I've thought about doing mine, but it's already got regular wear and tear, knicks and chips from 20 years of play on it, and it still looks good overall. My years as a smoker gave a "vintage" yellow tint to the pickguard, knobs and pickups. I think it'd be more fun to get a raw body and start from scratch. Put it on and take it off, repeat as desired.
My best tips are nail polish remover, magic eraser and flitz polish. It’s works really well. You have to mess around to find a your method and how long to leave the nail polish remover sitting. It’s the closest I’ve got to a nitro looking relic.
@@TheTruth70777 rub it with a paper towel or cotton ball until it starts getting how you want it. It takes some time and experimenting to find the best method. If you pour it on and let it sit you’ll still need to work it in. Main thing is just experiment with it along with a magic eraser both wet and dry. Also flitz polish which removes layers with enough elbow grease. They’re the best methods I’ve found for poly guitars. Nail polish remover actually eats the layers instead of the chipping/sanding look. I wish I could explain a perfect method but it really is like a art and takes time.
Use steel wool soaked in vinegar for a few days, filter out the steel wool and put a VERY small amount of the mixture on the wood to age it if you do a relic like this
Putting rusty nails in vinegar will work even better because you won't have to wait for the steel wool to rust. You'll just have to wait for some of the rust to dissolve - this however only works on raw wood and this guitar still has sanding sealer.
Yes, if you apply that vinegar and wire wool mixture and then when wet, run a tea bag which has brews for a day or so over the wood it makes it proper old, like Rory Gallaghers guitar. Some strange chemical reaction.
Pretty cool man!!! Im not big into relic guitars but i think they look pretty cool. I just wouldnt pay custom shop for it. So this video makes it sensible. Hahahah 😆
Finally a sensible approach/advice about relicing!! "Less is better." I am always amazed at 95% of how relicing the paint has nothing to do with how a guitar will normally age with play and general stage abuse. All you have to do is look at real vintage guitars and copy them. I own at least a dozen (and have had many more) that are 40-60 years old and most of the real wear is just dings, minor scratches and some edge wear. You know, like someone who actually took care of the guitar but had some unfortunate mishaps. True hardcore abused relics were either owned by someone who used a guitar as both a stage instrument and a canoe paddle or it once belonged to Keith Richards. The nitro of the older guitars does its own thing and you can't accurately copy that unless it's just dulling the finish or you scratch out every single crack with an X-acto knife. Guitars basically just need some buckle rash and not even through the paint, pick scratches on the pickguard, and finger wear on the most basic chord positions. This one looks as if it had actually been played hard but with normal areas of wear. Thanks!
Thank you for the kind words I'm glad you like it I have a lot of pictures that I have taken over many years of old guitars so I try to use those as much as I can 😁 if you enjoy the video I have another one called how I relic a poly finish Les Paul junior witch is a guitar I built last year take a look and let me know what you think 😉👍 Cheers mate
Aw man that sucks yeah you need to first sand away 75% of the poly because its so thick then you can relic it but if you fix the mistake first and then sand it back and then relic it again it gonna come out even better because most old guitars have repairs from trying to make it work before giving up and just letting the guitar look beaten up 🙂
I heated up the lacquer with heatgun and then pressed in a knife not cutting or slicing hope it helps 👍 I'm working on a Q&A if you want I can talk more about it in it 😃
Great guidance here! The heat gun is important -- I worked on a project here and the poly finish is very tough if you try to work on it cold -- hard to get nice chipping. But heating is the magic! I also neeeded to stain my pickguard, which was a cheap plastic pearloid one. For that I used the approach of 00000 steel wool to take the shine off, then steep in boiling water with Rit DyeMore polyester dyes (yellow 2:1 brown, boiling water 4:1 dye mix -- I did NOT have it over heat the whole time, just poured boiling water from a kettle). I just gambled on the ratios and everything, and let it steep for about an hour and it came out great -- and with those dyes, you can put it back in and the colors should darken the loger you leave it. It did warp, so if you can keep it flat, all the better, but the screws hold it down anyway.
Yeah that could work it might leave micro lines in the finish what I do is I sand the body with wet and dry sandpapper 8000 grit for a minute or 2 and that works for just dulling up the finish
@@cgavin1 no problems 👍 just be careful don't get it on your skin 🔥 I am going to make a video on how to relic without muriatic acid hopefully done with it till new year 😉
The part where you just sanded it, where your arm would wear it out with play, how is that done? Would love to see that process too. Which sandpaper, which machine and how? Thanks!
I use a random orbital sander and I start of with 800 grid and work my way up to 1200 just to get most of the clear lacquer off the random orbital sander is only good for flat surfaces so if you lean it against a edge it will sand it off but on a guitars armrest that is what you want once I'm happy I buff it 😃hope this helps I can make a video on it if you think than would be help🙂
@@zurowetz Thanks, that's helpful. I wouldn't be mad if there was also a video but I make videos too and know that's not easy so, whatever you have time for, works for me! Appreciate the response!
hey im trying to do a relic on my squeir strat, problem is i used to thick sandpaper and i got alot of those scratches and white lines you got any ideas how to fix them just use higher grit sandpaper?
Yeah so what you need to do is sand upp to like 2k wet and dry sandpaper start With 400 wet and dry its ganna be a pain but if you are patient and don't skip grid it Will work after that you need to buff it you can do it by hand and with some car wax good luck!👍
Wish I hadn't taken your advice on bashing against rocks. Bash too light and just white marks, no wood visible, bash too heavy and take chunks out of it.
I can't really tell if you are joking but if you are yes about 600 pounds🤣 but if this is a serious question than no lacquer is not more than maybe 1 mm thick and so it would not be much weight taken off anyway thanks for the comment 🤗🤗
@@zurowetz Haha I guess it's obvious that your relic didn't take off any. I'm just a total noob and am about to try and take off some ounces from one of my guitars and am trying to figure out how much wood needs to come off 😅
I'm not sure what you mean white dull but if it is what I think than jag need to buff it get som buffing compound for like a car and buff it if you use a buffing matchen you Will get 100% glos back if you use a drill white a buffingwheel maybe around 85% and if you do it by hand somewhere around 60% hope this helps👍😁
I want my mim strat to be worn someday but I don’t wanna sand it lol u think it would just loose the clear coat over years? Mine has a super thin finish I took the pickguard off and chipped a piece it’s not to thick
well first you need to find out what kind of lacquer it really is maybe it's not poly. but it most likely is and poly lacquer is made to be softer so it won't crack or break like the finish on old guitars. just because som broke of does not really mean anything because all guitars can be damight. my mustang is from 95 and looks new. sorry but it's likely gonna stay as beautiful as it is right now forever unless you drop it of a balcony
Actually what will happen is after years the poly AND the paint will crack and shatter, all the way down to bare wood,I have an old Suzuki Pbass from back in the 80s when Esp made guitars for suzuki ...think ap4 or surveyor that's what it looks like anyway on to my point ,anyway from what I gather the bass is from between 1988 and 1990,I've babies this guitar,one day about 2 months ago I tore it down to give it a good part for part cleaning like I usually do to my guitars at least once a year I do it,anyhow as I was putting it back together I was thinking" Damn I wish this was a nitro finish so I could relic it" well as I was tightening the neck exactly that happen it literally shattered pieces still sticking to the bass body,so I went to put the pickguard on a huge piece shattered off the top horn so I started picking at it..now it looks really cool because of those 2 spots and how it's all just came off to show a perfect bare finish at the bottom of all that paint and polyurethane
Peter Honore at Andertons has a 90’s American Poly Strat he toured with for years. It’s close to 30 years now and in mint condition. It will NOT relic naturally. Just look at Knopfler and Gilmours strats. I believe they are poly and they look brand new.
Hmmm never seen one that looks actually worn… I’d say just bang it against an amp and slide it across a concrete floor a few times then rub the hell out of certain areas with a scotchbrite pad.. maybe fake 20 years of mishandling… not a fan of this process.
My MIM strats 18 years old and it still looks brand new other than a little fretboard wear… the things bulletproof. Great video!
haha yeah my les Paul is from 1999 and look like new... until I dropped it 😅
I've thought about doing mine, but it's already got regular wear and tear, knicks and chips from 20 years of play on it, and it still looks good overall. My years as a smoker gave a "vintage" yellow tint to the pickguard, knobs and pickups. I think it'd be more fun to get a raw body and start from scratch. Put it on and take it off, repeat as desired.
This is extremely helpful. I just tried it with the stain and it makes a world of a difference in the final result. 👌🏼👌🏼
I know right😃 thank you for the comment 👍👍🍻 there is going to be more videos on relic guitars 😎
there should be nitro finish options for every model - just like left handers
Amen brother 👊but I don't think anyone would buy a guitar for more than 1k after that cuz squier and fender would be the same guitar 😆
Got it - appreciate it.
My best tips are nail polish remover, magic eraser and flitz polish. It’s works really well. You have to mess around to find a your method and how long to leave the nail polish remover sitting. It’s the closest I’ve got to a nitro looking relic.
Thank you for The tip maybe it Will help someone 😁 I'll try it next time I relic a poly guitar 👍
Howlong do you normally leave the bailpolish remover ?
@@TheTruth70777 rub it with a paper towel or cotton ball until it starts getting how you want it. It takes some time and experimenting to find the best method. If you pour it on and let it sit you’ll still need to work it in. Main thing is just experiment with it along with a magic eraser both wet and dry. Also flitz polish which removes layers with enough elbow grease. They’re the best methods I’ve found for poly guitars. Nail polish remover actually eats the layers instead of the chipping/sanding look. I wish I could explain a perfect method but it really is like a art and takes time.
Useful, thank you!
😃👍
Use steel wool soaked in vinegar for a few days, filter out the steel wool and put a VERY small amount of the mixture on the wood to age it if you do a relic like this
Putting rusty nails in vinegar will work even better because you won't have to wait for the steel wool to rust. You'll just have to wait for some of the rust to dissolve - this however only works on raw wood and this guitar still has sanding sealer.
Yes, if you apply that vinegar and wire wool mixture and then when wet, run a tea bag which has brews for a day or so over the wood it makes it proper old, like Rory Gallaghers guitar. Some strange chemical reaction.
Looks pretty good, thanks
Looks better in rl 😉
Pretty cool man!!! Im not big into relic guitars but i think they look pretty cool. I just wouldnt pay custom shop for it. So this video makes it sensible. Hahahah 😆
Finally a sensible approach/advice about relicing!! "Less is better." I am always amazed at 95% of how relicing the paint has nothing to do with how a guitar will normally age with play and general stage abuse. All you have to do is look at real vintage guitars and copy them. I own at least a dozen (and have had many more) that are 40-60 years old and most of the real wear is just dings, minor scratches and some edge wear. You know, like someone who actually took care of the guitar but had some unfortunate mishaps. True hardcore abused relics were either owned by someone who used a guitar as both a stage instrument and a canoe paddle or it once belonged to Keith Richards. The nitro of the older guitars does its own thing and you can't accurately copy that unless it's just dulling the finish or you scratch out every single crack with an X-acto knife. Guitars basically just need some buckle rash and not even through the paint, pick scratches on the pickguard, and finger wear on the most basic chord positions. This one looks as if it had actually been played hard but with normal areas of wear. Thanks!
Thank you for the kind words I'm glad you like it I have a lot of pictures that I have taken over many years of old guitars so I try to use those as much as I can 😁 if you enjoy the video I have another one called how I relic a poly finish Les Paul junior witch is a guitar I built last year take a look and let me know what you think 😉👍 Cheers mate
Nice vid thanks
Thank you there is going to be more relicing in the near future 😁
It’s crazy how thick the lacquer is on our guitars
Yeah but to be fair it does a good job of protecting the wood underneath 😊
I tried to put arm wear into an epiphone les paul and it was ridiculously strong. Eended up taking big gashes out and the wood was was super light lol
Aw man that sucks yeah you need to first sand away 75% of the poly because its so thick then you can relic it but if you fix the mistake first and then sand it back and then relic it again it gonna come out even better because most old guitars have repairs from trying to make it work before giving up and just letting the guitar look beaten up 🙂
what tool will you use for simulating the cracking effects on poly thx
I heated up the lacquer with heatgun and then pressed in a knife not cutting or slicing hope it helps 👍 I'm working on a Q&A if you want I can talk more about it in it 😃
Great guidance here! The heat gun is important -- I worked on a project here and the poly finish is very tough if you try to work on it cold -- hard to get nice chipping. But heating is the magic!
I also neeeded to stain my pickguard, which was a cheap plastic pearloid one. For that I used the approach of 00000 steel wool to take the shine off, then steep in boiling water with Rit DyeMore polyester dyes (yellow 2:1 brown, boiling water 4:1 dye mix -- I did NOT have it over heat the whole time, just poured boiling water from a kettle). I just gambled on the ratios and everything, and let it steep for about an hour and it came out great -- and with those dyes, you can put it back in and the colors should darken the loger you leave it. It did warp, so if you can keep it flat, all the better, but the screws hold it down anyway.
Sounds like you know exactly what your doing good job 😀👍
What's the best way to knock the shine off a new poly finish? So it has that satin/played in look? Just rub it down with a green kitchen pad?
Yeah that could work it might leave micro lines in the finish what I do is I sand the body with wet and dry sandpapper 8000 grit for a minute or 2 and that works for just dulling up the finish
@@zurowetz Thanks bro. I'll give it a go on my new Epi Coronet. Going to try the muriatic acid method on the nickel hardware too. 😷
@@cgavin1 no problems 👍 just be careful don't get it on your skin 🔥 I am going to make a video on how to relic without muriatic acid hopefully done with it till new year 😉
@@zurowetz That would be cool. I get the impression less is more when it comes to that stuff.
@@cgavin1 yes sometimes almost nothing is more than enough 👍😉
The part where you just sanded it, where your arm would wear it out with play, how is that done? Would love to see that process too. Which sandpaper, which machine and how? Thanks!
I use a random orbital sander and I start of with 800 grid and work my way up to 1200 just to get most of the clear lacquer off the random orbital sander is only good for flat surfaces so if you lean it against a edge it will sand it off but on a guitars armrest that is what you want once I'm happy I buff it 😃hope this helps I can make a video on it if you think than would be help🙂
@@zurowetz Thanks, that's helpful. I wouldn't be mad if there was also a video but I make videos too and know that's not easy so, whatever you have time for, works for me! Appreciate the response!
@@RayOrtega haha yeah but it's cool I'll start working on it once I'm done with the guitar i'm building right now 😃
@@zurowetz Sounds good. I'll sub and keep my eyes open :)
@@RayOrtega Cheers mate🍻 glad to have you onboard😁
What kind of heater did you use?
A hot air gun or are you asking for the brand?
What kind of stain did you use?
lacquer stain you can buy it in mast hardware store. there is water and spirit based once but for poly you need the spirit you can also make your own
hey im trying to do a relic on my squeir strat, problem is i used to thick sandpaper and i got alot of those scratches and white lines you got any ideas how to fix them just use higher grit sandpaper?
Yeah so what you need to do is sand upp to like 2k wet and dry sandpaper start With 400 wet and dry its ganna be a pain but if you are patient and don't skip grid it Will work after that you need to buff it you can do it by hand and with some car wax good luck!👍
@@zurowetz okey Thank you! Appreciate the help:)
@@KevinsGuitar let me know how it turns out😀
@@zurowetz do i need to use laqueor Also?
@@KevinsGuitar no just buff it once all the scratches are gone
Hi Alex: nice vid :) Where are you from ?
Hallo there I'm from Sweden where are you from 🐱
@@zurowetz France 🇫🇷 Greets
Wish I hadn't taken your advice on bashing against rocks. Bash too light and just white marks, no wood visible, bash too heavy and take chunks out of it.
Maybe I'm missing something but it sounds like a misunderstanding of the video did you watch to the end?
LOL
Why would aging a guitar look like it was bashed against rocks?
@@zurowetz Is that one question?
@@afterstars what?
How much weight comes off when doing these? Any noticeable amount?
I can't really tell if you are joking but if you are yes about 600 pounds🤣 but if this is a serious question than no lacquer is not more than maybe 1 mm thick and so it would not be much weight taken off anyway thanks for the comment 🤗🤗
@@zurowetz Haha I guess it's obvious that your relic didn't take off any. I'm just a total noob and am about to try and take off some ounces from one of my guitars and am trying to figure out how much wood needs to come off 😅
@@3Torts sorry 😊 but why are you removing wood?
@@zurowetz Idk... I want to remove weight...
@@3Torts well than you need something like this czcams.com/video/lz0Wpk5hOEY/video.html&ab_channel=zurowetz and not relicing hope it helps 😁😁
a kind of dull area has formed for me when i use sandpaper what should i do? I have a black poly squier
I'm not sure what you mean white dull but if it is what I think than jag need to buff it get som buffing compound for like a car and buff it if you use a buffing matchen you Will get 100% glos back if you use a drill white a buffingwheel maybe around 85% and if you do it by hand somewhere around 60% hope this helps👍😁
I want my mim strat to be worn someday but I don’t wanna sand it lol u think it would just loose the clear coat over years? Mine has a super thin finish I took the pickguard off and chipped a piece it’s not to thick
well first you need to find out what kind of lacquer it really is maybe it's not poly. but it most likely is and poly lacquer is made to be softer so it won't crack or break like the finish on old guitars. just because som broke of does not really mean anything because all guitars can be damight. my mustang is from 95 and looks new. sorry but it's likely gonna stay as beautiful as it is right now forever unless you drop it of a balcony
@@zurowetz yea I figured I’m prob gonna get one of those vintera road worn they have a nitro finish and there around 1200 bucks so it’s worth it to me
@@L0Lc0h3n go for it if they made them lefty i would want one too 🤘😁
@@L0Lc0h3n czcams.com/video/S_ncgIZ0fUo/video.html. Now the fender Mexico factory is coming out with Vintage nitro Finished instruments.
Actually what will happen is after years the poly AND the paint will crack and shatter, all the way down to bare wood,I have an old Suzuki Pbass from back in the 80s when Esp made guitars for suzuki ...think ap4 or surveyor that's what it looks like anyway on to my point ,anyway from what I gather the bass is from between 1988 and 1990,I've babies this guitar,one day about 2 months ago I tore it down to give it a good part for part cleaning like I usually do to my guitars at least once a year I do it,anyhow as I was putting it back together I was thinking" Damn I wish this was a nitro finish so I could relic it" well as I was tightening the neck exactly that happen it literally shattered pieces still sticking to the bass body,so I went to put the pickguard on a huge piece shattered off the top horn so I started picking at it..now it looks really cool because of those 2 spots and how it's all just came off to show a perfect bare finish at the bottom of all that paint and polyurethane
My strat is fifty two years old. It just has pock Marks. That's what you want.
Poly relics just look bad - change my mind
I lay cigarettes on mine
Align your springs.. 😫
Dealign your springs😘
Lol. 90% of all pros that use 3 springs have them like this…
Geeeezzzz I wouldn't waste my time on any cheap Squier crap 😅😂
Play it for twenty years.
This guitar is from 2000 so its allread 20years old but that is not the point IF you like relicing you like it if you don't you don't
@@zurowetz have you ever heard of comedy/ Humor?
@@flintdavis2 apparently not so you have to make it easy for me 😘
@@zurowetz 😊
Peter Honore at Andertons has a 90’s American Poly Strat he toured with for years. It’s close to 30 years now and in mint condition. It will NOT relic naturally. Just look at Knopfler and Gilmours strats. I believe they are poly and they look brand new.
Hmmm never seen one that looks actually worn… I’d say just bang it against an amp and slide it across a concrete floor a few times then rub the hell out of certain areas with a scotchbrite pad.. maybe fake 20 years of mishandling… not a fan of this process.
No matter what you do.. it will always look like a half assed poly relic
poly relics looks awful and fake
Looks super fake. Poly relics look nothing like nitro relics. You have failed.
incorrect
@@Jay-mj1tp yeah
Poly finnis is the worst thing that happened to humanity ☹