A
'55 Tele and A '65 Strat
This pair was finished by Tom
Lipp using the Butterscotch Blonde for the Tele and the new Sunburst kit
for the Strat. Here is Tom's description;
At long last here they
are: the Stratocaster is a 1965, my first good guitar; the Telecaster is
a 1955 (this one was acquired in a trade for a 1976 Gibson Explorer). The
Strat was originally sunburst and in poor condition in 1974. Of course
being 15 years old making it look good was more important then keeping
it original, so I sent it to "Strings and Things" in Memphis, Tenn. and
they painted it black. The last few years I've been looking to return it
to it's original color, so when I came upon your website I was pleasantly
surprised and eager, although skeptical, about doing it myself. As a test
case for your sunburst spray system all I can say is the pictures speak
for themselves. The colors are right on based on old pictures of the guitar.
Your product and instructions worked perfectly.
Although the original color of
the Telecaster when I got it was natural, I'm pretty sure it had been refinished.
The only discernible color I found was black, although rare for 1955, I've
found out it was available. I preferred the butterscotch blonde over the
other common colors offered in 55' so hence the choice. I was not the least
bit disappointed. The pickguard is from Fender and really rounds out the
look I was going for. As far as the finishing process goes I followed your
instructions and voila.
I used your woodgrain filler and
a precatalyzed nitrocellulose lacquer which has a hardener in it which
speeds up drying time. The product came from Coronodo Paints. It was applied
with a HVLP spraygun. The only problem I ran into was humidity induced
blushing which was easily remedied by lightly spraying it with thinner.
I sanded between each coat and from 400 to 2000 for the final finishing.
I followed up by polishing with Finesse It II, and that was it.
Thanks for all your assistance,
it was very helpful and informative. Having completed two guitars I would
not hesitate doing others or recommending your product to anyone else,
which I have already done. Thanks again.
Sincerely, Tom Lipp
Tom, When you started I had no
idea of the age of the Strat and Tele. Now that you've finished them you
appear to have two "Heirloom" level guitars. Thanks for the support and
the help with the Sunburst.
Back
to Guitar ReRanch Home