Thread: 1971 Telecaster

some pics ??

Originally Posted by old_picker

some pics ??

In the cold light of Morning.

Never underestimate the power of warm soapy water. I dont mean dump it in a bucket, by the way. It probably wont get rid of the sticky, but may remove some of the bulk before you turn to your more agressive cleaning solvents. Remember to treat your neck differently to your body as they most likely have different finishes and may react differently.
I can offer no firm advice other than to take it SLOWLY and use a cotton bud on an inconspicuous area as you try different things. There will be someone on here that will know more than me and can advise you of what to use, however I have cleaned a few filthy instruments with the ol' soapy water trick. Use good quality paper towels, they will rip generally before you can do damage to your finish, you end up with some fluff, but it is safer than a cloth which can drag stuff across the finish and scratch it.

Please give us some before and after pics too

37 year old tele gettin' a sponge bath. Gives me goosebumps.

Really, the only sure way to fix a problem like this is to send the guitar somewhere cooler....... say ..... Tasmania.

Hi watson... can you give me some more information (or pics preferably) of what kind of foam is inside the tele case? I have quite a bit of experience in removing decaying foam of various different kinds from all sorts of equipment. Granted never from a guitar, but a LOT of other things. It can often be VERY sticky, and I would not recommend plain soapy water (in my experience) as mongrel suggested. Have you ever tried to get the sticky stuff from the back of a price label off a cd cover? This can be ten times worse.

Anyhow, get me a description (colour, foam, rubbery foam, dense, airated etc) or some pictures and I will see if I can help. I'd say to try a citrus cleaner, but I wouldn't want to put that on the finish of a 37 year old tele.

Oh yeah, hi all, I'm back from O/S incase anyone missed me :P

Here in the states, lighter fluid is made from naptha. We use it extensively to take off sticky residue from stickers & price tags. What effect would naptha have on the finish? No clue! I'm just throwing out thoughts.

Ooh, this one's a sticky situation !!!!!!

Do a small test area with prepsol, which is a wax and grease remover.


Welcome home, Hammered !!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by avengers63

Here in the states, lighter fluid is made from naptha. We use it extensively to take off sticky residue from stickers & price tags. What effect would naptha have on the finish? No clue! I'm just throwing out thoughts.

Here in Australia, I think Naptha is generally sold as a product called 'Shellite' (which can be used as lighter fluid in Zippo's and the like). I've used it to clean a lot of things, but never on a finished timber serface. Generally only metal surfaces, or some hard moulded plastics (ie. transit cases).

Its a pertolium based solvent, so it's pretty strong. If you where going to give it a go, I'd certainly try it on a small area first. I have a feeling it may be a bit hard on the older finish of this tele. It'd probably be okay on a nitro, but again I'd definately do a test area first.

Thinking about it further, a citrus cleaner (Orange Solver or Citro Clean) would probably be okay on the older finish. I'd start with a fairly diluted solution first however, rather than just spray it on neat.

Well, thanks for the input.......the situation has changed here, as the first initial "brush down" ,with a rag and nothing else, produced flacking finish in wafers about 50mm diameter in several places.
So it looks like a complete strip and re-finish.......I've been slack with the pics and reducing them to size. But I'll get it together soon. It always was a "beat up" guitar......maybe it is time to strip and give it a nice face.
Noel

don't refinish.. nothing better than the look of a beat up tele.

Originally Posted by gratay

don't refinish.. nothing better than the look of a beat up tele.

+1 to that! Those battle scars were hard earned.

refinish will have a big negative affect on its value
dont touch it
if you want a shiny new tele go buy one they aint that expensive
that guitar if sold as is will buy several

There ya go.......back to getting the sponge rubber off.
Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by watson

There ya go.......back to getting the sponge rubber off.
Thanks for the advice.

Pictures please...

If the finish is already starting to flake, and I'm assuming this is because it has already 'crazed' a lot (lots of fine cracks throughout the finish surface), then you won't want to put soapy water on i don't think. it might get in under and leave the crazed ereas looking like they've been waterstained.

I think an option might be to give a little spot a go with some plain old metho. Just a little spot and make sure it doesn't affect the finish. I *think* metho should be safe, even on an older finish.