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
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
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.
Man get after it. We had some of the early CS Relics and would drag them across the parking lot. Our guitar player broke a sting one night, did a feedback solo and banged the guitar into the stage. I came out with the backup strat and the Relics other 5 strings were still in tune. They can take a beating.
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!!
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!
3:53 😂 Holy cow how did I not think of that!? It is the stupidest, most obvious implement for relic’ing that spot on a guitar and I’ve never seen anyone suggest it. ❤
This is a fun watch. To the haters, youll never be this creative, smart or thoughtful in anything. You dont have an incredible pedal company that youve build from the ground up with your own hands. Yall would fail and be more miserable than you are now, so take a chill pill and kick rocks. Also, zach will use those rocks to make a cool relic..so suck it. Nice job Zach and Co.!!!
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!.
@@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
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.
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
I have this guitar and love the feeling of the neck. Now im trying to build a partscaster with the same neck. Does anybody know wich neck i should buy to get exactly the same specs that this one has? Im not sure wich one to 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’ve been buying really cheap guitars and practicing distressing them so that when I buy my new American strat I have no concerns with my abilities in relic-ing a brand new $2,000 guitar. Cause folks are gonna think I’m crazy.
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.
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 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!
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
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
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.
Man, I’ve been waiting years for Adam Savage to do this to a guitar. Only needed to wait for Zach to make a video on this to get my fix.
Adam is such a hero!
That really does look excellent. I wondered what effect the monty's would have on those worn parts of the body. I dig it man, I dig it hard!
love these videos, it's always good to know this stuff to take an already good guitar and then make it look and sound great.
Man get after it. We had some of the early CS Relics and would drag them across the parking lot. Our guitar player broke a sting one night, did a feedback solo and banged the guitar into the stage. I came out with the backup strat and the Relics other 5 strings were still in tune. They can take a beating.
wow this is beautiful I wish I had something like this lol
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!!
I'm not expert, but I'm like you Zach, I think in relicing uniformity is the enemy.
Just found your channel - Great vibe!!!😊
if i was paying 15$ a month to see these videos i would be 100% fine with it, this is the EXACT type of guitar content i wanna see!!😁
I really like this series!
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!
Thanks!!!
have a road worn strat in 3tsb from one of the first year (maybe around 2006)...the aging is perfect and much better then the newer ones!😊
I think this one honestly is pretty good and really easy to take to the next level with some patience
@@MythosPedals yeah ...good relic job man ...greetings from switzerland ☺️
25:19 "You could play tic-tac-toe on that thing" LOOOOOOL then "I don't know man, just feel it.. feel it in your heart" I'm dead xD
Matthew is so funny
3:53 😂 Holy cow how did I not think of that!? It is the stupidest, most obvious implement for relic’ing that spot on a guitar and I’ve never seen anyone suggest it. ❤
I have this guitar, but the only thing I'm tempted to do to it is add some Montyspresso....
This is a fun watch. To the haters, youll never be this creative, smart or thoughtful in anything. You dont have an incredible pedal company that youve build from the ground up with your own hands. Yall would fail and be more miserable than you are now, so take a chill pill and kick rocks. Also, zach will use those rocks to make a cool relic..so suck it. Nice job Zach and Co.!!!
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!.
Joe Strummer-signature tele
Is it getting close to lunch 🌮🔔😂😊
Heck Yes! If you DO ever sell that guitar, let your boy know.
You’ll be call #1
Do the buckle rash area with belt buckles and maybe some zippers?
Are you going to make the finish check with a can of compressed air? That would really take it to a new level.
It's VERY lightly checked but I prefer the longer check lines as opposed to the shattered glass look.
@@MythosPedals Gotcha. I wonder how MJT gets those nice checking lines on their bodies?
@@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
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.
Would you guys offer a package or two for the McCready Strat out of the box? To do some or all of this?
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 😕
Looks like the “mudd” they use to break in baseballs.
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
Dig the jam rockin the Argo!
Are there any before and after shots? Time stamp? I’m still watching a bit at a time of this video
I have this guitar and love the feeling of the neck. Now im trying to build a partscaster with the same neck. Does anybody know wich neck i should buy to get exactly the same specs that this one has? Im not sure wich one to pick……
Are you going to do a neck relicing video?
I may polish the body but the neck is good for me so wasn’t planning on relicing the neck further.
@@MythosPedals thanks! If you ever did, would love to see your process on relicing a neck. Going to try to relic a strat here soon!
Still no playing samples with the funnily bended arm?
How would you go about relicing a poly-finished guitar? (Epiphone LP)
I wouldn’t
‘Great vid, but wait……have Fender stamped ‘Roadworn’ into the finish on the top of the body?
They did!
I have a roadworn tele that I want to get dirt into the finish checking, would the monte product do that or is it thin enough?
I don’t think it’s thin enough sadly
@@MythosPedals fuller’s earth maybe then
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. 😎
Are you going to sell this when you are done?
Not sure, it's a GREAT Strat and I'm getting more and more partial to the look of it
I’ve been buying really cheap guitars and practicing distressing them so that when I buy my new American strat I have no concerns with my abilities in relic-ing a brand new $2,000 guitar. Cause folks are gonna think I’m crazy.
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?
Simple answer is time.
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.
1:26 (a unison chuckle 😂)
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
Man you should see what happens when I play them!
@@MythosPedals 🤣🤣
yummy, chips
I have to say that #MaMaCoo 's watches is amazing!
Are you going to try to get rid of the shielding paint? A real sixties atrat wouldn't have that.
Nah i have to draw the line somewhere
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!