R/2e Refinish 1964 Fender Jazzmaster
Click on the thumbnails for full sized images.

 

This guitar was purchased by its current owner from the US in the condition seen in the first pictures below. The finish had been removed and replaced with a clear finish (possibly some kind of varnish). Unfortunately removing the body colour finish from the headstock face had also removed the Fender and Jazzmaster decals. However, the guitar appears to be almost completely original, only the volume potentiometer appears to have been replaced at some stage. The neck has a 1964 date stamp. The guitar body has been treated to a little minor vandalism in the words carved on the front.

The customer's requirements are as follows -

  • Repair or fill the carving damage
  • Refinish the body and headstock face in Firemist Gold Metallic
  • Obtain and fit the correct headstock decals
  • Clean the hardware and check the electrics, repairing where necessary
 
 
The guitar as it arrived, carving damage can be clearly seen on body front, but all the hardware is original and the guitar is very playable.
 

Left and below - The back of the body showing more normal minor damage.

Right top - the guitar stripped ready for old finish removal, and Right bottom - original pencil marks ('B'? '3'?) under the finish
 
The body has now had the old finish completely removed and been cleaned up as far as possible. Screw holes have been filled with wood, and the carving marks and various dings filled with a wood-dust/glue combination. Marks which could not be removed with light sanding have been left as they will do no harm under the solid colour. The body has been stained yellow, as was the way Fender did it. This is probably overkill as this was done originally so they could then select the best for sunbursting, but in twenty or thirty years if the top coat wears through with hard use, the layering will look correct with wood, stain, white undercoat and top coat.
 
White undercoat now sprayed. Because this is a metallic colour which can not be flatted, the undercoat will be flatted and another coat added if necessary to ensure the best finish before the gold is sprayed.
 
First coats of gold seemed to be fine until the paint appeared not to be drying at one spot, classic signs of some underlying oil or silicon contamination. The paint was removed back to the wood at this spot and cleaned with various solvents then oversprayed with gold, but to no avail, as seen on theclose up shot on the right. At this point it's probably best to remove all the gold, re-clean the contaminated spot and seal with shellac or similar before re-applying the gold. Sh*t happens..............!
 
The work starts again. The body was stripped back, sealed with shellac, undercoated and then the gold again. Really gleams in the sunlight, above
 
The logo applied. It is then sprayed with clear lacquer and the edges 'disappear' into the lacquer.
Rear view, with clear lacqure over the gold, above.
Front view, with clear lacquer over the gold, above.
 
The guitar nearly finished. The electrics have been fitted and checked along with the rest of the hardware. All that remains is to fit a set of strings and give the guitar a good set up.
 
The owner has kindly sent me some photos of the finished guitar which he has taken