What color to refinish my beater Strat?

Okay, so last year I stumbled onto a cheap, generic older Squier Strat at a pawn shop. I paid $35 for it.

It's actually a decent guitar and I love the neck on it.

I am not much of a Strat guy, but I have bonded with this one. It's just a run-of-the-mill black Strat, white pickguard, rosewood neck:

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k112/GriffisH/StratFull1.jpg

Classic, but also pretty boring. On top of that, the finish is just beat to hell. When I got it it was covered in stickers and goo and it has chunks of finish missing in places and little scratches and dings everywhere.

I recently got a loaded MIA pickguard from some 2002 American Strat model and I plan on installing it in this Strat. The loaded guard is mint/black/mint 3-ply.

Bearing in mind the fingerboard is rosewood and the pickguard will be mint, what color do you think would look good for the body?

I'm thinking I could go with:

1. Keep it as it is--it's relic'd! Maybe buff out the black paint a little so it's less glossy and shows fewer scratches. (Black looks a little sharper with mint over white IMO.)

2. Oly White. Looks GREAT on a rosewood-necked, mint-guard Strat. I prefer creamier, more vintage off-white to the more pure Olympic white, but again, with the mint guard I think creamier whites wouldn't look so hot.

3. Sonic Blue (or even more pale)--I recently played a H/H Strat (I think it was a "Pawn Shop" model) that was Sonic Blue with a mint guard and it looked killer.

4. Gold. I think certain gold tones would look nice with the RW neck and mint guard. A gold along the lines of this:
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k112/GriffisH/GoldStrat.jpg

...so, those are pretty much the only colors I'm considering now. I like a lot of other Fender pastel and metallic finishes, but some of them I don't think look as good with a mint pickguard.

For instance, I love Surf Green and Ocean Turquoise Metallic, but I think those colors, having so much green already, would offest the mint color of the pickguard in a way that would make them clash.

I don't know. I'd like to hear suggestions and what you people might choose. Feel free to throw up some pics of your Strats or Strats you dig in different colors with the RW neck and mint guard. I'm not dead set on the above choices, but I can't think of any others that move me at the moment.

Thanks!

I have to say that the gold finish looks sharp. But I've wanted an old gold finished guitar for about two years now, so I might be biased. After that it's a tie between black and white.

I could go for a color halfway between Surf Green and Sherwood green with a mint pick guard. Would be a 2 tone green kind of thing. I'm a sucker for a nice green, one of my favorite colors.

I have a Kenny Wayne Shepherd MIM; White with Mint Green pickguard. I think it looks pretty good. Plenty of images of them at MF and others.

I like the shoreline gold, but it's a hard color to get good results due to the metallic.

you said you bonded i would leave it alone and buy another "pawn shop" one for your project you can never have too many guitars

Gold over black....let time relic out...

you said you bonded i would leave it alone and buy another "pawn shop" one for your project you can never have too many guitars

:cool:

That ain't a band idear at all, except as I say, I'm not that much of a Strat guy. I dig this one, but doubt I'd end up with more than one Strat. I'm not a Strat hater by any stretch, and I've owned at least a dozen good Strats over the years; I just don't really care to own more than one.

As far as having "too many" ...well, I try to keep it minimal these days. I've been through the deal of having tons and tons of gear. These days I honestly, actively DO NOT WANT more than 3-4 electric guitars (if that) particularly since I always want to have at least one acoustic and one bass also.

I got sick of my place looking like a Music-Go-Round store.

But for those with huge collections, more power to you! I think that's cool as all get-out and I think people should own whatever they want. I just don't want that much "stuff" in my life anymore.

1st option: Gold
2nd option: Sonic blue

Seafoam green or shoreline gold. Personally I'd probably pick gold.

olympic.

Oly white...

Shoreline is barely gold, IMHO. Aztec gold! Now, that's gold.

I'd leave it the way it is - it will get even better looking as time goes by.

A tortiseshell pickguard would really make it look sharp. A gold pickguard would be interesting.

Burgundy Mist.:cool:

Why'd you have to go and pick the best colors?

Sonic Blue looks killer with rosewood. For that matter so does that gold. Arctic or Oly White also, a great choice.

I'd pick sonic blue. Or gold. aaargh!

I'm in with the leave it as is camp, looks good the way it is to me.

Why'd you have to go and pick the best colors?

Sonic Blue looks killer with rosewood. For that matter so does that gold. Arctic or Oly White also, a great choice.

I'd pick sonic blue. Or gold. aaargh!

Yup, I'm having the same problem. Although I do believe he missed two crucial colors; Lake Placid Blue and Sherwood Green.

Charger Green!

For me, it's a tie between Leave-It-As-It-Is and Olympic White.

Another vote for sonic blue.

It's my favourite colour for a strat.

Sonic Blue!

SURF GREEN !!!!!!!!!!


in 2nd, Daphne Blue.

gold with aged plastic parts like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TwnKuqDYQw&feature=related

Seafoam green or shoreline gold. Personally I'd probably pick gold.

Seafoam Strat with a white p/g and maple neck? Priceless.