I've got a question and was wondering if anyone can help. Looking at the old 50s strats,I have noticed that the wood and hardware all looks 50 years old but all the whites parts pickguard, knobs etc... still look pretty white and not yellowed at all. Is it due to the material?

Do You Mean The Reissues Or The Originals ?

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Vintage Hotrod '57 Strat, 81 G&L L2000 Series E Bass, Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp.

Originals, like this one
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/54strat.html

The wear and look of the pickup covers and knobs looks right.

Yellowing comes from light and stuff in the atmosphere. If the guitar didn't spend any time in a bar or exposed to sun light, than it might not have any discoloration.

I've seen other old Strat with plastic parts that white.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

hey there paris,
that 96 blue strat u got was it an anniversary model? 50th?
probably not going by the colour.
let me know please

No it's not. In fact one of my pet peeves are people who claim to have "Anniversary" Strats and Teles that aren’t. The little gold oval, "Fender 50th" or little round metal disk with, "60 over top of a diamond” are not "Anniversary" models. Every Fender instrument during those two years got the little emblems. There is nothing special about them.

The blue Strat I own is just that, a ’96 Daphne blue Strat. I do own a '04 50th Anniversary American Series Strat. That guitar is an actual “Anniversary” model Fender Strat. It’s a great guitar too.
When Fender made those guitars they really did a great job. The 2-color sunburst looks just like the ones that Fender did in ’54. The pickups sound wonderful and the neck and fret dressing is spot on.
My only complaint is that Fender went with a parchment single ply, beveled edge pick guard. I swapped it out with a perloid pick guard.
The ’96 Daphne blue Strat I bought on a whim. I never played it much and ended up giving it to my cousin.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

Yes.

Fender used different types of plastic over the years. Some of it was more brittle. Some of it stayed quite white. Some of it discolored more easily.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.