Hi.

My trusted 1964 Strat is about to turn 50 and I thought I would like to treat her with a new period-correct nitro finish for the occasion. Obviously the original color is long gone. The guitar finish had sadly been stripped off when I purchased it in 1984 (same with scratch plate and various hardware - gone).

Is there a way to find out what the original finish color might have been from the Fender records? I am not sure that this is possible as I have heard that back then, records were not always kept properly (bodies assembled with plates and neck a bit randomly). I have checked cavities and it looks like it might have been Olympic White, but I cannot be 100% sure...

The serial number is L308** and the neck stamp says 2JUN64B.

Thank you in advance for your help. This is still a great guitar to play.

Marc

I'm certain that FEIC kept no detailed records back then -- you'll have to rely on whatever evidence you can glean from a close inspection of the body. The neck pocket, pickup routs, control cavity, and even the screw holes might reveal clues under a detailed scrutiny.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Thanks, Arjay.

This is what I thought, but the guy who is going to do the refin job told me it might be worth it contacting Fender. He indeed checked the screw holes and found some evidence of the original colour - problem is the guitar was repainted a few times, which makes the process a bit tricky...

Cheers,

Marc

If a definitive analysis remains elusive, then merely decide what color you would like to see the guitar painted in and proceed accordingly. Given the instrument's history, you can't do any harm. I would recommend that the chosen color be drawn from the '64 factory color chart -- that gives you an "out" if/when you decide to sell. IOW the guitar is a re-fin, but done in period-correct (insert color name here).

JMOOC......

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Hey.

Thanks for the advice. We are on the same wave length on all front. My gut feeling is that when I bought the guitar in 1984 there was some white to be seen in the cavities - 30 years ago is a long time and my memory is failing, but I think I'll go for that option. Olympic White is classy and it will never go out of style.

Cheers,

Marc

+1

You can't go wrong with Oly White -- either with a mint pickguard or tortoise shell.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Agree. It's mint right now and might get changed to a nice turtle shell in the future.

I agree,both p/g colors look great with Oly white and it's a classic color that never goes out of style.....it would look great redone like that.

got any friends in the chemical analysis or forensics field ?

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Most 64 I seen were 3 tone sunburst.

Also, if you seen a yellow stain in the cavities could have been the dye they dipped the alder in before sunbursting process. That was sprayed over the sealer coat. Fender usually skipped that dye in the solid color guitars and for custom colors they used a white primer undercoat. Again there was a lot of inconsistency.

Mine was daphne blue
Ted

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Ted

"All right, guys, uh, listen. This is a blues riff in "B", watch me for the changes, and try and keep up, okay?"

Thanks for the feedback, y'all!

Indeed, as we were looking for hints of paint in the screw holes, I couldn't help but compare this with the work of an archaeologist.

What's with this fascination for 1960ies Fender guitars?

Cheers,

Marc

Many agree the 60s were a golden age for a lot of things, including guitars.

The original color would not be found in the screw holes because they were drilled after the guitar was painted.

Paint in the screw holes is the way to tell that the guitar was refinished.

Your best bet for finding the original color is to check the body routes. That's because they aren't usually sanded completely bare for a refinish. You would have to try scraping the sides of the routes to see what colors you can find layer up.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.