How to lighten the butterscotch blonde finish on my 52 RI?
- Thread starter deep
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yes deep,
i think the only way to lighten it up will be a refinish, i posted a pic above look at the different colors under the pickguard and where the pickguard is not, guitar get "tanned"
here's another one, as you can see where the pickguard is mounted the guitar remains with a lighter color, one thing you can do as you said you had it for some time right ? get the pickguad off and give a look to the color where the sun does not hit.
hope it helps
sorry for the off topic discussion btw
cheers
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Swiftandbold72
TDPRI Member
Just sprayed a body in nitro butterscotch and all depends on how many coats as to whether its butterscotch or orange
Nice one ! love the grain !!!
brbadg
Tele-Afflicted
This was not even close to being necessary here....
theprofessor
Poster Extraordinaire
I think that's a nice-looking guitar, @deep . Yes, it's on the dark side of butterscotch, but I would leave it alone. All the wear and everything on it looks great, and in my opinion, you run too much risk of messing some of that up if you try to change the color in some way. You may still wish to move forward with your plan. But that is my opinion.
stratoman1
Friend of Leo's
Leave it alone. Or sell/trade it for a different guitar would be my call
gitold
Poster Extraordinaire
+1 I think it's a beauty!
Original Broadcaster, Telecaster, Nocaster were every shade under the sun. Originally they would all have been very pale. The pigments in nitro-cellulose paint are organic and literally continue to decay.
There is a picture somewhere of the Rev Billy Gibbons and his black and whiteguard collection. They are every shade of yellow from chalky banana milk, to greenish, brownish, orange, stark yellow.
Nitro is highly reactive to tobacco smoke, sweat, UV, beer. It really depends how the guitar is handled.
Plus - ash varies from white-yellowish-brown. And the guys painting, would fog more or less paint on to cover joins and the paint was different brands, handmixed with a slop of this, a slop of that tins and applied in every weather. Shoot in cold/damp you get a whiter bloom opacity. Add more or less clear on top. It was a cottage industry, there was no consistency.
So a 'pumpkincaster' is Fender's attempt to replicate an old barroom queen after 40-50 years. And who is to say it's wrong? Later 50's were whiter. But the earlier 50's ones were yellower. The guitars below were not even blonde - they started out as Olympic White! And they are original 50's-60's guitars, unrefined.
To lighten, you could try stripping the guitar down to the body and bleaching but it's unlikely to have permanent effect and may just damage the surface and make it more matte. You could get a milky wash shot over the yellow, but the results may look just as fake. You will certainly devalue the instrument. I'd learn to like it, or get a CS guitar which may or may not be more accurate. Personally, a whiter guitar would just be a custard- or blancmange-caster. I like yours.
No-one can definitively say it's 'wrong' unless you're friends with Doc Brown and his flux capacitor is working..... And even then, all the guits in 1955 probably looked like a MIM 50's classic.
There is a picture somewhere of the Rev Billy Gibbons and his black and whiteguard collection. They are every shade of yellow from chalky banana milk, to greenish, brownish, orange, stark yellow.
Nitro is highly reactive to tobacco smoke, sweat, UV, beer. It really depends how the guitar is handled.
Plus - ash varies from white-yellowish-brown. And the guys painting, would fog more or less paint on to cover joins and the paint was different brands, handmixed with a slop of this, a slop of that tins and applied in every weather. Shoot in cold/damp you get a whiter bloom opacity. Add more or less clear on top. It was a cottage industry, there was no consistency.
So a 'pumpkincaster' is Fender's attempt to replicate an old barroom queen after 40-50 years. And who is to say it's wrong? Later 50's were whiter. But the earlier 50's ones were yellower. The guitars below were not even blonde - they started out as Olympic White! And they are original 50's-60's guitars, unrefined.
To lighten, you could try stripping the guitar down to the body and bleaching but it's unlikely to have permanent effect and may just damage the surface and make it more matte. You could get a milky wash shot over the yellow, but the results may look just as fake. You will certainly devalue the instrument. I'd learn to like it, or get a CS guitar which may or may not be more accurate. Personally, a whiter guitar would just be a custard- or blancmange-caster. I like yours.
No-one can definitively say it's 'wrong' unless you're friends with Doc Brown and his flux capacitor is working..... And even then, all the guits in 1955 probably looked like a MIM 50's classic.
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sonny wolf
Friend of Leo's
I love my older 2011 52 AVRI with that darker amber blond color.I do feel it looks better as it ages.That color implies a blonde that aged heavily over the years as some did.But when the finish is pristine clean without any wear it looks a bit contrived.Mine has started to lose it's shine and has acquired some dings and scratches which make the color look more realistic.My friend owns a 2000 one that has been heavily played and has relic'd naturally with plenty of dings,scratches and uneven discoloration...it looks amazing now.
I think the inspiration for the 1982-2012 AVRI 52 Teles was probably Roy Buchanan's 1953 Tele which look gorgeous especially since it aged so nicely:
I think the inspiration for the 1982-2012 AVRI 52 Teles was probably Roy Buchanan's 1953 Tele which look gorgeous especially since it aged so nicely:
I agree - 'Nancy' is an example of a very aged finish that would have been much paler new. A lot of people think these guitars were 'butterscotch' when really they would have been pale, a yellowy white mostly due to ash grain showing, which would have been darker. Original Scandinavian furniture is lime-wash, under amber varnish, which is kinda the look Leo was going for. I bet the limed 54+ finish was a cheaper way to get the same thing, solid colour being more expensive than clear.
Twang Tone
Friend of Leo's
Alas, it will only get darker, I'm afraid.
As a previous owner of a 2006 Thin Skin 52RI, I know.
The best option to "lighten" the finish is to strip it completely and re-finish it in White Blonde.
Then, re-assemble and enjoy!
As a previous owner of a 2006 Thin Skin 52RI, I know.
The best option to "lighten" the finish is to strip it completely and re-finish it in White Blonde.
Then, re-assemble and enjoy!
Tim S
Friend of Leo's
And isn't MIA > MIM > MIC really just racism?
deep
Tele-Meister
Ok everyone! After reading all of your suggestions I'm planning to leave my trusted ol' Blondie as is. No more wondering if its worth the risk and what ifs...
Having said that this is the only Tele I own till now but Im seriously contemplating getting a MIJ rosewood board on a shell pink Tele very soon to round off my collection. Thank you everyone for all the sage advice!
Having said that this is the only Tele I own till now but Im seriously contemplating getting a MIJ rosewood board on a shell pink Tele very soon to round off my collection. Thank you everyone for all the sage advice!
There's another interesting age related thing - what people think is as 'pink' probably started as red! It's why GM and Du Pont went to Lucite (acrylic) paint. The pigments in red nitro literally disintegrate in the sun, so reds become pink, blues can become greener or browner. People noticed their 58 red Chev going pink inside a year.
Fender sourced it's colour chart straight from GM. So when GM went acrylic early 60s so did Fender. They kept clear as nitro through the 60's. LPB, OW, SG only a few of the Lucite colours.
It's believed that Fender was struggling in the UK market until Hank Marvin played his Fiesta Red Strat which he thought was 'Coral Pink' - whereupon, the importers allegedly had them resprayed Fiesta Red. A lot have faded to a Shell Pink colour. That's Acrylic Fiesta Red on top of Dakota Red. No fade.
