Hi,

For a while ive been wondering about the color of my strat, around the sides its seem to have gone a little funny..

Its a Tom Delonge signature strat in surf green, Mexican made of course.
Ive had the guitar for a good few years now but i bought it second hand from a guy who seems to have taken good care of it.

I was just wondering if anyone can tell me about the way the paint may go? its really annoying me that some of the guitar is one color and the rest is a different shade!
Also the head of most the screws have went black! is there a good method of cleaning them up? also some advice for cleaning any metal parts of the guitar would be great.

here are some picture of the color, hope you can see what im talking about (around the sides near the top)



Large


Large

Also one last thing.. does anyone know what the inside of the body's of these guitars should look like?
Just some funny things i noticed in mine, such are those 3 round indents in the 1st picture.
I just think its funny the whole body is cut out for a single pickup guitar.. i guess thats for further modification?

Personally, I really like the color of that guitar AND the discoloration which gives a vintage look. How old/what year is it ? I hope you are not planning to repaint it, that would be really too bad.

As to the inside wholes, have no clue, I have never seen that, mind you I never looked inside that model.

Dan

No, i dont wish to repaint it because i don't see much point in that.. i was just wondering if this is normal and if there is anything to do to possibly clean it up a little and restore it to a more natural color

Yes that is normal, especially if the guitar gets much sunlight, the u.v. rays will alter the paint slightly over time with more and more exposures to light. As for cleaning it up? I would say there is no way to change the discoloration, unless a little bit of that is dirt/dust. I would say to sit back, enjoy the guitar and it's beautifully natural aging process.

Hi shortymcsteve! I can't address the color, but those three holes are normal for MIM Strats. They are used for aligning the computerized machines that carve the bodies. What strikes me is the blobby paint in those holes. It looks like an overspray to me. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can chime in. Cool color though!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

First off, the "holes" are common, I've seen them before on other MIM guitars. matter of fact my Toronado has one in the same location.

As for the colour, I like it, but am I seeing correctly? Is there 3 different shades of green in the top photo?

outside horn
under pickguard
body face

That's what I'm seeing too. Three different shades.

Well, i can only see 2 colors here so maybe its just the pictures so i apologize about that & the guitar was made in September 2002 (apparently!)
I bought this guitar second hand around march 2007 because they went out of production around 03/04 so it was my only option.

Ive never opened this guitar up before so i decided to for a huge clean and i think ive hit a much bigger problem that the color..

After closing my guitar back up i was looking at some pictures i took for future reference and i noticed something alarming.
The numbers inside the body don't match the ones on the neck!
Im not sure what these numbers are exactly, if their just part numbers or what (im clueless at this kinda stuff) but ive come to realize everything on a Strat always should match up so i need your help here guys!

Also i noticed that if you see where the neck slots into the body there are 6 extra holes with one of the outer ones a bit damaged.
This was the first thing i noticed that made me think twice about the guitar.

I uploaded a bunch of pictures here for you guys to check out:
Photos


If there is anything else you wish me to photograph, let me know!
Serial number on the back of the headstock is: MZ2124811


I don't want another fake on my hands! Last time i was posting here i found out my dads Strat was a Japanese copy!

It all looks above board to me. The extra holes in the neckpocket are from where a wooden stick is fixed to the pocket to hold the guitar for spraying.
The product codes dont match. I wouldnt worry about it too much. I haven't checked my newish mexican guitar so cant comment directly on mexican instruments. My customshop and hotrod guitars have matching codes though. Perhaps its some difference in the way their production line runs. The fact that the codes are all there and clearly untampered with, makes em valid in my book.

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No no and no

I'm no expert, but from the reading that I have been doing it seems like production lines will do guitar bodies and necks separately, this will definitely explain why you get different dates and possibly also different numbers on the body and neck. It is possible that the smaller holes inside the neck cavity were used to hang the guitar up during the painting process (perhaps someone else can confirm that).

The pickup seems really strange to me, I have never seen one that looks like that.

The one thing that I did find strange though is from looking inside the cavities, especially the one where the neck fits in, it looks like the guitar is made from a type of wood laminate. You might ask around if that is normal for that model ? Can anyone in the forum say which Fender models if any are made from laminate wood ?

You might also post a picture of the headstock which might be helpful.

Other than that, I really like the combination of the green color with the discoloration and with the perloid pickguard. If some of screw heads were blackened, it might mean that one of the previous owners was a heavy smoker or was often in a smoke filled place. That might also explain the discoloration on the body portion which was not protected by the pickguard. I got the tarnished, blackened effect on some of the metal part on an old guitar I recently bought, and had to scrape it a little (even with my nail it worked) to get it clean again.

Cheers, Dan.

Do those bar coded numbers have a specific name at all? also, what do they reference exactly & is there any database i can check them on?

The pick-up is a Seymour duncan invader, its standard on this particular model, tho im unsure what you found unusual exactly?


http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/e ... 8_invader/

I have no idea about the paint tho.. everywhere i read about the guitar its just fans with little real knowledge who throw websites together.
For example:
http://www.tomdelongeguitar.com/Signature-Fender.htm

(i do love it with a racing stripe)

Also here is a wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLonge_Stratocaster


Also while searching google, i found this on the fender website but im not sure if its of any real use or what those numbers mean exactly:
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cach ... s7fRWg598A


Ive tried to use a few products to get those screws clean & also the little screws that are on the saddles of the bridge (2 on each saddle) are really dirty on the top side.. i spent about 30minutes with one and i just got a continuous supply of dirt so maybe il need to invest in some new hardware?
I love for my guitars to be in the best condition they can.. i know everyone loves a vintage look but i like to keep them in the most original state possible without replacing anything.

If you don't like the discoloration, perhaps a good buffing with polishing compound will equalize it. Something like T-cut or a scratch & swirl remover will remove the oxidation/discoloration.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Hi Shorty: the time-honored way of cleaning metal parts on guitars is to
put some naphtha (lighter fluid) in a jar and soak the pieces in it
for an hour or so. That should de-gunk the height adjustment screws on
the bridge saddles. If further work is required make a mixture of naphtha
and penetrating oil and work it in with a Q-tip. If there is still crud
remaining in the screw threads it will have been loosened and you
can ease the rest out with an X-Acto blade.

Far as the pickguard screws are concerned, give them the naphtha
treatment too followed by some household metal polish. If they are too
tarnished for that to work (which it sounds like) then just buy some more
if it bothers you. Fender type pickguard screws are available cheaply from
the likes of www.wdmusic.com , www.guitarpartsresource.com and
many others.

I was intrigued by what russianracehorse observed of the gloopiness of
the paint in the CNC holes. It is a polyester finish so it does tend to be
pretty thick: I know what he's saying about the possibility of a refin, but
now we see the neck cavity it seems fairly certain it is the original
finish. (The bod is not plywood, by the way: those are machining lines on
the side of the neck pocket.)

Surprising that the finish has discolored so fast, but the fresher color
beneath the pickguard shows it is definitely caused by UV. So learn to like
it cos there's no way back.

Good photos you linked to BTW - but very huge! Even on my speedy
system those took time to come through...

Cheers - C

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Hi Ceri. Thanks for weighing in on the matter. My observations were based on a previous life as a used car salesman. You often see paint like that on the edges of an oversprayed body panel. But I certainly yield to your judgment when it comes to paint on guitars.

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Hi RR: well, I was only too ready to agree with what you were
saying - because that paint has certainly run, hasn't it?

In this instance I'm sure we'd see evidence in the neck pocket if there had
been previous finish on there. So instead we must conclude that someone
was just a little heavy handed with the spray gun that day...!

What I enjoy about this Forum is that for each guy who wants to know how
to make his new guitar look old there is another who would like to make
his old guitar look young again! Now if we could only bring them all
together...

Cheers - C

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