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1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2018 2:23 pm
by JONFROMJERSEY
Back in 1992 or 93 I bought a Dakota Red Mustang at a pawn shop. I think it is a 65 or 66. Anyway, it was well-played and the paint was chipped in many places. Underneath the Dakota Red, which looks to be original, or at least very old (lots of crazing etc...) is some white and even blue paint, as well as visible wood. I am convinced the Dakota Red finish is original, so who can explain the white and blue? I wish I could attach some photos here, but I cannot seem to be able to do that... Thanks.

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:33 am
by countertext
OSG doesn’t host images, so you can’t upload to it. You have to link to the photo’s web location, which is to say that it has to be hosted on an image hosting site (usually flickr, in my case).

You insert the img tags from the buttons above ^ and put the url of the image’s location between them. The most common error, I think, is to insert the url of a “viewer” page where you scroll or click through images rather than the real address of the image itself. My go-to move is right-clicking an image and using “open image in a new tab” to get to the image’s actual page. Then you can copy that url and insert it here. Some websites don’t allow the right-click trick to prevent theft of images, but it usually works.

Here’s the first pic I ever managed to post correctly:
Image

It’s the img tags around this url: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6215/628 ... 646ac6.jpg
That’s what flickr’s individual photo locations look like.

Most of us here would love to see some pics of your Mustang.

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 5:30 am
by JONFROMJERSEY
Ok I will try to make some photos available. Thanks!

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 5:33 am
by JONFROMJERSEY

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:58 am
by Jaguar018
If you really want to check, take the neck and pickguard off. Look in the neck pocket, and around the pickups and cavities. With that blue underneath, it's certainly a refin, but the question is when was it done, and by whom?

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:13 am
by JONFROMJERSEY
I have disassembled the guitar in the past. No signs of blue or white inside. Just very old Dakota Red.

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:21 am
by Danley
Was primer even used with the original finishes? I feel like I knew once but forgot.

That said, to a point you could return your guitar to Fender for a refin- and I believe in those instances they would just overspray where they could. Perhaps they'd use primer if they worried about laying two different colors directly above each other. It was also apparently a thing that custom color bodies might get a respray to meet production order changes- that said I don't think any Mustangs are technically custom color, they were production line guitars that were either red, white, or blue.

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 11:28 pm
by Embenny
Danley wrote:
Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:21 am
Was primer even used with the original finishes? I feel like I knew once but forgot.
The answer is yes, sometimes.

Due to the exploding demand for their guitars in the mid-60's, there are no hard and fast rules. Some colours could be sprayed with a primer one week, and then the next they'd skip it because they were so backlogged. Also, colours that "didn't" get primer coats are sometimes found with primer coats. It was the wild Wild West in the finishing department.

Mustangs were cheaper guitars and often don't have primer...but then sometimes they do!

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:23 am
by JONFROMJERSEY
So then it was probably blue and then repainted red by Fender to meet customer demand?

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 11:43 am
by scottT
The white looks more like Desert Sand (beige) which was frequently used as an undercoat on colors like Daphne Blue which would be right for that guitar. Of course Dakota is right for that model as well. It wouldn't be unheard of for Fender to factory spray color over color like this. Pretty cool!

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:25 pm
by zip73
JONFROMJERSEY wrote:
Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:23 am
So then it was probably blue and then repainted red by Fender to meet customer demand?
Yes.

Re: 1965/66 Mustang Color Mystery

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:30 am
by mgeek
or because there was a flaw with the blue finish. Much more cost effective to treat that as a base coat and spray a new colour over the top of it