1979 Fender Stratocaster
I bought this 25th Anniversary Strat off a seller from Thailand. You never really know what you are going to get with online purchases, especially if you're hunting for a bargain. This is one of those instances where the guitar wasn't as described. Not only was a refret absolutely essential, but the fretboard itself needed serious work. The poly coating was cracking apart all over. Here is how I restored it...
As you can see here, the fretboard needed some serious work....
Step one was to carefully heat the frets with a soldering iron and pull them out without any chipping of the fretboard wood...
Next, I worked on removing the thick poly coat off the fretboard...
The fret slots needed some cleaning up with a saw...
I was left with a thin layer of poly that I finally peeled off with an Xacto knife...
Finally, some light sanding with a 7.25" radius block...
Putting in new Fender 7.25" pre cut vintage fret wire and levelling the fretboard...
Finally, the finish. I needed to stain the fretboard to match the headstock. I used turmeric and black stain, and done!
If you'd like to know more about the history of this guitar, check out my guitar collection website --> link.