works. I tested it first with a microfibre rag and it was like wiping the scratches away. There is the finest of scratches left but they are very hard to see. Very. I did my best to document the fine scratches in this photo.

_________________
-Kirk

GUITARS
'12 Sonoran Acoustic - black (dated 10/31/12)
'13 Standard Strat
AMP
Vox ac4c1-bl
PEDALS
Compressor
Big Muff
Vox Stomplab 1G
Carbon Copy Delay

Ahem, told you it would work. Trust me, have been doing this a long time. If you want all the scratches completely gone, keep on rubbing. If you get more scratches later, you can take them out the same way later. The finish on a modern stratocaster (as opposed to the vintage with the nitrocellulose lacquer) is extremely thick. You can keep on rubbing the scratches out for a long time without having to worry about going through the finish. I tried my hand at refinishing an actual Fender body with an electric sander--and it still took me a couple days to get through it because it is so thick.

Wow. congrats.

I didn't think it would work.

I thought the scratches were too deep and nasty for scratch and swirl remover to make them disappear.

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Yeah, ditch the knife. If you have to carry a weapon where you live, get a shoulder holster and a pistol.

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Don't take a knife to a gunfight.

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Wow, I might use some of that stuff on my Michael Kelly. It's kind of dull on the back from little scratches like that.

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