How long does it take to complete a MIM strat from start to finish @ the factory. I was told by consumer relations that it was completed on the 30th of July so I am trying to estimate what day did they start on it.

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

that's a interesting question. The problem is, the neck may have been produced long before the body or vice-versa. So, how would you determine the start date? Would you go by the neck or would you consider the neck to be a component and go by the start date of the body?

so then my next question would be isn't the start date the day they start to assemble the parts?

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

Is the start day the day the seed was planted to grow the tree or was it when the seed started growing?

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

Hi Trauma: once all the parts are there ready, including neck and body, assembly should only be an hour or so, give or take. Those guys are efficient! So the date on your guitar could well be the day that happened.

But I think you have to add building the neck and body to that. Bear in mind that we've seen stacks of MIM body blanks arriving at the Mexican factory ready glued up and with veneers laminated on front and back, if they are to receive them. So that part of the process is not done by Fender: their timber supplier covers that early stage, which in a smaller boutique company would also be done by the builders.

With all Fender's automation and speedy machinary I suppose you could build a body or neck in a day or two. Though who knows whether pieces sit around for days waiting between stages of the process?

The really time consuming part is the finishing. On MIM bodies they use polyester lacquer, which has fewer stages and a much quicker drying time than other finishes, but still the body has to cure for a period before it can be buffed.

The neck still has to be largely fretted by hand, and then the polyurethane lacquering is also a time consuming process (I think Fender use a two pack urethane, if memory serves). Then there is curing time, though these days that can be speeded up a lot with UV curing techniques.

So from the moment the raw timber arrives in the plant to the moment a finished guitar is placed in its box could be as little as several days. But with parts sitting around waiting on pallets, finished necks stacked on shelves awaiting use, etc etc - who knows? Days? Weeks?

Complete guesswork...

Cheers - C

Hey Ceri,
The finish on my MIM is the Satin Urethane Finish...does this change drying time as you explained the time with polyester lacquer and which is better? , so now I am waiting for the dates for neck & body completion...there is a method to all of this madness which will be revealed once I get the info....Also this is the info I received from fender

The date we have in the system is 7/30/2008. That is the date the guitar was completed and went through final inspection. The only other dates on the guitar indicate the date the body was finished and the date the neck was finished.

Best Regards,
Jeff Krause
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation
Consumer Relations Department
8860 E. Chaparral Rd. Suite 100
Scottsdale, AZ 85250
480-596-7195
consumerrelations@fender.com

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

Hi again Trauma: well that is interesting and in truth I don't know the answer, because I have no personal experience with UV curing methods. I don't even know whether they have both polyester and polyurethane that can be cured with UV, or only one of 'em.

I think this would be a legitimate and good question for Mike Eldred on his forum - get the info from the top.

As to which is "better". Well, I have polyester, polyurethane, nitrocellulose and waterbased acrylic finishes on guitars - and I have absolutely no feelings that one is better than another. Perhaps I find the polyester the least aesthetically pleasing, because of it's gloopy thickness in the cavities - but then my polyester finished Strats are amongst my faves, so it turns out not to matter in the slightest in real life.

I absolutely cannot tell the difference between any of those finishes by ear, though there are those that post here that claim they can. My respect to them and their ears!

BTW: which MIM comes with a satin urethane finish on the body, please? I've missed that one and would be curious to know.

Thanks - C

..Here are the specs for mine specifically which I also got from fender..

Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008 – 2009
Model Name: Standard Strat® HSS (Upgrade)
Model Number: 013-4700/02-587
Serial # MZ8031252
Series: Standard Series
Body: Alder
Neck: Maple, Modern “C” Shape,
(Satin Urethane Finish)
Fingerboard: Rosewood, 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
No. of Frets: 21 Medium Jumbo
Scale Length: 25.5” (648 mm)
Width @ Nut: 1-11/16” (43 mm)
Hardware: Chrome
Machine Heads: Fender®/Ping® Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
Bridge: Vintage Style Synchronized Tremolo
Pickguard: 3-Ply White
Pickups: 1 Humbucking Pickup (Bridge),
2 Standard Single-Coil Strat Pickups (Neck and Middle)
Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade, Special Switching:
Position 1. Full Bridge Humbucking Pickup (No Tone Control)
Position 2. Front Coil of Bridge Pickup and Middle Pickup (Lead Tone Control)
Position 3. Middle Pickup (Lead Tone Control)
Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickups (Lead and Rhythm Tone Controls)
Position 5. Neck Pickup (Rhythm Tone Control)
Controls:
Master Volume
Tone 1. (Neck Pickup),
Tone 2. (Middle Pickup and Middle/Bridge Combination)
Colors:
(306) Black,
(325) Chrome Red,
(332) Brown Sunburst,
(375) Midnight Wine,
(380) Arctic White,
(387) Electron Blue,
(Polyester Finish)
Strings: Fender® Super Bullets® 3250L, Nickel Plated Steel, (.009 to .042)
Unique Features: Special Switching
Source: Mexico
Accessories: Standard Gig Bag, Truss Rod Adjustment Wrench, (3/16” Hex) Saddle Height Adjustment Wrench, (1.5mm Hex)
U.S. MSRP: $600.00
Price Paid: $330.00
INTRODUCED: 1/2006
DISCONTINUED: 11/2008
DISCONTINUED COLORS: (573) Midnight Blue, (1/2002), (387) Electron Blue, (11/2008)
COMMENTS: Upgraded in 1/2006 with internal cavity shielding, a higher mass bridge block, switch from Vintage to Medium Jumbo frets and the inclusion of a Standard Gig Bag, Switch to 3XX part number suffix.

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252

I think it has a polyester finish for my specific color......electron blue.. and the neck has a satin polester finish I think that's right? Right? All I can say for myself is reading is fundamental....

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Your Fender HSS Standard Stratocaster in Electron Blue was made at the Fender Ensenada Plant in Mexico in the Year: 2008.
Final Assembly Date: July 30th, 2008
Model Number: 013 4700 587
Serial # MZ8031252