Hi everybody, I have a couple of questions hopefully someone out there can help answer for me. I recently bought a 2004 50th aniversary Strat from a pawn shop. I thought it was an American Standard, but after looking at different reference materials I think it may be an American Deluxe. Can anyone tell me the difference? Its Ser. # is Z3229722 , its in the tobacco sunburst finish with white 3 ply pick guard, it has the powdered metal bridge saddles, not the stamped steel ones and the tremelo arm is the classic style with the white plastic end piece on it.

I also have a question about the finish. It has a place where the paint has been scraped off or chipped on the edge of the body down near the plug jack. It is approximately one inch long and about 1/4 inch wide. My father is a retired autobody and paint man and is perfectly capable of repairing it. I need to know what type of primer and paint (preferably with brand name also) was used on it so I can repair it without the new paint attacking the old. Thanks!

Deluxe serial #'s start with DZ-----. They have Noiseless SCN pickups, locking tuners, stainless steel saddles, pop-in tremolo arm with no plastic tip,contoured neck heel,ect.....You have an American Standard I believe....... Mike

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

Correct DZ would indicate a deluxe. beginning with Z3 meaning year 2003.

I guess its the bridge saddles that are throwing me. All of the American standards I've seen had the stamped steel ones.

Mine doesn't.

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Hi nitromike66: Fender put a two-part polyurethane lacquer on both their American Standard and American Deluxe guitars. You'll never discover a brand name - but you don't really need that.

What you do need is to know the color - any ideas? Gonna be very hard to match that: how is your dad at mixing colors using dyes/toners/universal colorants? Skilled stuff...

As to "primers", well that depends on the finish. If you have a sunburst then there is no primer as such: the wood will have first been stained with the (probably yellow/amber) color in the middle of the 'burst, then sealed, then a build/sanding layer, then the remaining outer colors of the sunburst, then possibly a clear coat.

But all of that is speculation: Fender's exact sequence is not revealed, nor is their current sealer (quite possibly vinyl, but not certainly) - and it likely varies from finish to finish. There is a lot of speculation that Fender use polyester beneath some of their finishes, but again it is not certain. (Guitars from the Mexican factory are finished in polyester throughout.) If you have a solid color finish things might be somewhat different again; metallic, different again.

Complicated, ain't it?

On the other hand, depending on the nature of the damage there are sometimes easier ways of repairing it. Show us a good clear photo of the damage and we may be able to say more.

Cheers - C

Thanks for the info Ceri, my guitar has the tobacco sunburst finish and the chip is about one inch long and a quarter inch wide, down to the wood, on the edge below the plug jack. The color actually just
appears black on that part it, so there really isn't a color match situation.

We figured on using a technique called "feathering" around the chip with different grades of sand paper which will take the sharp edge of paint down gradually to the wood. We then would build it back up with a couple of primer coats and then a couple of base coats of black followed by a couple of clear coats. After "color sanding" (smoothing any slight imperfections in the clear coat with very fine sandpaper ), we would then buff the finish to match the shine of the original finish.

Hi again nitromike66: well as I say, there is no primer as such under that sunburst finish. The stages that Fender will have used will be

stain
sealer
grain filler if the body is ash (sometimes incorporated with the sealer)
build coat
color coats (brown, then black)
clear coat

Or there abouts. They don't make their precise processes public, but that's broadly it.

The top two and probably top three layers are two-part polyurethane on modern American models. Your dad probably knows how to source that. If the damage is only over the black part of the 'burst then the work isn't going to be too tricky.

Good luck - C

Sounds like your dad knows what he is doing. On the other hand you could just leave it as people pay good money for that.lol