Harry,

I have a MIA same color and neck. Personally, I like them to stay as pretty and new as they can. But you just play them and treat them right and hope for the best.

I realize some folks like worn look.

The old nitro finish "olympic whites" actually turned a kind of creme yellow over the years due to exposure to UV light and the elements. The current color "vintage white" resembles a aged nitro finish olympic white.

OL

I have a 60s reissue road worn I bought cheap to resell but kept it due to the feel of the neck finish, body comfort against clothing and I really like the pickups. The sound of the one I have is great. I love the guitar and don't care if it looks trashed. I did try to clean it up as much as you would an old beater. They really give those guitars the works.

Thomas

According to the specs, the Highway One models have a nitro finish (albeit, as has been noted, with a poly undercoat), and the American Specials have a poly finish on the body (same as the American Standard).

If in doubt, just check the specs for each model when you look up its individual entry - all the info is there, on this very website.

I've only had my Highway One since August 2009, bought brand new, and there are already slight signs of wear on the 'armrest' area of the body, and a little oxidation on the saddle for the sixth string.

Unless you have a Nitro finish, your guitar will never look like that. That's the result of abuse or sanding it down. Rarely will you see that in guitar made in the past 25 years because finishes are being made to last....

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Bit of a NOOB question, but is a Satin Finish Nitro or Poly?

I hav 2003 MIM Satin Finish Strat in Candy Apple Red, I would like it to wear with age, it has a few dings (when my strap used to fall off) but I dont really see much wear on the body, such as armrest wear and at the moment it is my most frequently used guitar.

well years of playing but it also depends on the person

do they put the guitar in a case or leave it on a stand or some where else, where do they live, how often do the play, are they careful with it and in some cases where have someone found it, in a closet or in their attic where animals chew on it

i like old looking roughed up guitars. I just saw a gibson L1 with half the sunburst color worn off and i thought it was the greatest looking guitar ever, it had a history it wasnt just one of these guitars that rolled of the production line like today

I think it's Poly, but I don't know for sure.

To the OP,

If you want your guitar to look like that you'll need,
1. To buy a Nitro finished guitar.
2. To learn to do this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMW0t17Ft5o

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That should do the trick. Either that or drag it down a gravel road behind the car.

Thomas

I've seen that on youtube! Unbelievable!

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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My last strat, I babied like... a baby.
The Ebony I just got is not going back into the case unless it's being transported somewhere via plane. I intend to "relic" it on my own.




Will post an "after" photo in a few decades.

Look at this. I mean, come on, just look at it..

This is what the Strat is all about. At the risk of sounding fanciful, a heavily worn Strat is the true, definitive embodiment of the spirit of Rock n Roll. Forget your Elvis or Cochran pics, this is the real deal. Here is that rarest of things - a physical manifestation of an attitude and an era. When youth was king and your parents didnt get it, and this incredible rocket ship guitar was going to take you to the moon and back..

When merely a photograph of such a familiar icon can still move me, even when I have Strats all around me, well it's probably why I keep coming to this Forum - less about sharing experiences or chewing the fat, and maybe more about paying homage..

Oh and to those who don't 'get' relic'ed instruments (and I really do respect that view), who wouldn't want to acquire such an incredible piece of art straight out of the box?

_________________
Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I might have little company, but count me in as one who wouldn't want one artificially worn.

Fog you can count me in that company. I love the look of a guitar that has had the $@!& played out of it but it has to be natural. I do not care for artificial relics. I remember a picture sometime back in which someone had three Road Worn guitars on a bed in three different colors and you can see all the relicing done to them was in the same spots. If you are going to get a guitar like that just get one.

I'm with the majority here. I like the look, but store bought mojo is just fake! Play the damn thing like ya stole it and in a decade or two, it'll look like it has stories to tell because it does!

_________________
60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

Harry,

well I have a 2005 American Standard Hardtail and want to repaint my body. you know why? not because nitro is cool and I can age it better or I want another cool color...it's because of the tone!! look how mumified your wood is with this THICK undercoat. no way to breath through THAT!