Revive or Retire

KevinV · October 24th, 2009, 06:51 PM

I've got a '94 MIM Fender Strat, Squier Series that I picked up recently for $100. The body has some scarring here and there, but nothing too bad, the neck has a few small dings as well, but plays oh so comfortably. I sanded down a few spots of overspray in the body cavities and it appears to be made of 2 or 3 solid blocks...no laminate. It's quite resonant.

I replaced the tone pots last week and am convinced that this is a worthy guitar, however, the frets are shot...I wouldn't even go with a leveling, they just plain need replaced. Somebody loved this guitar and played the heck out of it.

So I did some window shopping and figured that with the parts I'd want to replace and a refret, I'd be over the cost of a new MIM Standard Strat. The guitar has some mojo to it that a new one wouldn't, but it's certainly not a collector's piece. I'm not sure whether I should shell out the bucks to breathe some new life into it and make it my own, or just let it rest.

And it's not like a need another Strat right now, so if I didn't get this one refretted and modded to my specs, I wouldn't be on the prowl for something else...this would be more of a project for fun and fulfillment.

What would you do?

peskypesky · October 24th, 2009, 06:55 PM

how much does a refret cost?

ghostwolf · October 24th, 2009, 08:11 PM

well, you always have the option of buying the wire, and learning how to do a re-fret yourself, but that can be a daunting task. a refret would cost about the same as a replacement neck, but that might not feel the same in your hand. whatever you do, ask around about who does the best refretting, don't just pick a guy at random, that can wind up costing a lot more if he screws it up.

Tyger7406 · October 24th, 2009, 08:15 PM

Hi,
I would do a project. Not only when you finish would you have something that you can be proud of and really call your own, but you will learn alot in the process.
Best of luck with it!
Have a blessed Strat day
Tyger7406

KevinV · October 25th, 2009, 08:11 PM

I decided to revive. I got a quote on a refret of $295. I figure for that price I can purchase the refret kit from StewMac and screw up 9 times considering the cost of fretwire and still come out ahead. I would hope I'd get it right before that.

I started on the body tonight and have it almost completely stripped. I'm doing the finishing hand sanding now. I'm going to go with a surf green finish from Reranch and load it with my choice of electronics...which will include Texas Specials.

I'm excited and having fun!

ghostwolf · October 25th, 2009, 08:53 PM

stewmac also sells a dvd by dan erlewine called 'fret basics' that might be helpful. i have it, it's good, shows hoe to fret a couple different ways.

thaus · October 25th, 2009, 09:08 PM

Cool! Good choice since you will learn a ton and probably come out the other end with a player!

peskypesky · October 25th, 2009, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinV

I decided to revive. I got a quote on a refret of $295. I figure for that price I can purchase the refret kit from StewMac and screw up 9 times considering the cost of fretwire and still come out ahead. I would hope I'd get it right before that.

I started on the body tonight and have it almost completely stripped. I'm doing the finishing hand sanding now. I'm going to go with a surf green finish from Reranch and load it with my choice of electronics...which will include Texas Specials.

I'm excited and having fun!

very cool! good luck with the adventure.

ncjeepinyj · October 25th, 2009, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinV

I decided to revive. I got a quote on a refret of $295. I figure for that price I can purchase the refret kit from StewMac and screw up 9 times considering the cost of fretwire and still come out ahead. I would hope I'd get it right before that.

I started on the body tonight and have it almost completely stripped. I'm doing the finishing hand sanding now. I'm going to go with a surf green finish from Reranch and load it with my choice of electronics...which will include Texas Specials.

I'm excited and having fun!

Excellent choice in my opinion. Like you said, you dont NEED another so take your time with it and do lots of research and im sure it will turn out very nice. Best of all, you will have an instrument that you can proudly say you revived yourself.

KevinV · October 30th, 2009, 07:31 PM

The stripping is taking longer than expected; the poly was very thick. I started with a heat gun, moved on to stripper, then a power sander, and now hand sanding. I should have it completed over the weekend, perhaps tomorrow even. I've managed to get to bare wood and maintain the original contours.

My Reranch order is in and I hope will be here this coming week...I've had no update on the status or a tracking number. The fret kit and wire from StewMac is scheduled for delivery on Wednesday. I have plenty to keep me happy and busy for a while now. When the refinish/refret is winding down I'll order up my electronics and pickups.

thaus · October 30th, 2009, 07:36 PM

This is going to be great to watch!! Refrets are not as daunting as it sounds but is just a lot of practice. We did it at a guitar repair course that I took last spring and the most difficult part for me was hand bending the frets; there are tools that do this for you but the luthier who taught the course didn't use anything that fancy. He did a refret for me and compounded a tele neck and custom cut compensated nut all for $300.

KevinV · October 30th, 2009, 07:41 PM

I'll get some pictures up tomorrow for anyone that wants to follow the progress. I did take some before pics, and will get some of the naked body.

thaus · October 30th, 2009, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinV

I'll get some pictures up tomorrow for anyone that wants to follow the progress. I did take some before pics, and will get some of the naked body.

Looking forward to the pics!

mkgearhead · October 30th, 2009, 08:48 PM

Here's a youtube link on a complete refret.

YouTube - refretting a Fender stratocaster PART 1...

I watched the whole series last night and it should tell you everything you need to know.

KevinV · October 31st, 2009, 08:07 PM

I'm not completely done with the sanding but it's awful close. I'll get it knocked out tomorrow. I also found a routing bit for my Dremel that will allow me to clean out the pickup, control, and trem cavities better.

And although the date on the back of the pickguard was from 12/94, the date under the label on the neck is 01/95. That would better match the SN which puts it as a '95.

Here are some before shots...

KevinV · October 31st, 2009, 08:07 PM

And some so far shots...

PixMix · October 31st, 2009, 08:52 PM

Nice work. Did you use paint stripper or a heat gun?

KevinV · October 31st, 2009, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PixMix

Nice work. Did you use paint stripper or a heat gun?

Both. There were three distinct layers...not sure how many coats of each. I took off the outer clear coat with a heat gun, the stripper had no effect on it. It would crackle and pop all over the place from the heat gun, and I then scraped the stubborn spots. Then I used a stripper to remove the middle layer which was black...that took more scraping. There was a base coat the stripper didn't even dent, but I was concerned about using a heat gun on that because I had already scorched a few spots doing the first layer. The base coat has been removed by sanding. I started with a rotary sander with 220 and moved on to hand sanding with 220. I used a Dremel with drum sander attachment to get the bulk of it removed from inside the horns. They were the most tedious part of it. I'll finish up tomorrow and she'll be ready for the oil based grain filler when it arrives.

KevinV · November 1st, 2009, 01:33 PM

I did a little more sanding on the horns and cavities today and then moved to 320 grit paper. I'm filling the screw holes for the pickguard and trem cavity cover and will drill new ones to match the new guards when the body is finished. There were already extra holes on the front from 2 different pickguards. I also filled the strap button holes on the bottom as the original had stripped and the button was relocated. I filled all the holes with toothpicks and wood glue, will trim them flush with snips when dry, touch up with wood filler, and then sand. I'll fill the trem cover holes when the front is done.

dman · November 1st, 2009, 01:47 PM

Glad to hear you've decided to refret it yourself. The knowledge you gain will be worth much more than $295. And it puts you in a good camp...albert collins used to do all his own refrets.
Haven't tried it myself yet, due to lack of time...but I've got an old AXL tele neck that's going to be the lab rat!

Frusciante · November 1st, 2009, 03:39 PM

I definitely think you made the right choice. Imo a great guitar regardless of its initial cost is priceless and well worth the effort to restore

aritoner · November 1st, 2009, 05:06 PM

nice strat im glad to hear you will be re fretting it yourself i like to think the more you can do yourself correctly the closer it will end up to how you want it

KevinV · November 7th, 2009, 08:16 PM

Still making progress. I built a jig today that allows for two 360 degree fields of rotation...plenty to do a complete coat each time.

Here's a shot after the first coat of sand & seal.

tonyw · November 7th, 2009, 09:26 PM

I need a simple jig, something like, that good work.

KevinV · November 8th, 2009, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonyw

I need a simple jig, something like, that good work.

Thanks. Yes, that jig certainly makes short work of it and only took a couple hours to build. It would have gone quicker but I cut the hole for the PVC undersize and used a rasp to bring the ID to a tight fit.

I finished the 4th sand & seal coat today and will sand and primer the body tomorrow. Things are getting more interesting now...closer to the color coats!

I pulled the old frets from the neck but will wait until my order from Stew-Mac gets here to go any further. I ordered a radiused block so I could true up the board before I install the frets. When the refret is done I'll refinish the neck with a darker amber tint like I'm doing on a Bullet neck right now.

My order is in for the hardware and electronics. I decided on the GFS Premium Texas Strat set, 250k CTS pots (audio/linear), .022 Orange Drop Cap, cloth wiring, Switchraft jack, and CRL switch. I'm getting a bone and Tusq nut to try both, vintage style tuners, upgraded trem system, solid block, and saddles, cream knobs, pup covers and tips, and mint green '62 style pickguard and back plate.

I'm glad I went the revive route. I'm learning a lot and having a blast in the process.

thaus · November 9th, 2009, 06:52 AM

Hey great job!! I admire you guys that remove the plastic shell on a guitar. I would never have enough patience for that. And always interesting to see the bodies underneath all that poly. The surf green will look great!!

KevinV · November 9th, 2009, 06:45 PM

I sanded the 4th coat of S&S to matte when I got home from work tonight and got the first 2 coats of primer on. Tomorrow I'll sand it smooth and spray another coat or 2 of primer...I can still see some grain at this point. I also got a spot you can see on the bottom edge of the neck pup route where paint collected on my misplaced, overhanging fingertip, and then splattered onto the guitar body.

sevycat · November 9th, 2009, 08:31 PM

So far, so good. Good Luck with your revival...

mutato · November 10th, 2009, 08:35 AM

That is SO cool and looks fun to do. Love the spraying jig!

Suthrn_BLU_Sman · November 10th, 2009, 09:16 AM

Yep that sprayin jig is nifty but the one that really impressed me was the guys radiusing jig from the 100 Tele Build thread. Maybe one day Ill get to attempt something like this. Lookin forward to following your progress.

Boris Bubbanov · November 10th, 2009, 11:51 PM

Very interesting thread, Kevin.

I apologize for skipping past it - I had it confused with another thread from a while back with a similar title.

Looks very rewarding!

KevinV · November 12th, 2009, 05:18 PM

Thanks, guys. I'm having a lot of fun with this.

I finished up the color coats yesterday and got 2 coats of clear on tonight. I'll let her rest overnight and get 2 or 3 more on tomorrow evening. The parts arrived today as well, so they're standing by.

Malikon · November 12th, 2009, 05:25 PM

oh man it's like watching a fat chick get HOT!!!

Great thread OP. She's looking really nice. Love that surf green/seafoam green color.

Suthrn_BLU_Sman · November 12th, 2009, 08:19 PM

Its lookin good. Only took half beer to get you through it I see.

KRamone27 · November 15th, 2009, 07:50 AM

How's the revival coming along?

KevinV · November 22nd, 2009, 05:52 PM

It's coming along well, thanks. Although not without many learning experiences. But, that's what this was to be, and I'm very happy with the outcome so far. I may have to use the original neck which is in the middle of a refret right now...waiting on another tool from Stew-Mac that will make bending the frets easier...I wasn't doing good with just the nippers.

I put a different neck on that had lots of flame, but the dimensions are a tad different. I'll refinish the original neck when the refret is done and will do it with the same amber tint. I also need to get it wired up, I just put the parts in place on the pickguard, but I'm not in the mood to solder tonight.

It looks very blue in the pics, but is actually surf green. Must be the lighting. I'll get some better pics when the sun's out.

peskypesky · November 22nd, 2009, 07:09 PM

it's looking great. :0)

and i'm sure you're learning a lot and having fun.

Suthrn_BLU_Sman · November 22nd, 2009, 08:03 PM

Its lookin great but I think it would really shine with a maple fret board.

Auriemma · November 23rd, 2009, 07:39 AM

Nice work. You should be proud of her when you are done.

casualofender · November 23rd, 2009, 09:42 AM

Fingers are crossed that it'll still play like a dream; it sure looks great.
...BTW, I like the Rosewood board.