Refinishing someone's "Relic"?

I just got a nice playing MIM Power Tele for $260. I think it's a good deal, as I like the sound and play of it. I got it at this price point because who ever had it last tried to relic it... they sanded the candy red color and revealed a gold underneath. They also made various gauges. Nothing that bothers me really, as I like used instruments, and inexpensive one too. My question is this: Can I prime this thing gray, and paint over in another solid color (Lake Placid Blue?) using cans of spray paint? Should I strip it down to the bare wood, fill the gauges, or just clean with alchohol and paint it? I have never done this before, and it really can't look worse than it does now, so custom shop finish isn't the point. I have looked through the forum here just enough to wonder if it's that simple. Thanks for your thoughts. I'll post pics later tonight as a reference.

I'd sand before refinishing it...

The good news is that if you're not too picky about the finish, that means you don't have to be too fussy on the fine sanding!

I picked up a Squier Strat for $40 because a friend of mine sanded his down to relic it and couldn't finish it. I finished sanding it, and clearcoated it, and got me a fine player for cheap!

I would like to hear more on painting a guitar myself. Need some of you people that have done the painting jump in here.

Here it is.. what do you think...?

I'd just scuff and shoot. Where the gouges are, just ruff 'em up a bit with a screwdriver.
I did this one with Dupilcolor Aqua. I just painted right over the sunburst after scuffing.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs236.snc1/8329_1107960630824_1581060695_30236338_927333_n.jp g

Any benefit to take it to bare wood? Should I prime with gray primer (in a can), then final color from spray paint in a can?

If you go to bare wood you'll just have to put all that right back on. No benefit that I can see. Some will say that they can hear the difference of a thinner finish but I doubt that.

Any benefit to take it to bare wood? Should I prime with gray primer (in a can), then final color from spray paint in a can?

I agree that scuffing the paint and going over what you have there is going to be the easiest. If you want to fill the gouges, get yourself some bondo from an auto parts store. I think most here agree it's one of the better ways to handle nicks and gouges.

Before you do anything, you should read ReRanch 101 a few times. It's a good tutorial on refinishing a guitar using nitro lacquer, but a lot of the info holds true for any type of finish you're considering. I've found nitro to be really easy to work with, but I've seen some great paint jobs done with Krylon and Rustoleum enamels.

Here's a link to ReRanch's tutorial:

http://reranch.com/basics.htm

There's a lot of info there, so I'd recommend reading it two or three times. It will answer a lot of your questions, but will undoubtedly lead to more.

There's a good discussion board there too.

I agree that scuffing the paint and going over what you have there is going to be the easiest. If you want to fill the gouges, get yourself some bondo from an auto parts store. I think most here agree it's one of the better ways to handle nicks and gouges.

Before you do anything, you should read ReRanch 101 a few times. It's a good tutorial on refinishing a guitar using nitro lacquer, but a lot of the info holds true for any type of finish you're considering. I've found nitro to be really easy to work with, but I've seen some great paint jobs done with Krylon and Rustoleum enamels.

Here's a link to ReRanch's tutorial:

http://reranch.com/basics.htm

There's a lot of info there, so I'd recommend reading it two or three times. It will answer a lot of your questions, but will undoubtedly lead to more.

There's a good discussion board there too.

You know, I saw someone else reference this on a nother thread, and forgot to investigate further. Thanks for the reference, I will look there before proceding. Thanks very much for your input, everyone.

So we're coming full circle. Refinish a relic. I like it a lot.

You could do what I did with a relic I bought. I stripped it to the bare wood and sold the body. Then I put the dulled up hardware on a guitar I was selling. I actually did keep the neck and one of the pickups but those are going to be sold soon too I bet.

In other words you can strip it down or rough it up. Either will be ok. You can see that fezz's sure turned out great but with that color, how could you lose? Or you could sell it and buy a new bare body.

So we're coming full circle. Refinish a relic. I like it a lot.


Wasn't that a popular sport from the 1950's through the 1970's? Musicians (especially the pros) wanted shiny new-looking guitars and aura of prosperity, not "down and out."

Fender and Gibson offered this as a factory service.