Tips on saving the original finish on my '60's Fender1000 ?

[Peter Weitzenkorn]

The sunburst finish on my Fender 1000 appears to be in real good shape from a distance but close-up there are hairline cracks & checks all over. I'd really appreciate hearing about any tips on how to stop or reverse this problem before it's too late. There are a few small chips through to the base wood and I'd like to seal these somehow so they don't grow. Thought I read somewhere not to wax a nitro-c finish?

Thanks, Pete W.

[George McCann]

Peter, I've shot nitro on over 30 instruments and still have a heck of a lot to learn. That being said as you probably know that type of checking is normal and part of the "allure" for collectors of older instruments.If you mess with it or strip it and refinish the instrument it is no longer "collector quality". There is a whole cottage industry of guitar finishers that artifically age guitar finishes to give them a allure of aging.
I know that most anchient steels don't seem to have appreciated in value like guitars have but you might think about your Fender as part of music history.
I've never thought about trying to reverse the aging of a lacquer finish so can't help you with that. There are folks on this forum who do like to restore steels. Hopefully some of them will check in with there advise. Sorry for the none help...

[Billy Tonnesen]

I don't recall the Fender 1000 having a Sunburst finish. The first I saw was on the Fender 2000 when the necks changed to 10 strings. If your 1000 is an original Sunburst finish it is probably worth more money.

[Peter Weitzenkorn]

George, Thanks for the response. I'd like to keep it just as it is and maintain the original finish. Got any suggestions as to how to keeps the dings small? Maybe a little wax just on the spots? I'd rather not do any touch-up for the reasons you mention above. I have a '64 Fender Jaguar that I bought new as a kid. Had the sunburst painted over at a auto body shop (stupid kid tricks) and the various knicks in that are starting to grow and flake. Trying to avoid that with the steel.

[Peter Weitzenkorn]

Billy, Most of the older long scale 1000's are blonde. Mine is short scale '64 and I'm pretty sure most of them were sunburst. It looks pretty nice.

[Kevin Hatton]

Refinishing pedal steels ADDS to their value. Unlike guitars. I would consider a quality refinish by a good refinisher.

[Brian Herder]

I would leave it as it is. If you don't bang it around and keep it out of the sun, the finish should stay as it is for your lifetime. I think refinishing a Fender steel has a definite negative effect on it's value and appeal as opposed to just about any other brand, though I personally would prefer original on just about any steel. I do think that the steel community's attitude about refinished guitars will eventually shift to favoring original just as the vintage drum and car community has. If a steel were trashed and in actually need of restoration I'd say go to town with it, but an instrument with honest wear has a real appeal over one that is refinished. IMHO.

[Kevin Hatton]

Never has, never will. Many of us here continue to refinish/refurb old worn out pedal steels and making them new again, including Fenders. Selling them back out for a considerable profit. On the contrary, I think that it is the guitar market that will soon come to realize that a properly refinished instrument adds value.

[Jerry Kippola]

My two cents--Steel players in general seem to not be as picky about refinishing vintage finishes on steel guitars, unlike the vintage guitar collectors who want originality. But I am not one of those, I really enjoy the attribute of original finishes on any guitars, it belongs that way. Unless it's really butt ugly, i would leave it be. Nitro chip outs in sunburst finishes can be time consuming to fix, but not impossible. Cracks in lacquer are part of the age process.

[Skeeter Stultz]

Hi Billy, My first 1000 was blond with a black frame and stamped pedals and solid bar bridge. I bought it in '59. Buddie Kendrick traded it in to Fender for a new 1000 which has cast pedals (10 by request) and a sunburst finish. This was in about '66 or '67.

[Brian Herder]

The long scale 1000 with stamped pedals and Jazzmaster PU (actually, I guess technically the Jazzmaster has a 1000 style PU since the 1000 made it's debut a year or so earlier) was offered in sunburst for a brief period prior to the newer short scale model. I still maintain that the steel community is going to be late to the "keeping it original" party, but they will get there. When something is no longer made and becomes collectible for whatever reason, originality always comes into play. Pete's guitar sounds nice and I think it would be a shame to refinish it.

[George McCann]

Interesting replys guys. Some for restoration and some for keeping it original.
Peter, I don't know how to stop the finish aging process. I assume you know about the affects of heat and cold on a lacquer finish. I haven't heard about applying wax and how it affects the finish. My thoughts would be that the wax would protect the surface. Maybe wiser minds will chip in their .02 cents.

[Donny Hinson]

Players may like nice purty, shiny guitars, they may even like them refinished. But a true collector always frowns on a refinish, and that paradigm is not about to change. Of course, a guitar that's been beat to hell or neglected for decades will never be a "collector" in the first place, so if it's junk, more or less, it doesn't hurt to try to make it saleable.

Sunburst Model 400 and 1000 guitars were made from the early '60s to the mid '70s, though fewer and fewer were produced after the (10-string) Model 800 and 2000 were introduced in 1964. From their inception, Fender constantly made minor changes in their cable guitars, over 50 of them, but the size, weight, cable limitations, and poor sales after the mid '60s doomed their pedal steels to extinction. The PS-Series, although innovative, was also limited, heavy, and simply came along too late to make a difference.

[Peter Weitzenkorn]

Much thanks to all you guys for your comments and knowledge. I'll wax the dings and keep her at room temp and hope she stays as purty as she is. As you can see, she's not bad for an old girl. The pedal bar was metallic silver blue (?) when I got her so I've stripped that and am trying my hand at sunburst with some stuff I got from Guitar ReRanch on line. Haven't even gotten the amber right yet but I'll keep at it.

[Donny Hinson]

As you can see, she's not bad for an old girl.

I'll say! Nothing wrong with that finish, IMHO.

Of course, I realize there are players who are equally concerned with both playing and displaying.