A Cost Effective New Look for My Tele (quick replies much apreciated)

[dan-dan]

Yo people first time on the forums hello to you all.
This is my squire tele

its quite old and batterd and i wanna give it a new look without spending any money or as less money as possible and i need to do it soon as ive got a gig next week and my SG G400 customs headstocks neerly snapped off . im thinking about sanding all the paint and varnish off the body. Ive got some rosewood fence stainer in the shed do you think it would work? and has anybody else tried this? share your apinions and ideas on what i should do to her. quick responses would be apreciated as im raring to do something to it tomorrow and will probably accidently destroy it :) cheers.

[Jellecaster]

I wouldn't. You are going to have an absolute bear of a time getting that poly down to the raw wood, and you'll probably be disappointed when you do. Plus, it sounds like you're in a hurry, and that's a recipe for disaster when finishing a guitar.

Just my $0.02

[jwells393]

Fagidaboudit........... refinishing a guitar and doing a decent job of it takes time. Wait till you have plenty of time to devote to it then proceed.

[Colt W. Knight]

Refinishing is a long drawn out process. I dont think you are a good canidate for it at the mdoment.

[kennl]

From that picture, I'm thinking you are the perfect customer for those guys on eBay selling Union Jack pickguards. Quicker than a refin and easily reversible.
Ken

[sean79]

dan-dan. Do you want it to look nice, or are you going for the "rat bike" look? If you want it to look nice, the quickest way to change its overall appearance would be a new pickguard. Then, when you have more time, tackle the refinish.

If you want the quick and dirty and ugly refinish, you've got a lot of options. But, I wouldn't bother getting it down to wood for a quicko rattle-can primered chango.

[Tim73]

Jazz it up with a decal or two. A propre refin could be done when more funds become available

[dan-dan]

Well i supose it was a drastic idea. You cant see on the picture but the varnish is chipped to hell and dinted. i thought maybe a dirty worn sorta matte look is what im after and those pick guards i will get one ive looked on the net and have never been able to find a tele one, ill get one off the american ebay. What would a good refinish involve? if i were to do it myself what products would i need? all ive got is an electric sander. I can take my time on it as i dont have a job im just eager to give it a new look and be proud to say ive done it.

[Colt W. Knight]

A good finish would involve stripping the body down to bare wood. Then applying sealer, grain filler, and then whatever type of finish or color you would want. Then spraying it with poly or nitro, and wet sanding it so it looks as smooth as glass. Other options may include things such as tung oil, true oil, waxes, or other wood finishes that are available.

Basically it takes a long time and a lot of patience to refinish any type of wood work, but especially a guitar.

Quick things to do would be to add a new pickguard or decals like others have stated. Add upgraded or different color hardware and tuners. Or just spray over the existing finish with Krylon, then strip it off when your ready for the real refinish.

Its up to you really, but do you want something that looks like a school kids project, or something that looks professionally done.

[pengipete]

If you want something eye-catching that's really quick and will cost about £20, have a look at Rick Parfitt's Facelifts.

[three barrel]

Old and battered is a good thing. Take a bicycle chain to it.

[Sollophonic]

I would just put a different pickguard on it. One of my Squiers gets its guard changed a lot. I like it with a black one, but then again I swapped it with the red tortoiseshell one off my Standard for a while.

Also if you want to be different, try different things like change the knobs as well, Thats the beauty of the Tele, so much stuff is bolt on, that you can chop and change things real easy.

Then again you could make a pickguard out of some of this stuff:-

[Jake D]

It probably wouldn't take a day to make it looks like this.

[Cyrithicus]

Hey, that perferrated metal is a cool idea

[guitarzan13]

Welcome to the forum Dan dan!

[boris bubbanov]

I like the perforated pickguard idea as well.

You could graft a set of three brass barrel saddles on that existing Squier bridge plate. Check the Squier 51 Modder Forum for hints.

Other than that, I would not try and relic a recent Squier. The observer will know the guitar's real origin no matter what you do, don't commit the Fender Artist Ripoff they call the 'Joe Strummer' ( My apologies, Mr. Mellor) to your guitar, you'll regret it. Or is you don't, everyone else will.

[JayBee]

Put a knob on the tone pot, a switch tip of your choice on the switch and paint that pickguard rattle / aerosol can black.
Then when you have the right amount of time consider a body refin. 1 week minimum.
PM (private mail) me for further suggestions as I've stripped and refinned a few bodies and there is an easy way for a very effective stained natural finish, Tru-oil, and it's available in the UK.

[madmark]

Throw it down a set of stairs...

[Ethical]

Originally Posted by madmark

Throw it down a set of stairs...

An excellent plan sir with two minor drawbacks.

1 - difficult to predict the exact amount of damage done until too late

2 - housemates/landlords/neighbours will tend to complain about damage to the building/noise/danger to life & limb

3 - you did remember to take it out of the case, didn't you?


Ted

[madmark]

ok a half a set of stairs...

[6x47]

For a unique, quick and dirty new look..........

Put a bandaid on every boo boo it has

[yegbert]

Welcome to the TDPRI dan-dan! What model Squier Tele is that? I'm a fan of Squier Teles, you can see pics of several of min in my gallery here. You might find rhh7's stripping project here interesting.