I own an older 70's Strat, three bolt neck, I purchased it cheap years back because the previous owner removed the finish and painted it black (not a quality finish, it could be layers of spray paint I am not sure).

The guitar sounds good (why I bought it), and I like playing it - therefore it is a good candidate for refinish.

I am a fan of older colors (tradition 3 color sunburst or sonic blue (thx)) further I would not mind if the factory distressed it too.

The question I have is that I was wondering if anyone has a rough idea of the cost and time I would appreciate it.

I guess I would also just want to send the body to reduce overall cost.

Also would need to know how to send it to Fender (ie address).

you might consider sending it to the fine fellows at MJT unless you're bent on having Fender do it... you'll have to pay to have it stripped and refinished which is going to cost you, but their finish work is fantastic. I have two "relics" and one "closet clean" finished bodies of theirs. Have a look at their prices at the link below... I'm not sure where "layers of spray paint" will fall on their pricing list but I'd be willing to bet it's still WAY less than Fender would charge... assuming they'd do it. Turn around time for a new custom order MJT body is around a month, but I'd guess you'd have to tack on a little more time for the strip/refin. Just a thought... I have no idea if Fender really does strip/refin work. Somebody on here will know more about it than I do!

http://mjtagedfinishes.com/custom.htm







Here's a look at my three MJT "fenders"

You can start here: Fender Custom Care

Overall, the sunburst option may be impractical: you never know what will be found when the body is stripped to bare wood - it may not be suitable for burts finish at all.

Regarding the price, my gut feeling is that FCC won't be cheap but ask them for an estimate. But, there are a lot of alternative custom shops.

Polar blue..? I know Sonic, Daphne & Ice Metallic etc. but not that one.

Stripping the body is not big deal here is a picture and some of the stuff I used to strip down a 1999 62 AVRI strat body steel wool is real good for getting the finish off when using the stripper. As jmattis said the body once the finish is removed will tell you what finish you will be able to apply as a burst or clear/seethough will really show the grain, the body you see in the picture had dings and dents which may or may not have been able to sand out but imperfections will show. If looking for a vintage worn vibe then maybe the dents and dings on a burst would work into the the overall look, sooo?
good luck

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Fender (or the Custom Shop) don't do refinishes.

I think Honeythief is right, as far as I know, they don't do refins

If you are set on a sunburst finish but the body is too beat up, you could always do a "Faux burst"
http://jimshine.com/fauxbursts/fauxbursts.htm

_________________
Ted

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

It would be less hassle and probally cheaper to find a body like your after on ePay.

They don't, unless your last name is "Clapton", "Beck", "Guy", etc.

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Bill