I have a cream colored 04 mexican strat i bought used awhile back and ever since i bought it ive noticed the paint is yellowing.... sort of puddling around some of the edges of the guitar. ive tried rubbing it with a soft cloth thinking it may be just body oils or something to no avail... please help!!!

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--Hillbilly
Proud member of the 2 or 3 club

You may try rubbing Very Very Gently with an automotive rubbing compound,first in a small inconspicuous area that may do the trick.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

+1. That's the only thing that might help.

But it probably won't. The polyester binder in the finish of a Mexican Strat is pretty light stable: it won't be yellowing in just six years.

It will be the white pigment itself that is turning yellow in reaction to UV. There probably isn't a clearcoat on top of this Mexican finish so you can simply rub the top most layer of the paint away with cutting compound and that will probably turn it white again for a while - but only until the light gets to it again.

Fender produce different whites. This might be Olympic White, which is known for its yellowing characteristics. That's what some people like about it - and some people don't:

http://www.fender.com/support/colorchar ... te&color=6

No long term solution to this except to get a different white guitar. We've sometimes had people here complaining that their Arctic White Strats are not yellowing fast enough for their fancy. That's probably the one to go for...

Cheers - C