Highway One Strat finish

[rsadler]

I have a Fender Highway One Strat which is a vintage model, and the finish is one with a very light gloss, not thicker gloss like most. I'm curious if I had it re-done to give it a heavier finish if it will affect the sound too much. I love the guitar, and I'm thinking it may wear too fast with the lighter finish it has on it now. I'm not against signs of wear over time, but the finish is so light that I'm kinda thinking it will wear too fast, and I'm not a big fan of excessively worn guitars.

[rsadler]

No one knows if it will change the sound?

[Crow]

No one knows if it will change the sound?

Not to sound snide, but... yeah. No one knows if it will change the sound. Conventional wisdom tells us that "light" finishes allow the wood in a guitar body to speak better than "heavy" ones. Whether that applies to your guitar, there really is no way to tell.

Me, I'd leave it alone; I'm pretty careful with my toys & don't play out that often, & if something works as-is, I figure why d!ck around with it. And refinishing is a pain.

Your mileage may vary.

[CitiZenNoir]

Hey.

As far as I know, the finish on Hwy 1 guitars is a light lacquer. Not Nitro Lac though. Fender usually calls it, Gloss Lacquer, though it's a satin finish on the Hwy 1's.
It should be a bit harder than a nitro lac finish, and may wear longer.
Also, it prob has some sort of urethane undercoating. Pretty sure that all Fender guitars have a urethane undercoating
unless it's specified "Thin Skin Nitro Lac", which is 100% Nitro Lac.

As far as a refin goes, it seems that you're putting the cart before the horse. I would just leave it as is and play it.
If it wears out and you don't like it, give it a refin, or sell it.
You never know, you might like it as it wears....?

I sold my '66 SG to my uncle. It has the original Nitro Lac finish on it.... Cracked and crazed and faded and scratched and chipped, Looks GREAT! Amazingly, he doesn't like it like that - It's not shiny enough for him.
He talked about having it refinished
I told him if he wanted a shiny guitar, go buy a NEW one (and sell the '66 back to me!).

Ken

[dogbite]

I have a Hwy 1 tele. been playing it hard for eight years. it only has scratches from my clumziness, the finish hasn't worn at all.
personally, I would not recoat your finish. let it wear thru naturally. you will come to appreciate that eventually.

[rsadler]

That's good to know. I was just concerned that it would wear faster then normal because it's so light. Thanks!