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NGD : 67 Fender Mustang.


laserdanger

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I got what I perceive to be a pretty good deal. '67 Mustang off of Craigslist for 400. Serial number is correct. Has cloth covered wire, and smells like musty vintage guitars tend to. Most importantly original pickups. The catch; It was repainted with I believe to be white acryilc paint, and then splattered with blue paint for an artsy effect. From a distance it has begun to grow on me. Ultimately I want this bad boy to have original finish. The tuners were "upgraded". Screw holes for original tuners were filled in. Decently...but it still means sometime in the future I will want to source period correct tuners. As of now the bridge pickup is giving me nothing. I will go over the electronics end of it and clean up the old contacts. Fingers crossed the pickup doesn't need to be rewound.

As I began disassembling the guitar for inspection I noticed the finish chipping off and what looks like to be a cream color underneath. I believe this could be the original finish! Slowly chipping at it seems to be working, any recommendations as to how to proceed? If I can save the original finish that would be HUGE. Partially for the intrinsic collectors value of the instrument and it will save me having to refinish an already refinished guitar. The cream coat underneath looks very dull. It may have been sanded and used as a base coat for hack-job refin. If that is case should I simply proceed with a clear coat over the original finish?

I was planning on polishing the very tarnished nickel plating. Any recommendations? How will this effect value if at all. I may also use a tumbler, like the ones used to polish rocks and other such things. I've used it in past on cheap squier bridge and it came out looking like new. Tumbler uses corn meal so it is not too abrasive, just takes off all of the crud and should leave nickel just fine.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

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Finish wise you're in a situation where the original finish is most likely nitro. I'd plan on a refinish unless you go REALLY slow with 120 grit and get extremely lucky. Once you get close, move to 220 and then up to 600 and so on. You may be able to buff the original out, but don't count on it. As far as tumbling the hardware, great idea IMO. Oh and HNGD!!!

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Great deal, even if you just wanted to play it as-is (well, once you fix the pick-up). But I'm with you, I'd try to get it back to vintage spec if you can. Those old nitro finishes could dull up pretty good, so you might have an original olympic white finish under there. I'd keep chipping away and see where you get. Maybe some sanding and buffing per Belva's suggestion above. Last resort, refin. But hey, then you can have whatever color Mustang you've ever wanted.

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I will proceed slowly to see what indeed happened t original finish. Paint flaked off under control plate, which means I can experiment and still hide it.this is not my only vintage guitar but it certainly my nicest. Others being a 66 Harmony Bobkat and a Teisco. Both mustang rip offs. It'd nice if the actual thing looked original.

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Quote Originally Posted by laserdanger

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I will proceed slowly to see what indeed happened t original finish. Paint flaked off under control plate, which means I can experiment and still hide it.this is not my only vintage guitar but it certainly my nicest. Others being a 66 Harmony Bobkat and a Teisco. Both mustang rip offs. It'd nice if the actual thing looked original.

 

IMO those two aren't even in the same ballpark as the Mustang. Definitely the king of the collection by a mile.
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They have character. More than most the stuff peddled at GC. It's nice having something that isn't standard Fender single coil, or standard humbucker sound. But yea, I love the new acquisition.

Also, finish has been worn off on neck. Anything I should do to protect wood?

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Not a fan of the paint splatter.....always seemed like faux art to me.....(don't tell Jackson Pollack though)

If it were mine I'd take that thing right down to bare wood and make it better than 60's fender finishes. Spray it full old school nitro with no poly undercoat. Ultra thin.

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Quote Originally Posted by laserdanger View Post
They have character. More than most the stuff peddled at GC. It's nice having something that isn't standard Fender single coil, or standard humbucker sound. But yea, I love the new acquisition.

Also, finish has been worn off on neck. Anything I should do to protect wood?
Agreed. I was guitar sitting a 60s Harmony Rocket for a friend last year. Although it wasn't a great player the sound was so organic and authentic it was hard to put down.
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One thing you might try to get that white paint off is to press a length of duct tape onto the finish, right where you've already got some of it chipped away, leaving a free end just past the chipped-away paint. Press the tape down real hard, then leave it for a few minutes. Grab the free end of the tape, and pull it off of the guitar sharply. If you're lucky, a good bit of the white paint will come off with it. Repeat as necessary to get the bulk of the white paint off.


Is the bridge/tailpiece original?

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One thing you might try to get that white paint off is to press a length of duct tape onto the finish, right where you've already got some of it chipped away, leaving a free end just past the chipped-away paint. Press the tape down real hard, then leave it for a few minutes. Grab the free end of the tape, and pull it off of the guitar sharply. If you're lucky, a good bit of the white paint will come off with it. Repeat as necessary to get the bulk of the white paint off.



Is the bridge/tailpiece original?

 

 

Yes the bridge is original. Only modifications being one switch, tuners, and paint.

 

And awesome suggestion. Better yet that canvas tape may hold better and leave less residue

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