I am in touch with someone who has answered a craig's list post I put up about trading a Gibson Les Paul I have for a Fender Stratocaster. He claims the Strat is a natural wood finish with a white pick guard and original pups. He is refinishing it since he says it had a few nicks in the poly. My questions are did Fender make a natural finish (USA Deluxe or Plus he wasn't sure) in 1996? And does refinishing it devalue the guitar at all? I hope to have more info tomorrow as I am going to check it out but wanted to know these things before going there.
Thanks in advance.

I don't recall there being any natural finished American Strats in 1996 unless it was a special edition. The reason there weren't any natural finished ones was because Fender USA was using veneers on the top and back of the sunburst models to hide the mismatched alder or poplar bodies. Maybe someone else has more details. Pics would help a LOT!!!!

However, one thing I do know is that a refinish to a 1996 Strat will devalue the guitar. How can you be certain this guy knows what he is doing? He could end up doing a crappy job. The more original a guitar is, the more the resale value. What's wrong with a few nicks in the poly???

What model Les Paul are you considering trading? In my opinion, if it's anything above a Studio then that guy is getting the better end of the deal in terms of money.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Even if your LP is a Studio model, I would not trade for a 15 year old, beat up strat. especially if some joker is going to repaint it. The strat won't be worth squat after the refinish......even a beat up LP is worth more than that....unless of course your LP has a headstock repair. Then I'd say it would be about a fair trade

Thanks for the replies, I haven't seen this yet I’m going tomorrow to check it out. He says he is a carpenter and has plenty of experience with doing refinishing, I guess time will tell. I had a feeling there weren’t any natural finish American strats. The LP I'm looking to trade is a studio and in near mint condition.

Actually I'm pretty sure that the Strat Plus Deluxe was available in a natural finish during the 1990s; they were pretty rare and pretty heavy since they had a solid ash body instead of an alder body with ash veneers. What I'm not sure of is if they were available in 1996; I know I've seen 1993s and 1994s in natural - they had the "modern" headstock decal with the serial number on the front (Fender changed to the "spaghetti" logo and put the serial numbers on the back of the headstock in 1995).

If your LP Studio is in as good a shape as you said, you should keep it. No way would I trade a near mint Gibson LP Studio for a 15 year old strat, especially if this "carpenter" repaints it. But you will have to play this strat, and see how it feels and sounds......maybe it will speak to you. If your LP is a glossy finished model ( not the faded model ) you will be losing out in the trade for sure. I'd say keep your LP and just save up to buy a Strat. You may find a used one for cheap!

Personally I would deem a trade involving your unaltered Les Paul Studio for a refinished strat unfair. Refinishes really do hurt resale value.

Either trade it for the unaltered strat (of which you will have to be the judge of whether the finish is original or not AND if you find it plays better than the Les Paul), or hang on to your Les Paul for a different deal. I would suggest the latter.

If you posted this guitar on craigslist, I'm assuming your selling it - right? Why not wait for a cash offer to roll along, then the ball is in your court to put the money toward any strat you like.