Restoring old instruments requires a particular approach, as, in order to be successful, the repair has to respect the original materials, techniques, colours and varnishes used, but also has to be invisible and take into account   the aging of the instrument. Each case is unique, as the life of each instrument has been unique.

Also, transforming a modern stratocaster, telecaster or a Les Paul into a vintage « relic » is not easily done.  It’s not a case of getting hold of some sandpaper and making some marks, but often means completely re-finishing the instrument - ensuring that the final result looks like the action of time and use.

This is, in any case, one of the parts of my craft that I enjoy the most, which involves research and perfection of lots of tricks and techniques in order to get a credible result.

For those who are insensible to the charm of the “false vintage” and don’t see the point of this kind of work, I would like to add that the replacement of an over-thick polyurethane or polyester varnish by a celluloid varnish applied in ultra thin layers gives spectacular results in terms of sound quality.

Here are some examples of my work :

Telecaster ‘67 The owner of this 1967 telecaster had bought the guitar, with its maple neck, in excellent condition, but the body had been modified (neck pickup cut out) and summarily sanded then varnished with a spray can.
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Retouches to Daphne Blue Relic Strat. On the superb body of this stratocaster Relics which was built by the Fender Custom Shop, someone had wanted to increase the traces of use where the forearm rubs the body, but they had been a bit heavy handed with the sanding which left an enormous, disgraceful hole in the wonderful Daphne blue lacquer.
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Fender Stratocaster SRV This (excellent) guitar belongs to a huge Stevie Ray Vaughan fan who, in keeping with his idol, prefers instruments that have ‘lived’ and doesn’t hesitate to take them right to the edge. Obviously, the “brand-new” look of this beast didn’t appeal to his character so I went to work.
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Stratocaster SRV relics Another SRV (originally sunburst) completely dismantled, stripped and repainted – this time in Daphne Blue – and severely aged.
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Reconditioned ’68 Telecaster This job was half way between a restoration and a relic, since the body of this guitar had had multiple modifications inflicted on it : pick up cut outs enlarged then (badly) filled, bridge replaced with a Gibson style Tune o'matic, then removed with the holes once again roughly filled, "brutal" sanding of the whole which had changed all the curves.
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Fender stratocaster 1959 This beautiful guitar had been re-varnished in the 80s, and even though the colour (Daphne Blue) was good, the products and techniques used at the time (unvarnished polyurethane lacquer) were not in conformity with those used originally. What’s more the shape and certain cut outs had been modified by over heavy sanding.
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