Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 40 of 41

Thread: Making your own relic

  1. #1
    Forum Member 95strat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    632

    Making your own relic

    Hello to all. I'm new to forum so please pardon my ignorance in this post...it is my first.

    I week ago I played a Fender Custom Shop '54 relic. Very nice. Sounded great and played exceptionally well. Of course the price is over $2,000.

    I would love to build and age my own strat. This would be a total learning experience for me. I was wondering if any of you guys had any wisdom to pass on before I venture into this crazy project.

    Where should I purchase parts? What would you do to "age" a guitar? Use Fender parts or someone like Warmoth? The only thing I know how to do is make the pickup covers, knobs, etc. look aged!

  2. #2
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,348

    Re: Making your own relic

    I don't understand... You played a Relic, loved the tone, and now you want to age your parts? You do know that it would have no effect on tone, whether the pickup covers, etc... are aged or not, right?

    I don't personally know how they relic it, because it's obviously an industry secret, but there a few parts on eBay you can buy pre-aged by people who know how to do the work. Just be prepared to fork over some cash for it.

    I'll wish you the best.

  3. #3
    Forum Member Marcondo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way over yonder by the methane sea
    Posts
    4,409

    Re: Making your own relic

    Get your wood from USACG or Warmoth. Reranch is a good place for refinishing supplies. A relic is nothing more than a new guitar with fake wear.

    Just make your own guitar finish it in thin nitro and it will age quickly. Just throw it around like you dont care about it thats how SRV's got all its wear from honest playing and throwing.

  4. #4
    fezz parka
    Guest

    Re: Making your own relic


  5. #5
    Forum Member Johnny64's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Reeth,England
    Posts
    983

    Re: Making your own relic

    Nice one Fezz.


    Brings new meaning to 'Hit the road Jack'.
    I think,therefore I am
    I thought,therefore I was
    I am therefore,I thought
    Therefore,am I as I think I was

  6. #6
    Forum Member jinx667's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    San Marcos, CA
    Posts
    129

    Re: Making your own relic

    Of you do a search on this site, and especially on the www.reranch.com forum, you will find a crapload of info on how to relic your gear. Some of the relic-ed tuners and bridges I have seen around for sale have been fairly priced, and others are ridiculous. You will find in you searches that folks either really dig relics (like me) or are militantly against them, But hey to each his own I guess.

  7. #7
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    Bottom line though dude is.. if you want a relic guitar.. go for it.. doesnt matter if no one else likes it or wants one or understands it..

  8. #8
    Forum Member 95strat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    632

    Re: Making your own relic

    Hey, thanks for the help guys.

    Fezz, I love the pic.

    Mangler, sorry for the confusion. I know the aesthetics won't effect the tone. I just wanted to create a project guitar and age it...just something fun.

    I've noticed some folks are anti-aging. One is labeled a wanna-be when creating a relic. I can't afford a vintage strat. Just thought I would give it a try. I love my current strat and will probably build a tele to add some diversity to my sound.

    jinx667, thanks for the site. I'll check it out.

    appreciate the feed back guys.

  9. #9
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by 95strat
    I've noticed some folks are anti-aging.
    Not my cup of tea, but whatever you like, I guess.

    Just don't expect the next purchaser to give you top dollar for it.
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  10. #10
    Forum Member 95strat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    632

    Re: Making your own relic

    yeah, i don't think i would try to sell it. if i put all the work into finishing and aging it's mine for keeps.

  11. #11
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by Kap'n
    Not my cup of tea, but whatever you like, I guess.

    Just don't expect the next purchaser to give you top dollar for it.
    Although, looking at what some relics go for, you may bet top dollar. But as for me.. I play my guitars... I dont care what any of them are worth except for insurance reasons. I figure my kids can figure out what they are worth when I am long gone.

    But like I said.. its your man.. do what ya want.. make it your own. Its all about expression.

  12. #12
    Forum Member jinx667's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    San Marcos, CA
    Posts
    129

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by Kap'n
    Not my cup of tea, but whatever you like, I guess.

    Just don't expect the next purchaser to give you top dollar for it.
    I agree with Alpine86, I do not buy my guitars concerned about their resale value. They are for me to play. It is like the people who buy a guitar and put it up and never play it, what a waste.

  13. #13
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,348

    Re: Making your own relic

    To me, the process of relicing an instrument is like getting plastic surgery with chest implants. You can fake it and it looks all right, but it's fake.

    I just personally don't see the point of it all. The whole point, for me, about the Strat (or Tele or whatever) looking beat up is basically because it has a history. My guitars will be reliced the normal way and will have a history with me. Look at ToneMonkey's neck. It looks like it's 30 years old. It's not. He just played the shit out of it.

    Or you might just be the curious kind that would like to know just for the heck of knowing how relics from Fender are made, in which case that's all right, I guess.

    In the end, don't care what anybody thinks. Just do what you want to do. Just be prepared for a long journey. A lot of people have been trying to get convincing results and the few people who have been able to achieve those results rarely come forward and share the wealth.

  14. #14
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by jinx667
    I agree with Alpine86, I do not buy my guitars concerned about their resale value. They are for me to play. It is like the people who buy a guitar and put it up and never play it, what a waste.
    A noble sentiment, and fine for folks who never sell. However, I'd bet most folks on this board don't hold onto instruments less than five years on average. You can take a bath on all the instruments you flip.

    Gives me an idea for a thread...
    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  15. #15
    Forum Member 95strat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    632

    Re: Making your own relic

    interesting discussion. i too just hold on to my guitars and play. i have a '95 strat plus that i've moded the pups to early CS Tx Specs. I love that guitar and would never sell it. i was the first owner and i'll pass it on to my kids. i won't "age it" or anything. it's my number one.

    the relic idea just sounds fun. i would like to build my own tele. of course once i finish it i may not want to age it. we'll see. i guess the relic thing is "cool" because retro is still in style. once i finish my project it probably won't be! who cares.

    like alpine86 said, "it's all about expression."

  16. #16
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    It is an interesting discussion.. and Ive always found it fascinating just what everyone is into.. Like strat mangler mentioned, for me.. I love the idea of a history about an instrument.. some of the guitars I have, I know the history behind, and others I have, I dont.. I look at relicing the same as I do if someone slaps a bunch of bumper stickers onto the thing.. I dont have any relics, but I have seen some that are cool, and I have done some relicing for customers, and they've all been happy with it.. too each his own I say..

    One thing I will throw in though, and this really isnt a result of relicing, its a result of a refin leading to relicing, but.. on some of the jobs Ive done, after I got the poly off the body and put nitro on, there was a notable difference in tone. Although like I said.. its the refin.. not the relicing per se.. it was just a step I was doing along the relicing path.

    am I even spelling relicing right?

    And just one more thing before I ramble even more, on one occasion, after a refin / relic I did, the owner wasnt happy with the new tone of the guitar, even though in my opinion it was a definite improvement. It just wasnt what he was used to.

  17. #17
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,348

    Re: Making your own relic

    If that helps you any, 95strat, I once read of a guy who cooked his body and neck in the oven to age the wood a lot in a short time. Don't know any details as to the temperature or the length of time. Apparently, the results were good. Don't know anything beyond that, though.

    As far as "retro" being in style, I still don't understand. There are some very clean old guitars out there. The only reason people are obsessed over beat-to-shit guitars is because of Stevie Ray Vaughan. I love the man like a god and enjoy his playing and even emulate it, but I just personally will never understand purposefully damaging a product so it looks "cool."

  18. #18
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    Somewhat along the line of whats cool and in fashion..

    I got a 62 Jag back in .. 87... ish.. dirt cheap.. used to play it all the time.. still do actually.. played alot o blues on it. After the whole grunge thing started, and all of a sudden they were the rage to have.. I used to get comments all the time about how it was strange to see a grunge guy playing blues like that.

    And yeah.. for what its worth, the whole exact replica of Stevies Number One thing always amused me. The relicing and stuff thats just wear and tear is one thing.. but the exact copy thing, and the prices that some fetch.. wow.. and some of those are really amazing likenesses... but I dont think I could ever get up in front of people and play one.

    Kinda like that Star Wars guitar someone posted a bit ago..

  19. #19
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,348

    Re: Making your own relic

    That was me. Glad somebody remembered it. ;)

  20. #20
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by Strat-Mangler
    That was me. Glad somebody remembered it. ;)
    Hahaha... I had seen that thing a bunch of times in musicians friend, and it cracked me up each time I saw it..

  21. #21
    Forum Member 95strat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    632

    Re: Making your own relic

    yeah, i'm not really into copying anyone else's guitar...like the SRV. i too love his playing and have ripped off a few of his licks, but i don't want to be compared to him (can't play anywhere near that level).

    i would like to build a custom tele. i plan to finish it in a translucent blond. i may get done with it and decide not to relic the thing. we'll see.

    Alpine...it's interesting that nitro has a different tone. what's the difference? is it warmer or brighter?

    Mangler, thanks for the cooking tips! that's just funny. knowing my luck i would stick my guitar into the oven and it would combust in
    to flames! then i could look like Hendrix.

    Star Wars guitar! now that's just crazy. "the force is with you..." I'm a big fan, but couldn't put it on a guitar.

    Reranch has been a very insightful website. thanks to whom (who?) shared that. any others out there similar?

  22. #22
    Forum Member Alpine86's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    167

    Re: Making your own relic

    The best way I can describe nitro vs poly.. is that since it is a much thinner finish, you get more of the true sound of the wood. The actual tone will depend on the wood though. Ive done notro's where it ended up brighter, warmer, quackier, sproingier, and a hundered other terms to describe tone.

  23. #23
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    17

    Re: Making your own relic

    I recon, u should do the project. Get a Nice cheap Squire, or Mexican Strat off ebay, learn some tips, and go for it. Atleast if its a cheap guitar, it wont matter if it goes down in value. U might have to repaint it, coz the paints they use these days dont age quickly at all.

  24. #24
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    pittsburgh
    Posts
    29

    Re: Making your own relic

    the key is a thin nitro finish, buy an unfinished body... thier not to expensive.. do not buy a crappy squire poly body it will be next to impossible to strip...

    i think experimenation is key with making a body look old, work out some theories and test them ..... the reason the technuiques for "relicing" are so closely garded by fender (decent looking) and nash (what look awful imo) is that thier probably stupidly simple... still people are never forthcoming with ideas when this topic arrives... i think the key is to look at how and why nitro does what it does. as it dries nitro becomes harder and harder (unlike poly) and forms hairline cracks (also happens due to temperture changes) and sinks into the wood slightly... the older it gets the more it flakes also depending on the amount of UV exposure and smoke the clearcoat will tint to a golden shade. so simple logic dictates that a thinner finish will dry more quickly and i think thats your best start. so i will now share what i believe to be factual about the process....

    ive heard hydrochloric acid and muriatic acid are used to age hardware... steel wool too (also takes glossy look off finishes)
    a dremel tool with a buffer wheel can be used to simulate fingerboard wear on maple necks.
    putting your body or neck in an oven sounds like a sure fire way to warp the crap out of it... ive heard of compressed air in combination with a hairdryer will make laquer checking.... refridgerator to hot summer day..... a razor blade
    always let your body and neck cure properly before starting.
    rub through wear (neck and body) seems to me to be the hardest to simulate and looks the phoney-ist so id stay away from it. as far as i can tell they dont make any of the "plastcs" the way they used to so thats always a crap shoot.

    look at alot allllllot of REAL vintage instruments

    imo a relic finish is just a natural expedition of what will happen to nitro nickle and plastic eventually anyway and doesent realy detract from playability or sound of course this is what i know about "ageing" and not "beating up"... i dont think its decietful in any way when done correctly, just a fancy finish treatment like any other guitar. honestly i dont understand why people take issue with it when its done "tastefully" i mean cracks in a finish are just as real as the next.... its still just a "look"... having an old guitar... or a beat one doesent give you any more "mad skillz" or crediblilty in my book... its all asthetics to me. also how is having the $30,000 for a vintage fender more "authentic" then building one and detailing the finish yourself?

  25. #25
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Posts
    229

    Re: Making your own relic

    Most people doing the "Relic" thing have their own techniques and secrets, and are not quick to share info. Of course most of us know how to age nickel and gold hardware by now, it's getting the Nitro finish just right and being able to create convincing "wear" patterns on the necks and bodies.
    ReRanch is an excellent place to start, Bill sells most of the old Fender colours in aerosol spray cans, along with all the other needed supplies, fillers, sealers, Nitro lacquers tinted and untinted.
    Then again there's always Mark Jenn, who does some outstanding finsihes and "relic" treatment.

  26. #26
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    New York Finger Lakes Area
    Posts
    8,462

    Re: Making your own relic

    The easiest and fastest way to relic one is to actually play gigs. Sitting with a guitar propped up on your knee in your fav chair, the thing will look good forever. But on stage, well, everything around you has yor axe in it's crosshairs. Bang it off a few cymbals, mike stands, the Mrs. Pac Man machine, and let the strap buttons slip off a few times. Let it fall off the stand. Work up a good sweat under the hot lights and slather it all over the hardware.


    When properly done, opening the case will reward you with the aroma of cigarette smoke, stale beer, and PineSol. It not only has to look old, it needs to smell old too.

    Anything else is just pissing in the wind.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  27. #27
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    1,348

    Re: Making your own relic

    I think I'll pass... :lol

  28. #28
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4

    Re: Making your own relic

    Hi, if you really want to relic your body then I will tell you. Lets just say I have connections..
    1) Getting your nitro finish to check is dependent on how long the finish has been applied and if it has cured fully. Presuming the finish has cured you need to flat the finish with 1000 grade wire wool and. Buy a can of component cooler and spray the body with it, when you do this make sure you a) do it outdoors and b) hold it in the same place for several seconds, sometimes up to 20 before it "gets going". after you have taken the plunge then its really easy.
    2) immediatley you have done this you need to take a cloth with some pre-mixed powdered graphite and alcohol and rub it in to the body, when you are doing this, dont be aftraid to really soak it as the alcohol evaporated very quickly. I dont think I really need to explain about how to get the little dings and things...
    3) neck...oh no no no..dont even THINK about using a dremmel! Take a full box of johnsons cotton buds and a large bottle of nail polish remover..yes youve guessed it, this will take the nitro on a maple board straight down to the wood which can be stained afterwards with cold tea applied with wire wool, which gives the classic grey wood effect. As for the back of the neck then take the finish down with the nail polish remover and then lightly sand, when you have maked the headstock and the heel of the neck areas, as much as you want to, then ..this is the bit where a bit of skill and experience comes in..you need to apply some french polish OVER the existing nitro..this is trick if you dont know what you are doing, it gives the apprearance of aged nitro that is starting to sink into the wood and darkens down the finish more delcatley. use neat powdered graphite to rub into the nicks and scratches you have made.
    4) plastics..this is where everyone goes wrong. the custom shop dont use coffee thats just bullshit...they use antique pine wood dye. This is thinned down with turpentine and then applied in a controlled manner to avoid the area between the pickups, when you try this you will be AMAZED at the effect, the first time I did it I burst out laughing and realised how easy this process is... anything else you need to know just ask I will spill the beans....I am the breaker of the magicians code...

  29. #29
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Ft. Walton Beach, FL
    Posts
    12

    Re: Making your own relic

    I did my first recently and it far exceeded my expectations. Definitely my favorite electric now. If you want specifics, e-mail me at packinpelican@cox dot net.
    Eddie

  30. #30
    Forum Member Kap'n's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Where phony hippies meet
    Posts
    19,769

    Re: Making your own relic

    Several guitars in different colors
    Things to make them fuzzy
    Things to make them louder
    orange picks

  31. #31
    TFF Stage Crew
    Moderator
    Cogs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Burpleson AFB
    Posts
    6,992

    Re: Making your own relic

    To anybody who might be reading this thread:
    DO NOT USE AEROSOL COOLANT TO AGE A NITRO FINISH
    unless you want random, fake looking, spider-webbed cracks in the finish, then this is the way to go. If you want authentic checking then the only way to go is to chill the entire guitar body uniformly in either something like a large freezer or below freezing weather (you know, like outside or in the trunk of a car or something).

  32. #32
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4

    Re: Making your own relic

    Look at the pics on my website, of the strats I have done to order, the vintage white 60 strat sold on ebay for £1500.00. I used component cooler on this...I have yet to see a fender factory finish check from being in the freezer! I have tried this years ago having left a 57 reissue body in the freezer overnight and then applying a heat lamp...nothing...zilch...nada!

  33. #33
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4

    Re: Making your own relic

    removed by moderator
    Last edited by fezz parka; 05-08-2007 at 05:05 AM.

  34. #34
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4

    Re: Making your own relic

    damn my sausage fingers!
    Last edited by fezz parka; 05-08-2007 at 05:05 AM.

  35. #35
    Forum Member curtisstetka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Boyertown PA
    Posts
    5,050

    Re: Making your own relic

    Hey Agent101, posting the URL to your site advertising a service here is against the forum rules.
    s'all goof.

  36. #36
    Forum Member frank thomson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Camelot
    Posts
    4,133

    Re: Making your own relic

    Imanidiot.

  37. #37
    Forum Member curtisstetka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Boyertown PA
    Posts
    5,050

    Re: Making your own relic

    NO SOUP FOR YOU!
    s'all goof.

  38. #38
    Forum Member NeoFauve's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    in interesting times
    Posts
    12,530

    Re: Making your own relic

    When I'm looking for old threads...


    http://www.goodwillncw.org/virtualentrance.jpg


    "Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
    Elvis Costello

  39. #39
    Forum Member stratcat55's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    King of Prussia Pa.
    Posts
    1,654

    Re: Making your own relic

    Quote Originally Posted by fezz parka View Post
    Fezz seriously has the best method.

  40. #40
    Forum Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    28

    Re: Making your own relic

    Does anyone have any advice on which supplier has the best unfinished body and neck for a project like this ?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •