Vintage Fenders

[ped]

Thanks, I can't seem to find the Virtuoso in the UK - someone recommended the MusicNomad cleaner 

[casapete]

On 11/03/2025 at 16:43, miles'tone said:

My mates named it "The Bap" in "old biddy beige".

In the motor trade in the 70’s it was appropriately known as ‘hearing aid beige’….😆

[ossyrocks]

2 hours ago, ped said:

Thanks, I can't seem to find the Virtuoso in the UK - someone recommended the MusicNomad cleaner 

It seems you're right! That's disappointing! I bought mine from Steve Robinson Guitar Tech in Manchester, it might be worth contacting him to see if he has any. https://manchesterguitartech.co.uk/

[Stub Mandrel]

Pure water baby wipes.

[GuyR]

I have a couple of guitars with quite fragile nitro finishes. I only use the moisture in my breath and clean off with a soft cotton cloth. Anything wetter than that leaves the surface cloudy, having absorbed the water, for months afterwards.

I tried saliva on one of my basses and the finish came straight off, down to the yellow undercoat.

I always proceed with the utmost caution these days.

[ped]

Thanks. I’ve tried a few cleaners (on the very marked and scratched back of the bass) 

 

Ken Smith polish worked ok but didnt clean the cloudy areas as such

 

Dunlop 65 cleaned well but didn't leave a shiny finish

 

Music Nomad removes cloudy bits really well and polished up nicely too, works really well, much softer on the finish with very little colour coming off the finish

 

Breath and a clean cloth works well on clean but slightly cloudy bits. 

[Burns-bass]

I once used Pledge on a 1966 jazz bass. I do not recommend this.

[ped]

I gather it’s the silicone in many polishes which doesn’t agree with nitro finishes

[Burns-bass]

Just now, ped said:

I gather it’s the silicone in many polishes which doesn’t agree with nitro finishes

It wasn’t too bad. It started hazing but I asked my friend who’s a luthier (a proper one) and he told me to take it to him. Was all sorted with no damage.

 

I also once put a wine glass on top of the bass (we were having a glass in the studio after some recording) and that left a mark too.

 

It’s an old bass, it happens. Won’t ever sell it.

[Stub Mandrel]

49 minutes ago, GuyR said:

I tried saliva on one of my basses and the finish came straight off, down to the yellow undercoat.

 

[BlueMoon]

10 hours ago, ped said:

I gather it’s the silicone in many polishes which doesn’t agree with nitro finishes

^^ This.

The problem with many generic polishes is that if there are any silicones in them it is extremely difficult to get rid of them if used unknowingly or in error. They persist for a long time on most any surface (including fingers!!) and often require quite aggressive solvents (e.g. acetone) and repeated treatments to effectively remove. Obviously this defeats the original objective, especially with nitro coatings. A careful screening of the polish contents label should show up the main silicone components, if present. Basically anything ending in "...cone" (like dimethicone) or "siloxane" (e.g. polydimethylsiloxane - PDMS) fall in the broad silicone family.

 

 

[HeadlessBassist]

The "Destructions" that came with my American Original stated that Nitro Cellulose finishes should be gently cleaned with a soft damp cloth only. Whether that includes when it's checked and failing in places, I'm not sure.

[Pow_22]

I know a lot of people look for authentic looking vintage fender pickguards but usually they look for the yellowy red almost lava type tort but would anyone know where i may find something like this? I believe its a 66 P bass but very much a dark red with little yellow or even depth really?

[ossyrocks]

3 hours ago, Pow_22 said:

I know a lot of people look for authentic looking vintage fender pickguards but usually they look for the yellowy red almost lava type tort but would anyone know where i may find something like this? I believe its a 66 P bass but very much a dark red with little yellow or even depth really?

What do you think of this one? It's a cheap repro off ebay, so they can be found cheaply,  but I think I got lucky with the colour. I had it on a MIJ reissue and it looked rather good. The bass for comparison is a '73 with original guard.

 

Rob

[kevin_lindsay]

Spitfire Tortoiseshell Pickguards in the USA do fantastic plates.

Expensive,  but really great. 

[dodgnofski]

Check out the Guy below on eBay. Very good looking, well made and quite ‘opalescent’ - about as good as you can get without paying hundreds of your finest British pounds on an Avant Guard jobbie from France👍👍

[police squad]

2 hours ago, dodgnofski said:

Check out the Guy below on eBay. Very good looking, well made and quite ‘opalescent’ - about as good as you can get without paying hundreds of your finest British pounds on an Avant Guard jobbie from France👍👍

what do I search for? I'm not finding this one

[ossyrocks]

9 hours ago, dodgnofski said:

Check out the Guy below on eBay. Very good looking, well made and quite ‘opalescent’ - about as good as you can get without paying hundreds of your finest British pounds on an Avant Guard jobbie from France👍👍

 

I think this is where I got mine pictured above. I have also had a Jazz guard from him. I don't remember it costing that much though! I thought I paid about £20 for them.

 

I can't seem to find him on ebay either now.

 

Edit: No, I got mine from Reverb - see this link: https://reverb.com/uk/shop/guitars-electric-ltd

 

Rob

Edited Thursday at 15:17 by ossyrocks

[Belka]

19 hours ago, Pow_22 said:

I know a lot of people look for authentic looking vintage fender pickguards but usually they look for the yellowy red almost lava type tort but would anyone know where i may find something like this? I believe its a 66 P bass but very much a dark red with little yellow or even depth really?

Unfortunately, outside of Spitfire, Avant Guard, Lava Guard, Reptile Guard, you're not going to find anything like that. There is nothing mass produced that looks like that. 

 

If you want something off the shelf rather than spending a lot on those aforementioned companies, I honestly think you'd be better off going for red pearl material rather than tort. It won't look right close up but from a distance it'll look good. Something like this attached pictures:

[dodgnofski]

12 hours ago, police squad said:

what do I search for? I'm not finding this one

Ah, it says he’s away until tomorrow…

[Lozz196]

20 hours ago, ossyrocks said:

What do you think of this one? It's a cheap repro off ebay, so they can be found cheaply,  but I think I got lucky with the colour. I had it on a MIJ reissue and it looked rather good. The bass for comparison is a '73 with original guard.

 

Rob

That’s very close, like it

[dodgnofski]

4 hours ago, ossyrocks said:

 

I think this is where I got mine pictured above. I have also had a Jazz guard from him. I don't remember it costing that much though! I thought I paid about £20 for them.

 

I can't seem to find him on ebay either now.

 

Edit: No, I got mine from Reverb - see this link: https://reverb.com/uk/shop/guitars-electric-ltd

 

Rob

Mine was for my Fender Squier Mini P Bass, I couldn’t find anyone else that did them….

[Stub Mandrel]

Ebay special. A few years ago.

 

[police squad]

18 hours ago, dodgnofski said:

Ah, it says he’s away until tomorrow…

cool, all ordered

cheers

mart

[Hobbayne]

I bought this 1978 Precision on here back in the autumn. I was 13 in 1978, watching Space 1999 and listening to You're The One That I Want which was constantly on the radio then. 

I wonder if that makes me vintage? 😅