Tell me more ×
Musical Practice & Performance Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for musicians, students, and enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I have a Highway One Fender Strat (American), which I'm told has a poor quality satin finish. This has started to "melt" on the bottom of the guitar.

I paid about £800 for it in 2005/2006. It has a satin Daphne Blue finish (or there abouts).

I want to get it refinished, but am considering changing the colour (as I have the opportunity to).

Does it matter what finish is on the guitar? I'm thinking of going for a glossy Lake Placid Blue.

i.e. What I'm asking is, when my great grand children take my Strat onto the Antiques Roadshow, will they say "well... its a shame that it was refinished in a different colour.. that'll knock £0000s off the price" or will they not care what colour it is?

Many thanks.

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

First, a comparison. A copy of Action Comics #1 recently sold for $1 million. A Superman comic off the shelf at your local comics shop will cost you $3. The difference? There has been a war (and a related drive to collect and recycle paper) and parents saying "put away childish things and grow up", not to mention a good 80 years between the publishing date of Action #1 and today. People didn't collect or take care of such things, making them valuable. The one on the shelf, on the other hand, is one of a print run of several million, and there are attendant millions of comic book fans who buy each comic with a collection bag and acid-free board to keep their comics in mint condition, or as close to as they can.

There are only so many '57 Strats. Fender kicks out several thousand Highway One Strats per year. The one part of the music industry that is actually growing is the musical instrument market. So, the value of your instrument is not going to grow appreciably. It will be an issue, but not too big of one. I wouldn't worry.

share|improve this answer
1  
Ha! Blunt... but I get what you're saying. I don't think my guitar is going to be a collectors item, but I don't want to ruin its integrity/value by changing its colour. When I'm rich I'll buy myself a nice expensive Strat :) And I'll look after that one. – Thomas Clayson Jul 11 '12 at 14:42
1  
Then, another bit of bluntness: Action #1 is going to have sketchy writing and sketchy art and is going to be in poor condition, to the point you feel uncomfortable reading it. The writers and artists DC has on today's comic will be much better, as will the printing and paper stock. Modern factory guitar are better and more consistent than what Leo put out in the 50s, too, and most of what you're getting when you get a more expensive guitar is flash. – VarLogRant Jul 11 '12 at 16:43
Yes no fair enough. I understand that completely, and I didn't really mean that I want my guitar to become an expensive collectors item. I just wanted to know if when refinishing it would be better to stay true to the original finish, or if it won't matter at all. – Thomas Clayson Jul 12 '12 at 14:00

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.