Some advice on refinishing a 66 Tele.

[PJ]

BAW....I haven't found a refiished '66, but here's a '68 that's had about the same level of changes you'll have. And should give you a good idea of what it should look like. This one's priced at $4500, so I would expect a '66 (refinished) to be worth significantly more.

If you want to drive up to Philly, from MD on a Saturday, I'll take you over to the shop that did my work and you can get an estimate of cost to put inserts in the body and refinish it in one of the stock colors. The neck fret polish and dress is comparatively easy to get done. Thes rest is putting it back together. The bosy will be the biggest part of your job.

[BAW4742]

JW - I get what you're saying. I've read some other stuff about Fender's production and I realize that evne if my neck is dated Aug 66 it doesn't mean that it shippedin Sept.

Lots of talk about transistion stuff so the bridge may well be original.

[PJ]

You can put a set of AllParts threaded saddles on it, and look around for a set of '66 saddles. They pop-up from time to time. Biggest part of your project is the body, and I agree with the poster who suggested not doing anything until you get a couple of resto-pros to have a look. I don't think a pro insert and refinish on modded pickup routs will have a huge impact on the value of your '66. At least from what I've seen at the vintage guitar & collector shows.

[Old Cane]

Again, 2 words for you.....Spray Paint. I think you got what you got. Leave the neck alone and, heck, get a new pickguard and actually PUT a p-90 in it! Or not. Remember if you use lacquer you can always get the body back to where it is right now with a little sandpaper if you want to send it to a pro later on.

I think it's kind of funny that guys try to copy old beat up guitars like Strummer, SRV, Rory and now even Robbie. This is BAW's model. Remember, if you were famous, Fender would have a custome shop model out with your contour and a strat pickup.....maybe no finish as well.

[PJ]

The reason these things are worth a good deal of $, even restored, is that they'll never be a 1966 production run of Teles, in a shop where Leo works, ever again.

[Furtive]

Originally Posted by PJ

Do this first, (and I have no commercial interest in this restoration guy's business) it won't cost you a nickel. E-mail a few pics to this
guy and ask him for a brief phone consultation on your project, before you get into anything that might impact your instrument or its value. Send him the pics and follow-up by phone. He'll give you his thoughts, no-charge. Guys send him old Fender from all over the world, with similar challenges to yours. tim@superiorguitar.com <tim@superiorguitar.com>

I've had person experience with Tim Huenke/Superior Guitar Works that did not go well. PM me if you want more details.

I'd advise looking elsewhere to get your Tele back in shape. Good luck with the project!

[BAW4742]

Man, you guys have given me a lot to think about. When I started this tread I said that I knew that this was the place to come for advice. I was right!

I’m not sure what my next step is gonna be but I’m not gonna do any more sanding on the Tele just yet.

Thanks for all of the input – really I do appreciate and I’m going to give this project some serious thought this weekend and try to sort this out.

[shoretyus]

Originally Posted by BAW4742

I’m not sure what my next step is gonna be but I’m not gonna do any more sanding on the Tele just yet.

Thanks for all of the input – really I do appreciate and I’m going to give this project some serious thought this weekend and try to sort this out.

Yeah same here ... thanks .. I wonder if I can figure out the original colour?

Maybe I get to spray Lake Placid blue

[PJ]

Furtive...I've been using him for years, and admittedly have to negotiate on occassion, but overall, I think his work is very good, especially on body work
on a vintage guitar. But, you are correct - there are other shops to use, for
sure. I only bring him the tought stuff. And BAWs job will require some skill.
And although there are a few other shops around, there aren;t too many
good ones I'd trust a '66 Tele with.

[PJ]

There's another guy in New York state, who I run itno at the guitar shows, who specializes in restoring vintage bodies. If I recall, he's
Jack's Guitars. I'll have to dig out his card. He puts bodies back to
stock shape, fixes routs and finishes and I think that's all he does.
His pricing was very reasonable for a refinish job. I think he was in the $325 range a couple years ago. Not sure what he'd want to do the additional edge profiling that's required, though.

[62_Inca_Esquire]

Regarding the saddles...

I will be a LOT cheaper to buy a period correct Mustang bridge...same saddles.

As for refins, I'll echo the statement that Mark Jenny does fantastic work.

[jwells393]

buy a period correct Mustang bridge...same saddles.

The '60s era Mustangs had a three saddle bridge???? That's news to me.

......

[slack]

Originally Posted by PJ

The reason these things are worth a good deal of $, even restored, is that they'll never be a 1966 production run of Teles, in a shop where Leo works, ever again.

There was never 1966 Teles made in a shop where Leo works. ;)

Originally Posted by 62_Inca_Esquire

Regarding the saddles...

I will be a LOT cheaper to buy a period correct Mustang bridge...same saddles.

I think you meant Musicmaster or Duo Sonic... However, they were not the same. Many, most or all circa 66 Musicmasters and Duo Sonic bridges with coarse threaded saddles had Allen head height adjustment screws, which were also of a different diameter than the slotted head height adjustment screws on the Tele saddles. No three saddle Tele bridge ever had Allen head height adjustment screws in the 50s, 60s or 70s.

[PJ]

According to Leo's bio, he remained on-staff until 1970:

Born Clarence Leo Fender, August 10, 1909, in Buena Park, CA; died after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease, March 21, 1991, in Fullerton, CA; married in 1934; attended junior college. Worked as bookkeeper and accountant, late 1920s, and as guitar repairman, early 1930s; obtained patent on record-changing device, 1945; founded Fender Electric Instruments Inc., 1946; invented first mass-produced solidbody electric guitar, 1948; produced first solidbody bass guitar, 1951; introduced Stratocaster, 1954; sold Fender Electric Instruments to CBS, 1965, remained as consultant, 1965-70.

[Skrik]

Here's my suggestion Send it to Bucko. He'll fill the radiused edges with checkerboard binding, throw some sparkles on the body and headstock, and replace all the hardware with teh shiny.

No one will ever know the guitar is a piece of old junk from the 60s.

[PJ]

BAW....if you want to see some of the astronomical "values" for
refinished '66 Teles, click here and go to the first listing in the table.

http://www.vintagebuyer.com/

[jwells393]

I don't think BAW4742's '66 is a good canditate for restoring with all original parts. I would just try to make it look original. I have no idea what original threaded saddles would cost but if someone wants a lot of money for them I'd pass. Get some new threaded saddles and relic them a little and put them in there. You've got the bridge plate. That's what's important.

Here's an example of high priced vintage parts. A guy on eBay wants $495 for this '63 bridge.

......

[PJ]

Wells, good point. I've used these from AllParts. They're fine. Gives him the opportunity to take some time to see if any old parts come around.

[Brutalblues]

Originally Posted by jhundt

......."can this instrument be restored to it's full value?" ...and to answer this you will need a few professional opinions.

......

Not really, the answer is no.
True full value is only reserved for 100% non-restored original everything, never changed, never refretted, condition. Even a pro refin can detract from the value by as much as 50%. I would try to have the edges restored somehow, and do a solid, custom color (era appropriate) finish.

[BAW4742]

Well, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought since Friday. I’ve come up with a couple of questions that you guys might be able to help me with.

Obviously the main problems are the ugly pickup routes and damaged edges. This is my first thought. Not considering the paint finish, what can a pro restorer do to the guitar that I can’t do myself? Why would the guitar be worth more restored by a pro than it would be if I do the work myself? That is assuming that I do a good job of course.

Isn’t he basically just going to be doing wood repairs? I’m in no way trying to discount experience and equipment either. I understand and appreciate all of this.

Next thing is this. The guitar is already “damaged” or as Ron put it “pretty well trashed.” Can I do enough to it to seriously degrade its value more than what it is now? Like PJ said – it’s not been sawed into the shape of an Explorer.

Before I do anything I think I am going to consult a few pros on the value. It would be nice if I could find out what they think it is worth as is and restored. PJ is recommending Tim from Superior and Mark Jenny has been mentioned as well. I think I would like to consult at least three places. I’m open to suggestions as to who I should contact.

I’ve not ruled out having a pro have a go at it. I’m just taking this a little slower and I really want to know what I’m getting into. As I said – I came here for advice.

Thanks Guys. Bruce

[jwells393]

what can a pro restorer do to the guitar that I can’t do myself?

I think that would depend on your woodworking skills and what tools you have. If it were mine I would definitely do it myself. If your painting skills aren't up to par you could send it to someone after the wood restoration was done.

Can I do enough to it to seriously degrade its value more than what it is now?

Only if you saw it in half.

Worst case senario you have an exact '66 body duplicate made. Note the word exact. Then have it painted just like they did then ...... same width paint stick. Relic it a bit. Can you see where I'm going with this? If you say it's been refinished, who's to say it's not the original body?

[PJ]

I feel like I've contributed too much already, but the reason I would encourage you to at least have the body worked-on, is it's probably not worth much as it is, but it appears to be restorable. And as a few guys here have rightfully said, restored '66s aren't worth what pristine stock examples are, but they are worth a considerbale amount. My guess, is that if you put your '66 into resored shape, it'd probably be worth $4-5K (done well). Your worth now, is in the parts.

[PJ]

Bruce...just to give you an idea of cost, here's a restoration shop in
Canada (never used them). Their rates for restoration work are
$75/hour. Probably at least 5 hours in woodwork on your body
and they rate refinish at $500-700. So, I would expect a pro restoration job on your body will cost you an easy grand. It looks like
you have mostly everything else you need. To dress your frets and
uff-up your neck, maybe another $100. It's only because '66 Fenders
are one of the most sought-after collectible years (other than the real old stuff), that you might want to consider letting a pro have at it. But, in the end, it's up to you.

http://www.12fret.com/shop/index.html