R ESTORINGANORIGINA L
Refinishing a ‘60s Blonde Tele, Pt. 2
Scraping away the overspray
Welcome back to another day in our refinish-
ing department as we continue restoring a
1960 Fender Telecaster to its original blonde
finish. Last month we applied the vinyl sealer,
an oil-based natural grain filler and a light,
transparent white base coat. The body was
then topped with a tinted nitocellulose vin-
tage clear. The restored finish was matched
to the original finish that was still intact in the
body cavities. The original finish was a lighter
white blonde – what Fender began spraying
in the mid-fifties – rather than butterscotch.
body cavities the overspray was cut and
scraped at the tape line. For this I used my
trusty razor blade, ground down to a 52
degree angle on one side. This helps when
maneuvering in the cavity routes and with
removing the excess finish in the neck pocket
when fitting the neck.
glistening sheen. The guitar was carefully
assembled throughout the night and sent off
to the airport come morning.
Because of client confidentiality I am not able
to say whose guitar this is, but I can say that
refinishing this guitar in a very short amount
of time has been an exciting adventure and
an intense workout. I’m
looking forward to seeing
it played in concert on TV.
Clear Coats
I sprayed six additional coats of clear nitro to
be sanded and buffed, as the original finish
was not very thick, making it an important
detail in the end result. In between coats I
supercharged the curing time by setting the
drying room temperature between 85 and
90 degrees. This type of restoration usu-
ally takes four to six weeks, but to have this
body ready in the requested (short) ten day
period, I needed to use minimal amounts of
lacquer thinner and boost the curing room
temperature.
As an added note, Brown’s
Guitar Factory will be
at the NAMM show in
Anaheim, January 17-20,
at BOOTH 3095 in Hall
D. Please come over to
say hello and take a look
at our new products and
the unveiling of our new
guitars. This would also
be a great time to answer
any of your repair or build-
ing questions. It would be
my pleasure to meet all of
you Restoring An Original
enthusiasts.
Sand and Buff
The finish was wet sanded up to 1500 grit
with an assortment of sanding blocks. Before
the protective tape was removed from the
It was requested that the freshly sprayed fin-
ish have an original, textured look to it, but it
was not to be relic’ed – the artist was going
to create all of this naturally through the use
of the instrument. I hand buffed the finish
using trace cloth and 3M Perfect-It Rubbing
Compound. Avoiding the use of machines
provided us with a bit of a comfort zone by
avoiding the heat factor from fast-turning
buffing wheels and the possible melting or
burning of this freshly sprayed finish.
The end result gave us the desired look
without the intense glare of a bright and
John Brown
John Brown, of Brown's Guitar Factory, is the inventor
of the Fretted/Less bass. He owns and operates a full
guitar manufacturing and repair/restoration facility, which
is staffed by a team of talented luthiers. He is also the
designer of guitar making/repair tools and accessories
that are used today by instrument builders throughout
the world.
brownsguitarfactory.com
info@brownsguitarfactory.com
