Advice on "relic-ing" a tele?

Just don't get too carried away with it...here's a 'heavy relic' Jazz bass

 

Yeah, the previous owner said that this switch tip came from a music store in the UK. He picked it up in the mid 70s. Not sure why he gave it to me hahaha. And yes, there was a limited run of relic'd blues jrs done by fender.

 

the amp I saw on Reverb was a nice boutique tweed head that a shop relic'ed. I don't think I'm in the market for it anyway, but I do shop them because I want a head in tweed to sit upon my tweed cab.

https://reverb.com/item/28926207-tyler-amps-jt46-head

But I think I'll just get a Marshall so I can scratch that itch.

 

Why is this thread still going? The OP is long gone. Probably for the better. He was asking on advice to relic his tele because the climate he lives in makes it uncomfortable to play. Most of the advice was to not do it, play it for the next 70 years.

That seems to be the average age of most that posted in this thread asking advice on how to relic, unfortunately he got the stick shaking from the front porch.

 

uh, because it's the internet, more specifically a discussion on an opinion forum.

 

I think it’s absolute hilarious how the “I hate fake relics” crowd cannot help themselves. Here or any thread where it comes up. It’s curious how it offends them so much and I can’t figure it out.

 

What? You join the discussion 6 pages in asking another dude about his switch and where to get one. Put up a wanted ad up or try google, probably a lot easier.

 

conversations evolve. opinions are thrown out there. questions get asked. things get off topic.

welcome to internet forums.

put in your application for TDPRI nanny if you can't handle it.

 

Lol, you’re hilarious! Never thought of that though, just start a thread and anybody could talk about anything. It would all be guitar related so yeah why have different thread, just one big one.

 

This forum kinda sucks.
Someone asks for advice, and instead of help, he get’s a storm of replies of the most unhelpful variety from a gaggle of cackling old hens.

 

I think he was asking how to seal the wood after sanding.

 

He wanted advice on how to make his guitar more comfortable. If sanding, what’s best, bare wood, what makes it dark, those kinds of things.

Instead he got 7 pages and counting of trash with a few helpful tips.

 

I didn’t read through all 7 pages of responses so apologies if I’m repeating. I did a relic job (what I think is) successfully on an old squier Strat. Here’s my two cents:

1) it won’t look good on the factory poly finish, don’t even bother. These are the worst looking relic jobs out there.

2) if your guitar has a nitro finish, skip this step, otherwise strip off the nitro. Heat gun and puddy knife is the fastest way. Careful to keep the gun moving so you don’t put scorch marks in the body. Then refinish as if you wanted a pristine finish. I used reranch rattle cans and it came out great.

3) The body: after finishing your guitar, let settle for at least a month to cure. Then get a good set of photos of a guitar to imitate and try to copy those wear marks. It’s pretty easy to flake off the finish with a small screw driver. Use different sizes so the marks don’t look uniform. For any larger sections, you can use sandpaper but go around the boarders and flake off the finish with a small screwdriver to make the edges a little less well defined and random. Makes a huge difference. For some finish checking, flip one of those compressed air dust remover spray cans up side down and spray at the guitar. The cold temperature will cause checking almost instantly, but can close back up as the body warms. So I sprayed, coated with wood stain, then wiped it all off. This made the checking more pronounced and also stained some of the gouges I made earlier. Repeat that as desired. You can use very fine grade sand paper to take the shine off the finish if you want or not... whatever makes sense for your level of relic-ing.

4) the neck: refinished in amber Nitro looks best. The put a piece of painters tape near the nut and another near the 12th fret. Rip both in half so you have a kind of irregular pattern in the sides of the tape facing each other. Then sand off the finish. Rub in some wood dye/whatever or your choice. Tear off the tape and you have decent looking neck wear. I think avoiding polishing the neck from the start and keeping the finish kinda dull/matte is best. Add some dings and marks around the edges of the headstock. You can do the finish checking trick on the head stock as well. On a rosewood fretboard, you’re done. On maple, some people try to add fret wear. This is really tough to pull off. As long as you don’t have a super thick,shiny finish, it’ll look good and blend in with the rest of the relic look. I find I naturally wear down/gunk up that area on my maple fretboard guitars pretty quickly anyway so I don’t think there’s a need to do it.

5) hardware: not the safest move but it works like a charm. Wear protective clothes, gloves, goggles or just buy pre-reliced stuff... I don’t want to be the reason someone hurts themselves! I can only tell you what I did! Partially fill a sealable container with a strong acid (I’ve heard you can get suitable stuff at pool supplies stores). Put all your hardware in a smaller container and place that inside the large acid filled container And seal it. You want the fumes to be working on the metal, you don’t want the liquid touching the metal at all. Depending on what you’re using, this could take only 5 minutes or much longer so it’s best to babysit the process and check frequently. Mine went pretty quickly and seemed to even continue aging up a bit after I took the hardware out. It looks great though... took the shine off and added some random discoloration on the bridge and neck plate. All the moving parts still work as normal though. If you leave it in too long, stuff can get stuck and stop being functional so really pay attention. Also be sure you’re able to safely and legally dispose of whatever acid you used.

After that; put everything together and you’re done!

sorry I don’t have great photos. Here’s an idea though.

 

+1

It happens on every instrument forum. Over on TalkBass the topic is banned and I think that's a good idea. I'm not sure why some people get the panties in such a knot over what other people play.

 

Glad I missed this probable s-show thread (only read the last page). You know last time I wandered into a relic thread I showed myself the door—no harm no foul. I understand OT, but we have enough “I hate *blank*”, “I love cargo shorts and blowin‘ farts, now get off my cloud” in the BDC...

Even if it’s a persons first rodeo around here, it’s not about ‘handling’ the garbage ‘anti-‘ posts. It’s about moving on from it wherever it’s concentrated. This place is heavily moderated (nannied?) too, it’s virtually the cleanest and most bubbled space on the internet, and if you post you here, you kind of agree to that condition.

Side note: OP’s Drake round vs. top hat switch tip avatar is genius.

 

I was thinking this is the answer, too. The real answer is an arm cut. Change the finish if that's what you like, but the offending hunk of wood is still going to be there. I have no comfort problems with Teles, but it is a common problem that has a functional solution.

On the side topic, I think relic finishes are funny. On the other hand, I find people getting worked up about relic finishes on other people's guitars to be absolutely hilarious.

 

Do whatever you want to it. It's your guitar.

For the rest?

Calm down. It's not your guitar.

Who gives a s#!+ what someone else does to their own guitar? They want to relic it? Go ahead. Don't know why people have to cry about what other people do to their own possessions.

 

On one hand I certainly agree. And I'm not in either camp personally (regarding relic'ing) and didn't express a 'do' or 'do not do' opinion.

But it is a bit ironic that you're taking the time to cry yourself...about the fact that others are crying. He asked for advice, and he got it, and more. That's kind of how it works on the internet. You don't own or control the threads that you originate. Like it or not they take on a life of their own. He could have googled how to contour the body of his tele, but he asked here.

99% of the questions asked on these forums could be answered by google. People are here because they want to talk guitars, express opinions, share experience. It's not your or anyone else's job to keep things on topic. And if 6 pages deep a guy posts a picture of his relic'ed hardware and I say "cool, where did you get that" I would hope the maturity level of the participants here isn't such that it elicits snarky comments that I should create my own thread.

 

My relic looks excellent.



Plays real good, too. Plays so nice I would have bought it even if it was bright and shiny.

As for 'faking' owning an old guitar - I've had plenty of people ask 'how old is that Tele?' I tell them it's a 2018 model, aged to look like an old guitar.

No need to fake anything, I just tell anyone who asks the truth.

- D

 

Maybe we need a sticky thread entitled "Why I Hate Reliced Instruments" and just let them have at it for a few months.