Surf Green Vintage Strat Build

[Hagwood]

My first in the ‘Vintage Fender Colors Inspired by Car Colors’ series…

Alder body, so just sprayed 3 coats of Sanding Sealer and lightly sanded with 400, now ready to shoot the primer. I want to use all Fender parts and already have most of the hardware from previous builds, including Texas Special pickups. OK, not totally vintage, gotta also have locking tuners, but will look ‘mostly vintage’. It will have a Fender 6 point Trem.

My pickups and pick guard are white, I’m thinking an off-white would look more vintage, but Fender has like 4 different whites…..

Also while I have the booth set up going to experiment with some scrap wood shooting bursts with tinted lacquer, tint in acetone, etc. going to be a fun day !!!

 

[Spud]

My first in the ‘Vintage Fender Colors Inspired by Car Colors’ series…

Alder body, so just sprayed 3 coats of Sanding Sealer and lightly sanded with 400, now ready to shoot the primer. I want to use all Fender parts and already have most of the hardware from previous builds, including Texas Special pickups. OK, not totally vintage, gotta also have locking tuners, but will look ‘mostly vintage’. It will have a Fender 6 point Trem.

My pickups and pick guard are white, I’m thinking an off-white would look more vintage, but Fender has like 4 different whites…..

Also while I have the booth set up going to experiment with some scrap wood shooting bursts with tinted lacquer, tint in acetone, etc. going to be a fun day !!!

I am really impressed with the Wilkenson/Gotoh VSVG 6 hole trem, it stays in tune very well. In case you ar looking.

 

[Hagwood]

The Oxford primer went down great. I’ll give it 24 hours, lightly sand, and shoot that beautiful Surf Green on tomorrow…..

 

[Hagwood]

 

[Spud]

View attachment 65389

Is there a chance of over spray getting on the vehicle?!!

 

[Hagwood]

Is there a chance of over spray getting on the vehicle?!!

No, the filtration works really well in the booth. It vents out the sides with a 2 layer filter on each side. Haven’t seen anything get past ‘em yet, but they’re getting a little ‘painty’. Need to figure out how to clean or replace them.

 

[Hagwood]

Clear nitro coats 4-6 tonight. Fun evening !!

 

[teleme01]

That's gonna be nice, I wish I had the clean space and setup, like if you were the good neighbor who shared a passion.

 

[Hagwood]

That's gonna be nice, I wish I had the clean space and setup, like if you were the good neighbor who shared a passion.

Thanks. LOL, I’m already the good neighbor who works on everyone’s cars, computers, plumbing……. But it would be cool if I had a neighbor into guitars….

 

[Hagwood]

Level sanded after the first 9 coats of nitro, and man, it was near perfect ! Loving this spray gun setup, will never go back to rattle cans. Barely any sanding with 800 grit Assilex and it’s as flat as it can be.

Was trying to decide on the pickguard and seems the original 64’s I’ve seem had mint green, but most look too dark. Took a chance on this Musiclilly one from Amazon, and think it is spot on.

 

[Spud]

Is it really the Fender Car color collection? For you, really, shouldn't it be the pastel coated almond collection?

 

[Hagwood]

Is it really the Fender Car color collection? For you, really, shouldn't it be the pastel coated almond collection?

View attachment 65477

Hey, great idea ! I love Jordan Almonds !!

 

[Hagwood]

All level sanded with 600 and ready for the final clear coats. I'm thinking this pickguard and knob/pickup cover combination looks pretty dang close to vintage. Mint Green and parchment. The bottom pick is an actual 1964. I had a spare Fender Trem laying around but the holes aren't lining up for some reason. need to do some measuring to see what's up.

 

[Hodgo]

That looks great. Mint is tough to get right, I bought Fender/Warmoth/WD samples for my Tele and found the Fender Pure Vintage to be closest to what I saw online in the end.

 

[Hagwood]

That looks great. Mint is tough to get right, I bought Fender/Warmoth/WD samples for my Tele and found the Fender Pure Vintage to be closest to what I saw online in the end.

You're right, most seem too dark. I was contemplating going with 'Aged White' before I saw this one. Musiclilly for only $13 and I think it is very close.

 

[ruscio]

This looks great! I've been through a lot of variations on mint green through the years and can appreciate your attention to detail in seeking the one that looks right. I think your bridge has vintage screw hole spacing, whereas Warmoth drills holes for more modern versions. Here's a diagram with some pretty good explanation of the variants out there:

 

[sdeeg]

@Hagwood I love your paint setup (and the results you're getting!). Have you posted anything that lays out the details (paint tent, sprayer, compressor, etc.)? I tried searching your posts, but gave up after the 3rd or 4th page.

 

[Hagwood]

This looks great! I've been through a lot of variations on mint green through the years and can appreciate your attention to detail in seeking the one that looks right. I think your bridge has vintage screw hole spacing, whereas Warmoth drills holes for more modern versions. Here's a diagram with some pretty good explanation of the variants out there:
View attachment 65510

Man, just the information I needed ! Much appreciated !

 

[Hagwood]

@Hagwood I love your paint setup (and the results you're getting!). Have you posted anything that lays out the details (paint tent, sprayer, compressor, etc.)? I tried searching your posts, but gave up after the 3rd or 4th page.

Thanks ! Here's a link to a post about the stand. I had some interest in it, so drew up some plans later in the thread:
https://unofficialwarmoth.com/threads/my-diy-30-paint-stand.40124/

Paint booth:

https://www.vevor.com/inflatable-paint-booth-c_10313/vevor-inflatable-paint-booth-9-8-x-8-2-x-8-2-ft-inflatable-spray-booth-with-550w-powerful-blower-and-air-filter-system-portable-car-paint-booth-for-motorcycle-bicycle-small-furniture-painting-p_010117563994?adp=gmc&utm_id=603678873&msclkid=3081138f9b3b1ee1b6947bed79a4a02d

Spray Gun is a middle of the road LVLP gun that had a lot of good recommendations. Some people out there will say you need a $500 Iwata, but I'm painting a few guitars a month, not cars for a living. I can't imagine needing anything more than this, I have had zero issues with it:

https://www.vevor.com/inflatable-paint-booth-c_10313/vevor-inflatable-paint-booth-9-8-x-8-2-x-8-2-ft-inflatable-spray-booth-with-550w-powerful-blower-and-air-filter-system-portable-car-paint-booth-for-motorcycle-bicycle-small-furniture-painting-p_010117563994?adp=gmc&utm_id=603678873&msclkid=3081138f9b3b1ee1b6947bed79a4a02d

Compressor is one I already had for air tools, etc, and the LVLP works great with it. Probably not for an HVLP gun.



BONUS TIP: I never ever Wet Sand. I use Eagle Abrasives Super Assilex and Buflex:
https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-too...kit/?queryid=a812056740bab1165449573ee5651b14

 

[TBurst Std]

If you need a 2 7/32 screw bridge but want narrower string spacing, Callaham is your friend.