What to do about this horrific relic job?

Stuckfast · March 19

I picked up a couple of guitars cheaply on eBay last week with a view to selling them on. One of them is this:

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/74090739d6fd87a54ba23f2be74a3e80b06e6b343580868545

It's a Fender 50th Anniversary Duo-Sonic from 1996 (I think). It's incredibly light, the electrics work, the neck is straight, the action is low, it intonates well and it's a ton of fun to play. However, as you can see it has experienced a delicate yet noticeable process of light ageing from a blind person with an electric sander previous owner.

The question is what, if anything, to do about it given that I don't want to keep it. Is it better to sell it as is, as a project? Or try to finish the job and give it some sort of natural finish and a new scratchplate? (The worst bit is the small area to the lower left in this photo which is somewhat gouged.)

The back is a particular highlight, thanks to a sensitive recreation of authentic buckle rash:

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/af53097765737dd6012c723cc440d35e53ec4691486e0ed8c4

Winny_Pooh · March 19

Sell as project. Men love a DIY project (women love a man-as-project)

ICBM · March 19

If you're going to sell it, don't do anything that involves spending money - it won't make any difference to the value unless you were going to go completely over the top and have it fully professionally refinished.

A tiny number of people will think it looks cool like that.

A larger number will look at it as a project. God loves an optimist.

Funkfingers · March 19

Stuckfast said:

… with a view to selling them on …

ICBM said:

… don't do anything that involves spending money.

I would go further and say don't expect to turn a profit on that one.

BillDL · March 19

What's your best price for cash?

nero1701 · March 19

BillDL said:

What's your best price for cash?

I see what you did there

jca74 · March 19

With that wear pattern, you probably need to be targeting a George Formby enthusaist...

SPECTRUM001 · March 19

I haven’t much of a business head, and also struggle with (the notion of) buying on eBay in order to sell on.

So my direction would be taking an investment punt via Rich Rendell. Have him strip and refinish it in nitro (little bit of tasteful ageing) and then market it as a genuine three barrel Duosonic (they no longer come with those stock bridges anymore) in nitro.

It’s possible you may get more interest that way - and also acquire a genuinely nice Duosonic.

Tall_martin · March 19

I would start a stealth advert on the main page and then keep it

For investment I'd suggest starting a stealth advert on the main page and selling it as is on here.

Offset · March 19

BillDL said:

What's your best price for cash?

£50 for the Fender.

strtdv · March 19

Is it poly? If so I'd leave it as is.
If it's nitro you may be able to blend in a partial respray, but it'll be expensive to get it done professionally. I'd be tempted to get a few rattle cans of nitro and have a go, at the end of the day it won't end up any more of a project than it currently is

mankytom · March 19

I’d be interested to hear what pattern of use led to that pattern of wear. Answers on a postcard!

Stuckfast · March 19

It's poly, I assume.

I'm tempted to treat it as an art project and paint it in a characterful way. What paint would work? Enamel?

mankytom · March 19

But to answer the question.. sand the paint off and varnish it? Spraying the body with nitro would not be a huge job. Shell pink? The wear on the neck still looks pretty unusual though

Stuckfast · March 19

mankytom said:

But to answer the question.. sand the paint off and varnish it? Spraying the body with nitro would not be a huge job. Shell pink? The wear on the neck still looks pretty unusual though

I don't think that's wear on the neck, it's just staining.

Thanks, yes I guess I was wondering how big a job it would be to sand and do a basic refinish. I have an electric sander and no discernible talent.

mankytom · March 19

If you go slow and steady with nitro there’s not much that can go wrong.. need to spray outside with a proper mask though

Stuckfast · March 19

Sounds like a plan. I guess you need to do lots of thin coats?

Kurtis · March 19

If you're just going to flip it I wouldn't do anything.
If you strip it the wood probably won't look great underneath.

Devil#20 · March 19

mankytom said:

But to answer the question.. sand the paint off and varnish it? Spraying the body with nitro would not be a huge job. Shell pink? The wear on the neck still looks pretty unusual though

I'm not sure you can just sand it down and spray it with nitro. Don't you have to put grain sealer on it and stuff. I think you still need to do this if you're going to use clear nitro. Plenty on here will know. Out of interest what's the going rate to have a guitar stripped and re-finishing? I'm guessing it will be in the regions of 250 to 300 but that's just a guess.

mankytom · March 19

Stuckfast said:

Sounds like a plan. I guess you need to do lots of thin coats?

Exactly. There are good videos on YouTube about the process. I’ve sprayed a couple now and if you are patient it should come out ok. Thin coats, give it time to dry.. sanding and polishing is really satisfying too!

mankytom · March 19

https://m.youtube.com/@LoneStarGuitars

This guy was helpful (to me) - I am an amateur though.. I’m sure others on here are much more knowledgeable

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What to do about this horrific relic job?

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