This 1968 Fender Telecaster and 1958 Gretch Duo Jet were brought to me by a gentleman who lived in New Orleans and went through hurricane Katrina. He had to leave his house to avoid the hurricane along with all his instruments. When he returned he realized they were floating in the harsh waters inside the house! They were very, very difficult restorations, some of the hardest in my career!!! After seeing them for the first time I nearly refused to work on them because they were such a mess, but I could tell how much they were loved by David and how traumatized he was from this ordeal of mother nature. The body of the Telecaster had completely delaminated, we think after investigating tell tale signs that it was originally a 1968 Blue Flower that had been stripped of the wallpaper and paint. The four laminations on the body would be covered up by the wallpaper and paint in the Fender factory. We decided to paint it foam green because of what it had gone through with Katrina we decided to leave the neck and head stock as it was because the beauty of the imperfection it possessed. I sprayed a aged nitro lacquer over the neck to blend it together. This was an intense restoration - not easy and quite time-consuming but it was worth it all! We replace the pick ups and electronics, all new frets and installed a custom bone nut. Amazingly enough the tuners and the bridge saddles were resurrected and worked fine. This this guitar sounded incredible. David was so happy when he saw these for the first time. Some of the most intense but rewarding restorations I have ever done. They both took a few years to complete.
Spoiler This 1958 duo jet was one of the most difficult restorations ever. It seemed like it would never end. The neck had to be steamed off because it was at the wrong angle and someone had put a large screw from the side that was rusted/welded in the wood from the flood. It took at least two hours with two steamers!!! The entire instrument was delaminating. The headstock veneer was badly cracked and was a real mess. The fingerboard came off easily. The body was pretty intact, a few places were delaminating. It is a hollow body and it was filled with water during the flood! The bridge pick up didn't work but was some TLC it worked fine. The pickups are original and work great. The electronics were badly corroded and had to be replaced. The black nitro lacquer job was time-consuming. I yellowed all the white binding to make it period correct. This restoration was very time-consuming and one of the most intense ever, but the rewards outweigh everything especially when David saw it and played for the first time.
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