Some advice on refinishing a 66 Tele.

[BAW4742]

Hi guys. I would like some advice. And I know this is the place to get it.

I have a 66 Tele that I want to refinish. Before you have a stroke take a look at the pictures. It’s far from vintage but it’s real. The body edges have been rounded like a Strat and the pickup cavities have been severely modified.

I’ve had the guitar since 1972. At the time that I got this guitar it wasn’t vintage – it was just a nice (not too) old Fender. This was only the third guitar that I had gotten and finally I had a real guitar. Never mind that it had a black Plexiglas control plate with a Gibson style toggle in it. Oh yeah and I can’t forge that off brand P-90 style pickup in the neck position.

I really wanted a Strat at the time instead of a Tele so I rounded it up to look sort of like one and there you have it. My Mom and Dad bought this for me for Christmas that year and since the finish had already been stripped Mom helped me sand it down, Minwax it and brush on a couple of coats of varnish it.

But I’m rambling.

Any thoughts on refinishing, refurbishing, or resurrecting this thing?

[Ronkirn]

that one's pretty well trashed, it'll need some structural restoration, then paint 'er with an opaque color of choice. It you have a pro do it, it's gonna be a bit pricy.

Ron Kirn

[jwells393]

Well .......... on seeing only your first picture my immediate thought was to strip it to bare wood but I see you're well on your way. Really too bad about the rounded edges. I don't a simple way to correct that. It could be done but would be a pretty involved process.

I have an all original '66 if you need information or pictures.

[ajgus]

I can't think of a way to correct those edges with out removing more of the body. Terrible thing when bad things happen to great guitars.

Salvage the neck & find yourself a '66 body.

[KC]

if that was mine, I think I'd strip the body all the way down & ship it off to Mark Jenny for an as-is refinish, relic'd to match the neck. then put on a vintage 3-saddle bridge & a lollar neck pickup with a chrome cover & try to forget about what's under the pickguard. is that the original bridge pickup? You'd end up with a nice-playing, nice sounding instrument and a tale of youthful folly.

trying to undo that youthful folly might cost you an awful lot of money. Or you could just have a bondo-and-spray-paint party and see what you ended up with. But I think a nice, old-looking finish on that body as it sits would look pretty natural.

[mellecaster]

I'd just put it back the way it was...not everything has to be 100% Vintage, to be a Cool Ole Player...That's just my opinion.

[Old Cane]

Hey, that is YOUR guitar. Go to reranch.com and select a color. Good info there whether you buy from them or not. I have a '66 strat bought the same year as yours and several times I came close to a refinish and a route for a rear HB when that was all the rage. That would have been a $10k mistake but you know, we were kids and these are OUR guitars. Who cares if it's 100%original. You don't plan on selling yours any more than I would mine.

[PJ]

I think I would take it to restoration pro - those guys have the table sanding equipment. I might ask about taking the top and back down a few thousandths to try to restore more of the stock edge radius.
That is, if you don't have that kind of gear. Then I would have him take a few thou off your fretboard. Restoration guys can put those older rosewood boards back to new pretty well. Then, pick you color
and fret wire, and you're off to the races. I had some pretty extensive work done on my '70. And $1200 later, I'm very pleased to have a nice example of a vintage Tele. Yours is pretty valuable, so
the restoration is a good investment. Even though my neck's been refinished and fretted, the instrument was valued at $5K, so $1200 wasn't a terrible hit.

Go to www.superiorguitar.com and read the pictorial on the '65 Strat restoration this fellow did. He did an amazing job. This guy, Tim, does some nice restoration work on old Fender guitars.

[BAW4742]

I’m not planning on having a pro do it. I’ve refinished the thing 3 times already and it was pretty beat up when I got it. But hey, I was 14 and it was a real Fender. What can I say?

I’m not going for 100% stock, vintage dead mint look either. I think that boat’s sailed. I’ve refinished it 3 times already but never really well. I’ve built a few guitars over the last 18 months and doing pretty good with the spray gun and nitro. This time I want to do her right.

That’s not the original bridge pickup. I think it’s a Dimarzio, may have been called a PreBS. I’ve had several pickups in it over the years. So I’m not real sure. The neck one is a Strat pickup. Funny, she still sounds like a Tele (That’s the good news) I do still have the original 3 saddle bridge and am cleaning that up to go back in her.

The finishes I’ve considered if I bondo the sides are a sunburst so the black would hind the bondo. Or how would a blonde look if the edges where solid color and faded to a slight opaque finish in the center. I’d love to se some of that old ash grain when I’m done.

It’s a great player. A few years after I got this I got that Strat that I wanted so badly. Rewired it, messed with the setup, cussed the trem unit and played the heck out of it but never stripped it. After a few years I swapped it for an SG and now that’s long gone too. But the old Tele is still here. She ain’t going nowhere.

[jhundt]

I'm with Old Cane and others - that guitar is what you made it. Nothing wrong with that - maybe it's not vintage correct, but it's a real nice old Fender.

Strip it, refinish it, and if you ever want to sell it just tell the truth! It may have lost the collector's value, but it is still a fine guitar and you can document and explain all the "deficiencies".

My only suggestion is that you clean up the non-standard routing before you refinish. It might look a little more "pro" that way.

[BAW4742]

Oh yeah - thanks for your input guys. I appreciate the help and advice.

[Durtdog]

Wow, so you're thinking of putting bondo on the edges to make them more square again? That's beyond me, but I've seen people do many things to guitars on the TDPRI that are beyond my imagination and capabilities.

I like what jhundt said...the guitar's what you made it, I'd go with that. A little cosmetic tune up is ok, but I wouldn't change it too much. Heck, before I read the bondo post, I was gonna suggest just pick a nice color from Reranch and paint it. Done.

[jwells393]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by Bondo on the sides. What is the radius you have on the edges now?

[PJ]

You might want to check the value of it, even in restored shape, '66s can have some staggering value. I think if it were mine, I'd put a couple thousand into it and keep it. I'm not a collector and only have 1 vintage Fender, but based on what I've learned about 60s Fenders, they are infinitely more valuable in restored shape than as beaters.
As an example, that red Strat was purchased as a beater on eBay for
$500. I'm sure the guy let it go too cheaply. A NOS "under the bed for 45 years" example would be worth in excess of $20K. And its not so much what its worth today, but the collectors will tell you that old, vintage Fenders aren't showing any sign of slowing down in appreciation. So, I think I would make a decision on that particular Tele a little differently than say, a late 80s or 90s beater.

[PJ]

Don't put Bondo on a '66 Tele, no matter what people might tell you.
There are better ways to address that part of your project. At least do yourself a favor of letting a pro restoration guy look at it and give you the options before you tackle it yourself. I do plenty of body and neck refin work, but I wouldn't touch a '66 myself. The restoration pros work on everything from 1800s Martins to 50s Teles, Strats and LesPauls - all among the most highly valued collectible guitars in the world!

[jwells393]

My first thought on fixing the edges was to use a rabbiting bit to cut a square channel around the guitar front and back............ sort of like a binding channel but bigger. Then cut wooden strips that could be steam bent to glue into the routed channel. Another option might be glue in solid pieces of wood which are cut the match the shape of the channel. They could be planed or sanded flat to match the front and back and a flush trim bit could be used to match the sides.

Then put on a proper 1/8 in. radius and finish it in a vintage blonde with opaque sides fading to translucent front and back.

[jhundt]

yeah - I like that idea! If there is enough wood left you could do a binding...

otherwise, just refinish it nice and let it be what it is.

[PJ]

My hands would be shaking too much to get the bit into the router, if I were working on a piece of history like that. What you suggest might be the best approach, but there might be better solutions to that part of the project.

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>

[shoretyus]

My first thought would be to just get another body .....
BUT I have not done anything. I am in the same boat as you. What to do.

What I did here was an improvement.But if the routes where filled and it was refinished would it be worth more?

[Jellecaster]

If we put aside the potential vintage value for one second and just think about making it look better, I can tell you that I've been able to do some fairly amazing things with the body filler from Stew Mac. Given the time and patients, you could definitely build those edges back up. That is, if you are definitely going to fore go the professional restoration idea.

[BAW4742]

Wow - you guys have me a bit scared! I thought I had completely screwed the value years ago with the rasp but maybe not. After reading some of the posts I think I'll slow down a bit. You guys seem far more excited about my guitar than I am.

I wasn't real keen on the idea of bondo but I read a lot about using it on guitars. It’s not gonna take much to talk me out of that. I like the idea of rabbeting and bending a strip of wood in there though.

I planned to do this myself rather than get a restorer involved. I telephoned a guy about 8 years ago about refretting the neck. He never even asked me a second question about refretting or talked price for the regret. He wanted to buy the guitar. Called me several more times wanting to buy but still failed to mention refretting. Kinda of bummed me and left a bad taste for "restorers"

I might check with the guy at Superior.

[BAW4742]

Hey shortyus. I've thought about another body too. After the refret deal I put another neck on the guitar. It's great but it's just not the same.

I have another Tele and I just finished building a rosewood Tele and I'm starting another Tele build. The other two that I have are both great but I've been beating on the 66 for over 30 years! She's a great friend.

[PJ]

I'm looking around to find you guys the "restored value" of a '66 Tele, and haven't yet put my hands on it. But, here's an ad for a restored Strat, that's valued at $22,500. Restoration might impact value in the 20-25% (tops) range, but probably not more than that.

15-6984 Fender (used, 1962) Stratocaster, #80150, refinished by Mike Lennon, The Apprentice Shop, to a perfect replica three-tone sunburst, with a newer brown hard shell case having the large rectangular center pocket.
Per Mike Lennon’s repair order (11/27/07) The Arizona-based Apprentice Shop (one of the finest instrument restorers in the USA) “repaired and refinished the body, replaced the bridge, pickguard, back plate, neck plate and all of the screws, rewired to original, restrung and setup.” The guitar is accompanied by its original crème pickguard, green Fender Owner’s Manual, a worn Ronny Lee “No-Mishap” guitar strap (made in Patton, PA and bearing 1959 Patent No. 2,843,039) a small folded four-color card that reads “Fender, Fine Electric Instruments” with a statement and the model and serial number written by hand, to which a small Allen wrench is attached with a thin strip of bandage. In the pocket of the case is a newer cover for the bridge, a newer spring, some newer knobs and a newer tremolo arm. The potentiometer codes are 304-6207 which means that the pots are Stackpole made, and dated February of 1962; the neck date is “2 Apr 62 B.” We discovered that the neck pickup lead was spliced, and that the shielding plate is original but it has three extra holes in it, that correspond to three extra holes in the original pickguard that resides in the case. We believe that the guitar once had 3 mini-switches. Under the pickguard is a small area of spliced-in wood, by Mike Lennon (so you know it was a great job). The case could be from a Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar. There is no visible body date and we cannot, ourselves, tell if the pickups were rewound, but Mike Lennon didn’t have them rewound so they may very well be original. The finish work is exemplary – the neck shows normal light signs of wear and of course the body shows no wear and yet the entirely is convincingly vintage. This is the real, albeit “restored” deal, and it remains affordable to those who are seeking vintage verity combined with a minimal level of conservative restoration rendering it nearly museum quality. $23,195 or at our cash discount price, $22,500.

[jhundt]

PJ's suggestion is probably a good place to start:

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.

I'm sure others here will be able to suggest a few more guys you might want to contact before you begin.

One of the first decisions you have to make is "can this instrument be restored to it's full value?" ...and to answer this you will need a few professional opinions.

My first inclination was to refinish it in all of it's current glory, but PJ's point is much smarter. Get a few pro opinions first.