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Is there a tried and tested way to relic a poly-finished guitar?
I have a 1996 strat in vintage white (or custard yellow, depending on your viewpoint) which has a bit of natural wear to it. However, poly being poly, that ‘wear’ is essentially just chipped paint and dings. The neck and fretboard already have some nice looking wear to them, so I’ll be leaving them well alone.
I’d like to try relic’ing the body just a little bit - nothing severe. Is there a way to do this with a poly finish? I have a bunch of wet and dry sandpaper in various grades which might come in handy, but I didn’t want to just recklessly start down this path of no return without seeing if anyone else had tried this with decent results.
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If it’s a mid-90s Fender it will have a block and veneer body, and if you sand through to it it will look like shit.
Just leave it alone as a nice naturally worn 24-year-old guitar.
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I'm not bothered about relicing as such, but I'd like a nitro finished strat and I can't be arsed buying another as this (almost) ticks all boxes.
Is it worth me doing it??? What do we think chums???
All I did was to sandpaper the edges of the guitar to bare wood to give the appearance of arm wear. Easy to do on a Tele as the edges aren't rounded off - I wouldn't try it on a Strat,
Anyway, if you wait long enough the fashion for things that look old and knackered will pass, and then you'll be pleased they finished it in something properly hard-wearing .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Do you mean the fender CS are nitro over some kind of poly?
So were the originals - the Fullerplast sealer they used is a type of polyester.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I wonder if the poly on a CP 60s is polyester then or something else...
As long as you don't want nitro style crazing and the look of a worn through coat of thin nitro, it is possible to get something that looks as good as a lot of the relic finishes on the market. But you wont get it like the most authentic looking ones easily from this starting point, and it is easy to mess it up totally.
I would avoid too much heavy wear and keep it subtle. Focus on the patina rather than damage. I would suggest taking most of the gloss off with very fine abrasive (2000g wet and dry, 0000 liberon wire wool.... some will say green scouring pad), then re-polish imperfectly by hand. best done after you have done any damage you want to do, as it helps solve any sharp edges in the finish.
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"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein