gold or burst?

jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
i have my '66 strat sanded down to the bare wood and im torn between 2 choices of finish. (no, black with a swastika guard and silver SS knobs is not one of them :) )

the guitar has a rosewood fretbord

my 2 choices are:

3 color sunburst...the original finish that was on the guitar. stock with nickel hardware and maybe a pearloid guard


vintage gold metallic (like the gold on a les paul gold top)
with gold hardward and knobs.

the keys on the guitar are vintage kludsons, but they are gold.
(the thumbplates have all the gold rubbed off and look almost chrome...the origianal keys were not gold but they were in poor shape so i got some keys off a '65 strat neck...it had gold hardware)

if i go with the gold color i may go with a black guard...maybe a white pearloid...

what do you guys think?
 
I'd go for the burst, unless you're going to be playing a lot of Dick Dale tunes in which case gold is the only way to go.
 
I vote burst over gold...unless you put a coat of clear red laquer over top of the gold...what was that Fender finish called "candy apple red"?

I have a friend with one of the (early 80's?) '62 Strat reissues with that finish. Very nice...

Cheers!
 
i had already decided on burst pretty much....but i think dick dale has a cool looking strat so i have been kind of torn.

im gonna go burst...but....on burst you have the 3 color burst of the early 60's which has an amber center (i really like that style of 3 color sunburst). next you have the mid to late 60's 3 color sunburst where the center is yellow instead of amber (don't like that one as much but it would be the "correct" sunburst for a '66.)

that is one thing that made me think about going to a vintage solid like the gold, or lake placid blue.....i can't really decide whether to go with the amber 3 color burst or the correct yellow 3 color burst.

i don't guess it really matters if its the "correct" sunburst or not...its a refinish either way. i guess with the correct sunburst i could say the finish is restored though.
 
Paint it with chalkboard paint, then you can draw all over it. Just keep some chalk and an eraser in the case.
 
I don't know if this is posible but...

...can you do a Gold Burst somehow? I don't know much about refinishing and what chemicals are for what, but that might look interesting and maybe even good if done right.

Transparent Gold center out to a transparent dark outside or visa-versa.
 
I take that back.....maybe a light out side wood tone.

I was thinking more of a Sun with Space around it but that might end up tacky looking no matter how subtle it is.
 
Burst=good
Gold=ghetto-chic ;)

Instead of the '39 Third Reich finish :rolleyes: you might want to consider a Iraqi "We've been a pain in the US-ass since '89" finish in red, white, black with a green side... :eek: ;)
 
Not one of your choices, but...

The most beautiful guitar I have ever seen was a mid-50's strat with a severely worn maple neck and a faded cherry sunburst. Amber center gently fading into orangey-red, into red, with the most gorgeous grain you've ever seen showing though the whole thing. Kinda like my early memories of Diana Rigg and Stephanie Powers in skintight black leotards, it left a definite impression on me. I never really cared for the standard Fender sunbursts, just don't like the black finish at the edge. And I really hate the gold-top stuff. Might as well put sequins on it. As far as being historically accurate, don't worry about it. Unless you are truly a maestro with a spray gun, you'll never fool anybody. And as far as any serious collector is concerned, you've already fucked it up. They'd rather have a shitty original finish than a beautiful refinish. So go with whatever floats YOUR boat. The Lake Placid blue wouldn't be bad. MY personal choice would be to leave it natural, with a matte finish. Think Paul McCartney's stripped Rickenbacker bass. Just my $1.53.:D
 
Has anyone stripped their guitar down to the wood and just left it that way?

if so how did it look.
 
Depends on the wood...

I had an old maple no name 335 rip-off, that I stripped down to the wood, and it looked amazing. Although, maple is one of the few woods on an electric I like with no finish.
 
I've got a guitar the specs say the body is lamiated nato/alder that i want to do it to. Any advice?
 
Bought a used Fender Jazz Bass in 1973 or so that had a white
finish that was stripped off. The reason I could tell it was white is because whoever stripped off the finish didn't get it all, but left tiny patches of the white stuff in hard to reach places. The clear finish is pretty poor also, but truth be told, the wood grain is FABULOUS and I wouldn't cover it for anything. The only thing I'd do someday is remove the rest of the telltale white specs and refinish it correctly in CLEAR. Au Natural rules!
 
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