Relic poly body..please help

Hey,

Just bought a second hand US tele. Lovely beige colour with a rosewood neck, and since i already have some lovely teles and a 51 nocaster, im gona treat this one as a little project. I'm sure this has been done to death round here so maybe someone can point me to an old thread?

Really what im looking to do is take the real shine off the poly finish and give it a nice checked effect. I've read about people freezing the body overnight, does this work for poly or only nitro?

Cheers lads

FB

Unfortunately, poly doesn't check like that, only nitro does.

The only way you will checker poly is with an Xacto knife.

Unfortunately, poly doesn't check like that, only nitro does.

Thanks guys - anything i can do to take off the shine? At least make it look a bit older?

Thanks guys - anything i can do to take off the shine? At least make it look a bit older?

Take a look at this method: Dulling Poly Finished Guitars PIC HEAVY!! (http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/17007-dulling-poly-finished-guitars-pic-heavy.html)

Thanks guys - anything i can do to take off the shine? At least make it look a bit older?

0000 steel wool is probably your best bet.

Hey,

Just bought a second hand US tele. Lovely beige colour with a rosewood neck, and since i already have some lovely teles and a 51 nocaster, im gona treat this one as a little project. I'm sure this has been done to death round here so maybe someone can point me to an old thread?

Really what im looking to do is take the real shine off the poly finish and give it a nice checked effect. I've read about people freezing the body overnight, does this work for poly or only nitro?

Cheers lads

FB

How pedantic do you need to be to artificially age a guitar?

There's too many "guitarists" (guitar owners) around that have more interest in looking at, relicing and artificially aging their guitars, than they have in actually playing them!

:mrgreen:

Unfortunately, poly doesn't check like that, only nitro does.

Nitro and acrylic!

If you do get poly to crack, it's gonna be huge long ugly looking cracks. Not hairline cracks like lacquer does.

Just sell that telecaster to someone that isnt going to ruin it, and track down a nice highway one tele. It'll age on its own pretty quickly because of the lacquer finish.

Eh, who cares if he wants to relic it a bit?

Go look at Steve Vai's "Evo" if you want to see how a poly guitar relics for real.

there many ways we get our kicks playing with guitars....
if it floats your boat making it look as though it has been around the block a few times, what is the big deal?? who said it was the ultimate to actually play the guitar anyhow. i know plenty of guys who just like to own them and can barely play a note... it is cool to play with a guitar even if you cant play

what ever kind of fun you get out of your guitar is just as valid as what the next guy gets out of it

playing it, setting it on fire and shooting it full of buckshot holes, sanding off the corners and bashing it around with a clump of keys, dragging it around on a chain behind a ute, polishing and cleaning it everyday

the op is looking for advice and my advice is to hit that lil sucker with steel wool or abrasive pads till you get the look you are happy with - while you are doing it you will be having fun and enjoyment which is what this whole deal is about anyway - and by the way there is a lot of finish there if it is poly so you can hit it as hard as you like - it will take a lot of work to get through that finish

just as an side i have seen crazing jobs done on poly that look totally amazing - a lot of painstaking work with a scalpel but looking at the job it looks very realistic - seen a post on this somewhere recently - to see it you really have to admire the artistry that went into it

it does not increase the pool of knowledge sitting back sniping at people that see things differently to you

Just go for it!

old picker, you really hit the nail on the head. But some folks here just aren't happy unless they're pissing on someone else's parade... it's too bad.

And to the OP, I've seen guys have great success breaking the gloss with steel wool, but it didn't do well for me. I used a combination of small orbital sander (with a worn disc) & hand sanding to cut the gloss on my MiM Strat, and then mildly waxed it to get a hint of shine back.

old picker, you really hit the nail on the head. But some folks here just aren't happy unless they're pissing on someone else's parade... it's too bad.


+1

I used a green scotchbrite type pad on my Gretsch 512x hollow body (forget the model nimber now). Came out great especially after the mild polish in key areas of high use. Instead of just a uniform matt finish. This makes it look a bit more realistic and adds depth to the effect IMO.

The "vintage" brand and the Fender Joe Strummer don't look realistic to me because the matt finish is even all over. As soon as you polish up some areas it looks way better.

I did it with a "Vintage" tele. Very happy with the results.