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Topic: removing yellow color from stringmaster |
Jim McGinnis
From:
Owasso, OK USA
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Posted 20 Jun 2018 7:02 pm |
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I have a blonde triple neck Fender stringmaster that has really yellowed over the years. Is there anything that will remove the yellow without damaging the wood?
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Jim McGinnis |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 20 Jun 2018 8:08 pm
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Probably not. Yellowing on an old nitrocellulose lacquer finish is normal. Sometimes there's nicotine from decades of hanging around smoky bars, but even that tends to blend in with the lacquer over time.
IMO - best to just lightly clean it with naptha (I use Ronsonol lighter fluid), maybe give it a light polish with some type of guitar polish, and leave it alone. Truthfully, most vintage guitar owners like that yellowing - if you try to remove it harshly it will mess up the finish and reduce the value.
FWIW, I have a circa '51 or '52 Dual Pro and a '55 Quad Stringmaster. I wouldn't think about doing anything harsh to the finish to try to remove the mojo. |
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Kirk Francis
From:
Laupahoehoe
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Posted 20 Jun 2018 8:40 pm things that yellow with age.
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| leave it alone, i say, so as to enjoy its golden years. the sound is the point, not the color of the finish. |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 21 Jun 2018 7:09 am
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| Quote: |
| I have a blonde triple neck Fender stringmaster that has really yellowed over the years. |
That's a Good thing! Old nitro finishes often darken (or lighten) and that's what we expect to see on an old guitar. It's proof that the finish is original. A light cleaning is fine, but altering the finish could cut the value of your guitar.
Here's the blonde that currently lives with me. She's seen a lot of smokey bars and has lots of checking, light/dark yellowing and cigarette burns. Every ding tells a story, and I wouldn't change a thing!
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Mark Helm
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 21 Jun 2018 7:14 am Leave it be!
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Please--let it age naturally...like a fine wine.
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Remington Steelmaster S8 w/ custom Steeltronics pickup. Vox MV-50 amplifier + an 1940's Oahu cab w/ 8" American Vintage speaker. J. Mascis Fender Squire Jazzmaster, Hofner Club bass, Ibanez AVN4-VMS Artwood Vintage Series Concert Size Acoustic Guitar. 1920s/30s Supertone Hawaiian-themed parlor guitar. Silvertone parlor guitar. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 8:22 am
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I won't play an ugly guitar so I've refinished a few Stringmasters. I use Fender Blonde and then finish up with a tinted clearcoat to add a bit of "vintage" to the color.
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 8:50 am
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For Erv...
DON'T PLAY NO UGLY STEEL GEETAR!
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Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 8:53 am
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Bless her heart! 
Erv |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 9:16 am
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I’m with Erv. My 1956 Stringmaster looked like it had been through a war when I bought it 35 years ago. First thing I did was strip the paint and finish it natural, and the Ash looks darn pretty. It didn’t seem to alter the sound any, maybe just a touch more brown....I don’t care about resale value since it’s not going anywhere until I check out.
BTW, beautiful job, Erv. |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 9:32 am
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| I always thought of a slightly beat up guitar as having "character"..Just imagine the stories an old String Master could tell ! |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 10:32 am
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| The story mine told was “My previous owner didn’t give a hoot about how I looked”. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 11:13 am
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Fred,
I bought the guitar pictured new in 1954.
When I got my Sho~Bud Fingertip, I sold it.
After quite a few years the buyer passed away and I bought it back from his widow.
When I got it back, it looked like he had played it with a claw hammer! It was all gouged up.
I had to go to work with some wood filler before I could start refinishing it.
But it turned out nice!
Erv |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 11:42 am
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| Erv, now that’s a good story with a happy ending. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 22 Jun 2018 11:53 am
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My walnut T8 actually has somebody's scrawled writing ("cant stop" I think it says...setlist notes, or motivational message? get that man a pad of stickynotes!) in between the necks. It's seen some action. Still, beautiful in its way.
A yellowed blonde Fender...that's half the charm...those butterscotch blonde early 50s Teles, for example. But de gustibus non est disputandum, I suppose. I actually prefer the yellower blondes over the ivory/whiter ones that are probably closer to the original finish.
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Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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