1974 Fender Telecaster Sunburst
 
Neck ferrules removed and labeled in order.
Deep cracks in the neck had to glued  and filled. 
The old finish removed, leveled and grain filled.
Neck joint ready for sanding. 
Wet sanding process in between clear coats
The polishing stage.
Copper shielding  all cavities would help reduce pickup noise.
Brass inserts installed into old worn wood screw holes to accept Stainless Steel 8-32 neck  screws.
One of my recent projects was a 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom brought to me by the talented guitarist, Ken Bewick of Bottle of Sound, Mudfrog and other notable bands.  In it's previous life it had been a sunburst model and had the finish removed for the natural look. The following photos and text show the steps that I took to restore this great guitar to it's former glory.
With such a large pickup cover, only a portion of the Sunburst on the front would be visible, however the back would really show it off.
This classic Telecaster had a three piece Ash body with nice grain which should take the three shade Sunburst well.
The trick was to hide the nicks, old screw holes and cracks without going to a black edge as Fender typically did.
Ken Bewick of "Bottle of Sound"
This Telecaster showed the usual nicks and cracks which would be a challenge to to hide with a Sunburst refinish.
The first task was to disassemble, document and take photos.  The finish had to be removed, filled and sealed.  I used a natural grain filler that is available at Stewart-MacDonald.
The body at this stage is ready for a vinyl lacquer sealer.
A clear lacquer base is applied.  All finishes are scuff sanded after 24 hours to allow the solvents to escape.  Each lacquer coat will dissolve into the prior finish so minor scratches will disappear at this stage.
The Vintage Amber tinted base coat is applied.
The Cherry Red Sunburst starts the process.....
The final stage of adding the tobacco edge will complete the Sunburst process.
Buffed out and ready for assembly.
Back to 1974 and ready to play.