Are competition mustangs finished in poly?

[RoséBear]

I’m just wondering- there’s a lot of hype behind these guitars- mostly because of Kurt. But did the original comp stangs use nitro or poly? From my understanding this was after CBS acquired Fender and switched to poly?

[Rob]

I’m just wondering- there’s a lot of hype behind these guitars- mostly because of Kurt. But did the original comp stangs use nitro or poly? From my understanding this was after CBS acquired Fender and switched to poly?

Poly.

[Highnumbers]

All Fenders after 1968 (even toward the end of that year) used catalyzed polyurethane paint, and the factory stopped using nitrocellulose lacquer except for sealing decals on the headstock.

The term “poly” is misleading because polyurethane is not the same as polyester. The former was used from ‘69 to ‘73(?) and replaced by the much thicker polyester finish.

Both are two-part catalyzed finishes which were more efficient in production, curing hard in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and far more durable than lacquer finishes. Customers at the time complained about how quickly nitrocellulose lacquer wore through on the body and fretboard, so the switch to polyurethane completely solved that issue.


IIRC, the first use of polyurethane finishes on Fender guitars was for the Paisley & Flower Telecasters because lacquer couldn’t build thick enough to fully bury the printed contact paper that covers the bodies on these guitars. I believe that’s where Fender discovered polyurethane, though they still bursted the edges with nitrocellulose lacquer. Nearly all of those Teles were built in 1968.

[copacetic]

Most Fender finishes post 1967-68 or so are polyurethane, (Technically it was called Aliphatic Urethane Coating) but i have seen quite a few Competition Mustangs and other examples of the era with nitro finishes. It seems Fender werent always consistent with their clear coat usage around the late 60's when they switched. Perhaps there was a period where they were using up all their leftover nitro. Documentation from any direct sources regarding this is scarce as far as i know so we can only speculate

Nitro finished original 69 compstang:



Urethane is indeed different from modern day "Poly" finishes Fender uses which are actually Polyester, a much harder, more durable plastic-like finish. This is why you often see vintage fender "poly" finishes still age/yellow over time and pick up a nice worn look. "Transitional" Poly(urethane) finishes from Fender arent overly thick and it seems they sprayed them much like their nitro finishes, but by the early/mid 70s or so, the finishes get thicker and thicker until the eventual switch to polyester sometime in the mid-late 70s IIRC. Modern Polyester is basically designed to stay as close as possible to factory looking for as long as possible. Id wager that in 40-50 years our Classic Vibes and MIM Fenders probably wont have near as much yellowing or "mojo" going on with the finish, which may be desirable depending on who you ask

[JSett]

Weirdly, I've had two early 70s Fenders that were nitro (tested with acetone), both sunbursts, so those must have still got it for a while past '68.

One was a 72 JM, the other a 73 Mustang.

All the colours and natural finishes I've seen post 68 have been poly.

[RoséBear]

Very interesting! So it seems modern reissues of these guitars are more accurate than I thought!

[Highnumbers]

Very interesting! So it seems modern reissues of these guitars are more accurate than I thought!

Not really, if you read our posts above. The reissues today are painted in polyester — the one finish type (out of the three) that was never used on original Compstangs in 1968-1973.

[Gavanti]

Weirdly, I've had two early 70s Fenders that were nitro (tested with acetone), both sunbursts, so those must have still got it for a while past '68.

One was a 72 JM, the other a 73 Mustang.

All the colours and natural finishes I've seen post 68 have been poly.

Ditto on nitro on my '72 Jag and a '73 JM, both sunburst. I'm pretty certain the headstocks are also finished in nitro, but the necks are poly. I read somewhere that this was typical of early 70s sunbursts. A 69 Mustang I had for a bit was definitely the highly reactive poly Fender used.