Restoring Original Finish Burst

I have an early 2000's '62 RI. I got it 95% stripped. I want to restore it to it's original finish. I want to do is correctly so I would like input from you all here on every step. TIA

First I would like some confirmation about what the factory Fender finish was.
I think it was a burst because the colors that are in the grain seem to be black and red. The edges and cavities were the only places that were not bare wood when I got it.

Please let me know if you think my guess is correct..

See pictures.

Thanks!http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd515/azscr4mbl3r/UNK%20Strat/gf.jpg


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http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd515/azscr4mbl3r/UNK%20Strat/ofin5.jpg

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http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd515/azscr4mbl3r/UNK%20Strat/mrout2.jpg

P.S. on the bottom picture the black mark on the left is a fender sticker and the mark on the right is a sharpie mark that I think says TUQ for turquiose I had assumed is was repainted TUQ by a second party paint shop but I read that sometimes fender repainted bodies...

Soo what is the closest sealer to what fender used we can use?

Help!

TIA

-Allen

Bueller?

No idea, but here's a bump for you!

Thanks! I was starting to think I wrote this with invisible ink.. LOL I had hoped to have a nice how to for a beginner since that is what I am.. It is hard finding and patching together all the threads here to make them work for your specific project. I thought Colt's how to from Texas was the best ever on the web very very detailed Kudos to him for taking the time and effort... But he knows what he is doing... This will hopefully be a good how to for those that have never...

Thanks for the bump :)

-Allen

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd515/azscr4mbl3r/UNK%20Strat/DSCF0012.jpg

Sealer I bought and used on a Mahogany body Water, acrylic polymer and Esther alcohol,Ethylene Glycol... says the label...from Ace Hardware water based or oil based I think were my choices.. Water seemed more like Vinyl than oil soooo..

TIA

-Allen

Fenders Dirty Little Secret - by Jim Cara,, Cara Guitars - USA's Original Hot Rod Guitar Shop
The Plastic Coating of Guitars since 1963

Fact:
All Fender Guitars made since 1963 are Polyester coated. Lacquer is put on top of the poly to satisfy the general publics belief that Nitro Cellulose (nitro) Lacquer finished guitars "breathe", "dry" and generally have become the bottom line for creating great tome. I'm talking USA, Vintage collectable instruments that the general public has bought, traded, and sold for over 50 years. They came from the Fender factory with a hard plastic jacket underneath it. a suffocating wolf, masquerading under a cloak of Lacquer Fender later switched to 100% Poly and UltraViolet cured resin on Squire, Mexican, Japanese, some USA and all other imports till this day.

Fact:
The two-part catalyzed coating named "Fullerplast" (Fuller for Fuller O'Brien, the products creator, and plast for the obvious PLASTIC"), solved all of Fenders finishing problems; encasing the deep wood pores in a self-hardening plastic that wrapped the body in a rock-hard solid coffin. In some cases we have found it to be as thick as a.060 string. Yes, all of the wood moisture and characteristics are sealed in a virtual time-capsule, only to be vented from the body through screw holes and paint fractures. Share this info and be the hit of your next guitar gathering!


Fact:
Fender rarely mentions Fullerplast, or the way it prepares its bodies before applying Lacquer. If they mention it at all
So, when someone tells you that a Fender "nitro-cellulose" or "nitro" finished guitar will sound better, have more warmth, or will dry out... they really don't have the full story.


<---see the poly under the lacquer on the 60s era guitar

<---- Here's a Tele, getting ready to be coated in Fullerplast

Ask any seasoned guitar craftsman what happens when you will apply paint stripper to a Fender "nitro" finish. The nitro color comes off within minutes, leaving the guitar with a rock-hard plastic coating that can not be removed with any chemical means. Sandpaper barely scratches this coating, but will remove it with mechanical help. Heat Guns will remove the coating, but not by softening it. Apply heat to the Fullerplast coating and it will remain solid until about 300F, at which time it will crack, and pop off of the guitar.

It's a fact, , its scientific, and it's the skeleton in Fenders closet, that they never want to be seen. They have kept it locked away like a bastard child, allowing players, collectors, and experts to spread the "nitro" legend as the holy-grail of tone!

When did Fender start the plastic coating process, and why?

Most experts agree that Fullerplast was started to be used by Fender in 1963
There are many experts that are willing to share the facts with the guitar community, just as I am.

The most time consuming part of finishing a solid guitar body, is the process of filling the wood pores, and allowing the paint to lay flay, with a gloss found on Grand Pianos, or automobiles. Fender needed a fast and easy solution in order speed up production during the guitar craze of the early 1960s. Encasing the wood in a smooth, hard, "glass" jacket would eliminate up to 20 hours in each body prep. Fender even experimented with a hot dip that resembled a candy apple method. The problem was that the dip mixture would need to be at a temperature that would damage the wood, or cause body moisture to create "steam pops" in the coating

When Fender switched to Alder (from Ash) as it's primary body wood in mid 1956, many books and authorities state Fender started using the product called "Fullerplast" This is a very misunderstood product. For example, there is a picture in Tom Wheeler's American Guitars, page 54 (upper left corner), of a man with long rubber gloves dipping bodies into a tank at Fender in the late 1950's. The description incorrectly denotes the man is applying Fullerplast to the bodies. Most likely, this man is staining the Alder bodies yellow, a process used on Alder from 1956 and later before spraying the sunburst finish.. Thanks to VintageGuitarHQ for this info


Fullerplast is a clear, sprayed chemically curing sealer, unaffected by solvents after it dries. It's invention is often given credit to Fuller O'Brien (but often though to be named after the city of Fullerton, the home of Fender) Whether either is the case, it is now manufactured and distributed by Van Dee

Fullerplast soaks into the wood and creates a seal that prevents following coats from soaking into the wood like a sponge. This means spraying the color coats is easier and the coats can be applied thinner (saving material, money and dry time). Even though alder is a "closed pore" wood, the first few coats of lacquer will soak in like a sponge without some type of sealer coat. Fullerplast dries in 15 minutes, and is paintable in one hour. It is also applied very thin.
Most experts agree the actual product Fullerplast actually started to be used around 1963 at Fender. Prior to that, Fender used other products as their sealer coat, but they did the same thing. The sealer allowed any color coat (be it sunburst or a custom color) to not soak into the wood. Since the sealer is essentially a clear inexpensive primer, less color would be needed (and color costs a lot more money than a cheap sealer).

Another misconception about Fullerplast is it's color. The sealers Fender used including Fullerplast were clear, not yellow. The yellow seen in the unpainted portions of a 1956 and later Alder body is actually a stain or dye applied under the sealer coat. This was used to simplify the sunbursting process. The Alder bodies are dipped in a vat of yellow stain/dye. Next the Alder body is sealed with a very thin coat of clear sealer (i.e. "Fullerplast"). After drying, the sunburst procedure is continued by spraying the translucent red (starting in 1958) and dark blackish-brown on the edges of the body, which completes the sunburst look. Finally a clear coat is sprayed over the entire body to seal the colors. By dipping the alder bodies in a yellow stain first, instead of spraying yellow lacquer, there is one less step of lacquer to mix, spray, and dry. *

By fall 1964, Fender changed the yellow making it more whitish and opaque to better hide flaws in the wood. This allowed Fender to use cheaper Alder with more cosmetic flaws. The more whitish yellow was then sprayed over the sealer coat, as were the red and brown of the Sunburst. That is why the red and yellow now looks much different on late 1964 and later Fenders. This new whitish-yellow bleeds through the translucent red making it more orangish. Note that even though Fender was now spraying the yellow after the Fullerplast, they still continued to stain or dye the bodies yellow before the sealer coat.

Current use of Polyester and UV coatings on Fender Guitars.
Probably cause for another article is the case of Ultra Violet cured paints and sealers now used by most production guitar manufacturers. UV allows a very thick and durable coating to be applied directly over bare wood without any need for pore filling. UV cures the paint to its hardest state within minutes, not allowing the finish to soak into the wood.

If you have ever chipped an Ibanez guitar, you know what I mean.
Essentially, beneath every vintage Fender is an Ibanez coating in-waiting for you.

WIN A BET,
BUT GET A PUNCH
The next time someone brags about how good their "lacquer" Fender guitar sounds, because it breathes, try this.

Take a cotton swab dipped nail polish remover, and take a wipe at an inconspicuous area on the guitar. Either
1) The finish will remain un-touched, or
2) You will wipe away the color coat, and see the rock-hard, insoluble Fullerplast. (sunburst guitar photo on left)

If all the finish comes off and you get to bare wood, the Fender guitar has been stripped and refinished.

Either way, you get to say you know something, before you hit the floor.

Don't know what your budget is for refinishing, but if you are near a auto paint supplier,
I would seal the wood with a catalyzed primer, this is a two part mix that sprays and builds like regular primer, but provides an almost bullet proof foundation.
After that cures, you can apply any type finish you choose.

Lacquer was one of the first gloss finishes that you could create exotic colors with, it over time will cause a checking condition that people associate with vintage instruments.
Shellac is too soft and not that durable, so fine finishes back in the day were all lacquer, but wood expands and contracts with temp and humidity and over time lacquer will crack or check as it't called due to the expansion and contraction.

I personally use a catalyzed primer/ sealer, polyester color coats, and clear urethane, but clear lacquer will also substitute if you want it to age like a vintage instrument.

Now if you want a translucent finish which is becoming popular, then you have to go a different route on the primer/ sealer.

Thanks bored guy.. I am at the point of trying to get defects out first before I seal it .. A few small fresh dings came out with steam .. wet towel and soldering pencil.. I will have to fill some of the others before sealing.. Is there some trick to get the moisture of the wood to an acceptable level before sealing? Maybe drier is better to allow it to absorb the sealer?

-Allen

Thanks bored guy.. I am at the point of trying to get defects out first before I seal it .. A few small fresh dings came out with steam .. wet towel and soldering pencil.. I will have to fill some of the others before sealing.. Is there some trick to get the moisture of the wood to an acceptable level before sealing? Maybe drier is better to allow it to absorb the sealer?

-Allen

Getting the wood dried out depends a lot on where you live. Here in Sou Cal where it's very dry, a few minutes in the sun would do the job.
But if you live in the mid-west where it's 105 with 97 % humidity today you can't count on mother nature to be much help, so you will have to let it dry out inside under air conditioning, and yes drier is better. Might even have use a blow dryer depending on how moist the wood is.

Sealer will trap moisture in the wood, and that could be a real problem later, so do whatever you need to do to get the body as dry as possible.

here is a good place to start for the actual process of doing a sunburst
Clicky (http://reranch.com/two_color_strat.htm)
I did this (http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=35481&page=1#pid504370)rebuild using that method.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HoAAKvS_mVE/TLyqzC5xXWI/AAAAAAAACwU/0kz1IebYBvE/s800/IMAG0175.JPG

I should probably pay more attention, I be assuming that the OP was restoring a turquoise finish.
A burst is mostly translucent, that requires a different approach.

here is a good place to start for the actual process of doing a sunburst
Clicky (http://reranch.com/two_color_strat.htm)
I did this (http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=35481&page=1#pid504370)rebuild using that method.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HoAAKvS_mVE/TLyqzC5xXWI/AAAAAAAACwU/0kz1IebYBvE/s800/IMAG0175.JPG

I have almost that exact same Guitar except in Mahogany.. Japanese Mustang like copy.. I have an old abused Duo-Sonic neck for it... Small world. I have practised on scraps of Mahogany for that one and learned a lot...

I read the reranch info actually but I should go reread it.
Thanks a million for the reply and the links...

-Allen

I should probably pay more attention, I be assuming that the OP was restoring a turquoise finish.
A burst is mostly translucent, that requires a different approach.

I was trying to determine which was the original finish.. I read some place that Fender would refinish them in house. I tried to ask in a different thread how to figure out what it was mostly what body and really any information..
Turns out it is a early 2000's MIA '62 RI Turquoise was on top of what I determined to be the first finish in Nitro . It has been in Arizona for at least 5 years so it is if anything too dry.. The refin was apparently removed using heat so I guess is was not nitro and that is as far as my first archaeology for Guitars got me.
The cavities have Fullerplast yellowish tint and then some remnants of red yet the bare wood on the sides has black and red in the wood grain..

thanks,

-Allen

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd515/azscr4mbl3r/Japan%20Guitar/japstang.jpghere is a good place to start for the actual process of doing a sunburst
Clicky (http://reranch.com/two_color_strat.htm)
I did this (http://www.archive.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=35481&page=1#pid504370)rebuild using that method.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_HoAAKvS_mVE/TLyqzC5xXWI/AAAAAAAACwU/0kz1IebYBvE/s800/IMAG0175.JPG