One more step if you’re up for it would be to buff/lightly sand the transition areas more. I feel like there needs to be more gradation to the big worn away areas
Wire grill brush works great for chewing up the raw wood quickly to mimic pic strikes. Heat gun can soften things up to do the work for you for on the finish
Big fan of what the Montypresso did. That made the guitar finish look old and not just beat up. I think Zach could've gone a bit further with it, but overdoing a relic is real easy to do & real hard to fix.
Guitars get worn by falling from leaning on amps, pick wear, finger rings, neck bashing mic stands, belt buckles , rubbing against clothes & just plain age & finish fading etc. If you just bash it with sharp objects & pick the finish, it will not look right, just beaten up. I did it on a Squier & ended up scraping it all off to the wood & spraying clear lacquer. A very slightly reliced guitar looks OK, but not a heavy handed job.......but it is your guitar!.
Nice one Zach! Big fan of these rellicing projects. You did a great job here and have shown that with some time and effort you can take a budget relic job and elevate it to something more natural. Clearly this stems from your passion for prop replicas. Shout out to Monty’s Montypresso wax that stuff is great! Love to Mythos!
I have an old roadworn strat that I've been beating up some and using the montys really helps. I even add some heat to it in different spots to like liquify it and rub it in. Looks great guys!!
@@MythosPedalsif you know anyone with a walk in deep freezer (butcher shop, restaurant), you could leave overnight and then immediately bring it to a hot room to shock the finish that way
Great video as always!! Really has me considering getting one of these and doing something similar (though I'd go torty guard lol). This guitar makes me sad that John Mayer left Fender, because we'd probably have a Mexican BLK1 by now if he was still with them 😕
Needs to still be less stenciled, I’d use acetone on a rag and slowly transition the paint into the wood and on the bare wood I’d dab a mix of vinegar and steel wool to give it that sweaty/oxidised look.
I've seen some other people do that and I really didn't like the way that looked. Not as realistic IMO, I'd rather it look more similar to other McCready strats than phony. Yes, I understand the irony of this lol
Why wouldn't you use stuff that would actually make dents and scratches in normal use? If you are trying to simulate a belt buckle, guitar cable being dropped, pick wear, the guitar being dropped....you could just do all that stuff right?
He did that?? I saw a guitar cable and a pick.. plus he’s using what all the pros use.. you saying fender master builders and Gibson custom shop and Tom Murphy are using the wrong tools?? @mythospedals did a good job for his first relic
@@theoverstoker3430 I'm not trying to say anyone is wrong. I was wondering why the industry standard tools and methods for relic'ing are what they are. I guess I missed the guitar cable and pick.
Zach rarely dings his guitar so this is uncomfortable territory for him. Lol I don’t either. Take great care of nearly everything I own. But I have become a fan of light relics and aged guitars. If it’s something that brings a comfortable feel to the instrument. 😎
I always enjoy your videos, but wtf did Fender do…. The dots and parallel lines on the back make it look awful. It’s far too consistent. Also love your “no fear to try new things” approach. Cheers!
Sorry Zach. It's due to my respect for your work that I am giving you a heads up - this entire video has been downloaded and forwarded to the SPCG: the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Geee-tars. Expect to be contacted by their crack legal team. XD
I have " aged" my mccready stratocaster by myself. It is now absolutely on par with a Custom shop! You were just wasting time without any result! Most important is to get the pale wooden parts to look really worn! No need for additional chips! Most of the factory chips have the same pattern. Only tool you need is an exacto blade to reshape the edges of existing artificial looking chips. As well as scraping off or sanding the yellow undercoat! With the exacto blade (or any cutter blaee) you can also add some scratches on the wooden parts. To stain the bare wood i have used ash from fire wood. Just rub it into the wood with your wet fingers. You ca n also use some oil from the kitchen. It doesnt harm the nitro lacquer! I also used ice spray to get the finish crackles. This is pretty simple and should be done before staining the bare wood, as it will will clean off all the stain. I also " reshaped" the contour of the bone nut and removed the lacquer residue on the sides (no one takes care in the factory, as its time consuming, but makes a huge difference! ) and i rounded the end of the fingerboard behind 21st fret, just to have the same profile as the rolled fingerboard edges. Polishing the frets and fretends, to a Custom shop finish!
This is a great comment. I have one of these and a few other Roadworns. Some of them have checking some don’t. I’ve often thought of putting my own “ spin” on it. The mcready seems to have no checking other than the headstock. I think I’ll try to check it as well.
