1960 Strat restoration

[Spider-Man]

Yes, 4th week of 1961.

 

[Dekel Bor]

Yes, 4th week of 1961.

thx!

so a feb. neck date makes this a feb. 61 guitar? or its slightly later?

 

[fernieite]

Sounds legit for an early '61, as Hogy already confirmed - A 1960 body date is visible? ( I assume sometime late 1960?) Stackpole pot (6104) dates to late January 1961, and a neck date of February 1961.

It was probably assembled and sent off sometime in the spring or summer of 1961...That's about as close as you can do for putting a date on it.

 

[Spider-Man]

Probably assembled later, but I think most people use the neck date when they identify old Fenders. I’d call it a Feb ‘61 Strat.

 

[Dekel Bor]

Sounds legit for an early '61, as Hogy already confirmed - A 1960 body date is visible? ( I assume sometime late 1960?) Stackpole pot (6104) dates to late January 1961, and a neck date of February 1961.

It was probably assembled and sent off sometime in the spring or summer of 1961...That's about as close as you can do for putting a date on it.

no we couldnt find a body date. too many bad refins

 

[starrguitar1]

Congrats on the '61 Strat!
What are the pot dates?

Kip did a beautiful refin on it. I've never seen his work on a Fender before.

Back in 2009 or 2010, he did a great refinish on my R8 Les Paul when he was doing some work with Kim through Historic Makeovers.

I see yours has a proper circa 1960 case
too. ( gold/orange interior without the knuckle-buster under the handle latch) Very cool.

Looking forward to seeing your Strat with all of the parts back on!

Thank you! Take a look at our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/starrguitars/!

 

[Dekel Bor]

Probably assembled later, but I think most people use the neck date when they identify old Fenders. I’d call it a Feb ‘61 Strat.

happy with that!

 

[wraub]

Good looking refin, should be a keeper guitar. Enjoy.

 

[Dekel Bor]

Good looking refin, should be a keeper guitar. Enjoy.

THX!

 

[TeleBlues]

@starrguitar1 is runnin' into trouble with the refin - it had a bad refin or two - and we can't seem to get the red out of the cavities,
or the black out of the Ash - wer'e trying everything.
if we have to go solid color - which would you choose?

something that was common at the time - olympic white?
or custom color - and if so - which?
please share pics pf refins if you can, would really help

View attachment 575631
View attachment 575632

Olympic white, ala the Beach Boys of the 60’s

 

[fernieite]

Sh'es a 1960 body, early 61 neck. all original,

no we couldnt find a body date. too many bad refins

Oh, ok. Your first post (quoted above) said "She's a 1960 body", so I assumed there was a penciled date in one of the cavities in the body.

 

[mattier]

This is such a cool thread and guitar!
Thanks so much for sharing this with everyone.
The process is really cool to see and it looks AMAZING!
That finish and the aging are mind numbing!
So why didn't you have it shipped to you first to try it out before the refin?
I know you said you heard 6-7, so maybe this just had the right sound and you
knew you found what you wanted? Year, specs, sound..condition price ect....
Can't wait to see what comes out of this...
This is from GC to....amazing...(They often get bashed here), I have found some deals, steals and Gems from them. Good for them and you!

 

[Gear Junky]

We decided to do the mostly opaque Blonde. The finish in the routes is urethane and won't come out without a tremendous fight, so we are going to leave it alone. Like was said, it shows the guitar's journey. Much like the tremendous amount of over-sanding that has occurred.

It sounds like you have made up your mind.

If it were me, I would try Aircraft Paint Stripper.
Use with caution but it will do the job.
Look for it at an Auto supply store.
It may take several applications if the layers are thick.

IMO, attention to the little details makes for an outstanding end result.
I’m assuming, if you’ll permit me to say, “this one is the keeper”, correct?

 

[Dekel Bor]

It sounds like you have made up your mind.

If it were me, I would try Aircraft Paint Stripper.
Use with caution but it will do the job.
Look for it at an Auto supply store.
It may take several applications if the layers are thick.

IMO, attention to the little details makes for an outstanding end result.
I’m assuming, if you’ll permit me to say, “this one is the keeper”, correct?

thanks for the tip!

we found the old blond finish in the neck pocket, so it was an easy call

yes this is a lifetime guitar for me. one of the best 2 ive every heard, the other being hogy's new 61' slab board.

 

[Dekel Bor]

This is such a cool thread and guitar!
Thanks so much for sharing this with everyone.
The process is really cool to see and it looks AMAZING!
That finish and the aging are mind numbing!
So why didn't you have it shipped to you first to try it out before the refin?
I know you said you heard 6-7, so maybe this just had the right sound and you
knew you found what you wanted? Year, specs, sound..condition price ect....
Can't wait to see what comes out of this...
This is from GC to....amazing...(They often get bashed here), I have found some deals, steals and Gems from them. Good for them and you!

THX! @starrguitar1 is a genius. wow.

i bought it still within the heart of covid, so flying from berlin to the east coast wasnt an option,
and so i did zoom calls to hear about 7 pre CBS, and this one stood far above the rest - was very clear.
i must say GC were beyond great in making this happen, and ill def. buy there again

 

[mattier]

THX! @starrguitar1 is a genius. wow.

i bought it still within the heart of covid, so flying from berlin to the east coast wasnt an option,
and so i did zoom calls to hear about 7 pre CBS, and this one stood far above the rest - was very clear.
i must say GC were beyond great in making this happen, and ill def. buy there again

Ah Germany, ok I see why.

 

[Dekel Bor]

A few more pics from the brilliant @starrguitar1 - super excited about how incredible this is turning out!

 

[Spider-Man]

They are doing a really nice job on that Strat!

I have a '58 Esquire that was refinished with the wrong color (it's too yellow). These pics of the progress on your Strat have me seriously thinking about sending it to them to get it right.

 

[Dekel Bor]

They are doing a really nice job on that Strat!

I have a '58 Esquire that was refinished with the wrong color (it's too yellow). These pics of the progress on your Strat have me seriously thinking about sending it to them to get it right.

send me a pic!

 

[hogy]

Dekel, my man, you are in for a real treat! This guitar sounds and plays unbelievably great! I know you dig my blonde '61, yours is every bit as good. Maybe a bit better on the neck pickup, but I would never admit that. Perfect Strat weight, too, at 7lbs 4oz. On the dot the same as mine. This was a project well worth doing.

Starr Guitars did a beautiful job on the color. Mine has seen more smoky bars, both look killer to me.

Just got the frets done, everything assembled. Ready for the next 50 years. This is really a lifetime Strat, they don't get much better than this thing.

Can't wait to hear the music you'll create on this guitar!