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Post subject: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:17 pm
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I just picked up a Strat Plus Deluxe in the rare Firestorm finish. In this thread I would like to talk about the Firestorm finish and also about this guitar in particular. Before buying the guitar I asked some questions about it and the seller told me it was a bit dull. He was selling it for another person and saw it for only a short time and took some pictures of it (that is how the story goes.) Here are the picts from the advertisement of the guitar.

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These guitars are fairly rare. Seems like Fender made a number of them around 1990 to 1991. And of course there are stories surrounding this finish—and it is hard to know what to believe. It was used on the Version-1 Tele Plus, The Strat Plus, The Strat Plus Deluxe (as this one) and the Strat Ultra. There is rumors that there was this same finish in a blue but it has yet to be verified by Fender or by any pictures. As we go on I will talk more about this finish and show some close-ups from under the hood as we deal with the vitiation of this guitar.

When I got the guitar, sure enough it was very dull. There was also some other suspicious things going on with it as well. So now it was time to do a CSI and time for some implementation of the latest guitar forensics. :wink: As the evidence came forward, it was realized that this guitar suffered under the hands of some idiot! The reason the guitar was dull was do to small microscopic scratches over the whole body. Under closer inspection I found some fibers on the pickguard and the bridge — it was steel wool! (I tested it and it was attracted by a magnet.) So someone had rubbed the whole body down with steel wool! (even the pickguard and back plate!) Examine the pictures below:

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Take a look at the scuffing that is all over this body! I can't believe someone would do something like this to such a rare finish. :? :roll: BTW, I will take you through a step by step process of fixing this guitar. Shame on someone for doing this, but there is hope.

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Now it was time to do a closer examination. I opened the hood, wearing sterile rubber gloves and surgical mask (just joking) and found a waxy paste under the pickguard and in the back term block route. Yuck. :cry: Looked like automotive rubbing/wax compound. What a mess! In fact if you look at the one picture you will see someone used a buff pad on this as there was cloth fibers down in the routes as well.

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Then it turns out there was some other issues as well. Someone had stripped the finish off the neck except the front of the headstock (to preserve the Fender logo and serial number) There was no finish on the fretboard at all. And the frets were coarsely filed. There was some lacquer build up in the truss rod hole as well, evidence of a refinish job.

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The first thing to do was to professional buff the whole body with a good-grade, mildly abrasive polishing compound, followed by some pinky-winky fine polish swirl-mark remover. The body lustered up to a beautiful shine and the compound removed the shallow scratches from the steel wool and the other idiotic attempt to polish the guitar with something very weird… Not done with the polishing of this body either. This was just step one!

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More to come…. and also back to the build thread started in December. My new neck for that project comes in tomorrow, so the Mystic Black Strat can be finished as well!

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:54 pm
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Awesome. I love these type of threads! Thanks for sharing more of your adventures with those of us "who can't" or "not sure if we're brave enough to attempt it" types. (me) :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:00 pm
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This is a beautiful guitar!



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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:04 pm
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Really Nice guitar. Bummer about the finish on the neck.

I think I saw a pic of a blue one before, but I might be misremembering.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:35 am
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Beautiful guitar. The bridge is the deluxe non-locking pop-in type actually found on the American Deluxe series. It was a very common option on Deluxe Pluses and Ultras manufactured between 1989 and 1993.

Tim Renwick used a similar guitar during the Division Bell tour, having a Shoreline Gold finish and a rosewood neck with an LSR roller nut.

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:56 am
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Rare finish indeed. I have only seen one or two in my travels.

Too bad the owner(s) did what they did, but I have a feeling that
Mr X will make it beautiful again.

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:08 am
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You go, Mr. X! Keep fighting the good fight!

Looking forward to more progress reports as you go.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:39 pm
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Your the one who won it? I was out bidded by $20 on thst guitar . Sure is pretty


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:42 pm
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goodinbed wrote:
Your the one who won it? I was out bidded by $20 on this guitar . Sure is pretty

I think if we are talking the same guitar you could have been outbid buy a lot more than $20! My snipe was way higher than what it sold for. Really, for a Firestorm, that was a pretty good deal. I saw a body only sell for $1200 month or so ago. But be thankful you did not inherit all these issues too!

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:01 pm
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That's the first time I've seen that finish,I've heard about it though...just read something last week about some well known player having one.
I'm glad to see it's getting TLC after the idiotic things that have been done to it...it's beautiful.


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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:09 am
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Miami Mike wrote:
Too bad the owner(s) did what they did, but I have a feeling that
Mr X will make it beautiful again.

Me too! :D

I'm digging the forensics, BTW.

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:43 pm
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The surgical mask in on, hemostat & gauze in place..... I started looks over the neck on this. I decided to try to get the face of the neck to match the rest of the look by tinting it a little bit and then putting some finish on it. Right now I am making sure there are no remaining bits of finish on the neck so when the stain is applied and wiped down, it sill stick evenly. By sanding it like this I am also getting out the rough fret filing marks on the sides of the fret. Poor amateur job someone did! Then it needs to dry for a day and then a seal coat put over it. More to come!!

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:13 pm
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Ceri wrote:
Miami Mike wrote:
Too bad the owner(s) did what they did, but I have a feeling that
Mr X will make it beautiful again.

Me too! :D

I'm digging the forensics, BTW.

Cheers - C


The forensics rock and he's getting the suspense
verbage to go along with it better now too! :D

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:25 pm
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I've never seen a finish like this. Is it capped with flame maple, pieced together to form the "burst"?

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Post subject: Re: Strat Plus DX in Rare Firestorm Finish - CSI Forensics
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:30 pm
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Hollis Prince wrote:
I've never seen a finish like this. Is it capped with flame maple, pieced together to form the "burst"?

I will be discussing this finish more tomorrow! STAY TUNED!!!

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