1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Bringing your older offset back to life.
User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Fri Mar 18, 2016 1:52 pm

Hello,

Thank you kindly for allowing me to join the board. This is my first post.

I have had an ongoing love affair with Jaguars since the early 90's. My first was a '94 reissue. I almost bought a '60s burgandy mist w/ the rare eyeglass case in the late '90s, but I was too slow to move on that one. My next Jaguar was around 2010, and it was a Daves thin-skin OTM. Another fun guitar, but did not last too long. Then I bought a '64 LPB Jaguar. It was beautiful, but smelled like an ash tray. I enjoyed that guitar, but leveraged it and a few other guitars to get a '60 strat, which I still have.

Fast forward to about a month ago, and I have been longing to have another Jaguar. I want a custom color, and so I have been open to the idea of getting a good deal on a refin and having it redone to the color I want. As luck would have it, such a deal presented itself.

I bought this Jaguar off of a dealer on ebay:
Image

Image

It must have lived an interesting life. Obviously, the head stock decal is WRONG! After acquiring the guitar, I validated that it is what the dealer said it was, for the most part. The dealer advertised it as Fiesta Red, but it looked more like a Dakota Red to me. Interestingly enough, in the body cavities, there is signs of CAR.

I sent the guitar off to MJT for a refin and here is what they have found: They believe the guitar was originally Dakota Red w/ a matching head stock. At some point it probably had CAR, because it is in the cavities, but they didn't necessarily find it on the body when they stripped it. The body was definitely a nitro refin, and someone has sprayed a urethane coat on the neck.

My goal is to 'restore' the guitar, but make it the color I want, so I had them strip both the neck and the body:
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Unfortunately, they don't strip the cavities, but I can live with that. I've already bought the correct decal and a mastery bridge for the guitar. MJT will install the decal.

They will be spraying it Fiesta Red w/ a matching headstock over desert sand. I'll keep the thread updated as I get new pictures. Thanks for having me on this community and following me on this journey!
Dan

User avatar
s_mcsleazy
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 18424
Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2011 7:30 am
Location: glasgow

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by s_mcsleazy » Fri Mar 18, 2016 10:27 pm

i think fiesta red will suit the guitar well. good luck
offset guitars resident bass player.
'Are you trying to seduce me Mrs Robinson? Or do you just want me to solder a couple of resistors into your Muff?'

User avatar
zhivago
Mods
Mods
Posts: 21926
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:18 am
Location: London, UK

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by zhivago » Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:44 am

Welcome to the site!

This is a great project! 8)
Resident Spartan.

User avatar
HH1978
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 676
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2015 2:51 pm
Location: Brussels, Belgium

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by HH1978 » Sat Mar 19, 2016 2:57 am

Welcome!

I also think Fiesta red is much more sexy than Dakota! That's a great project!
Did that jag come with original pickups?

User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Sat Mar 19, 2016 5:00 am

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

I have had a challenging time communicating w/ MJT about Fiesta Red. It seems to be one of the toughest colors to paint, as there are so MANY variations from a vibrant red, to pink, and even an orange. Lighting seems to play a big part in the way one perceives it also. The guy there, Dustin, said he has seen about 100 variations on guitars, and all of them fiesta red. I asked for it to be more on the vibrant red with some pink and less on the straight out pink or orange color. They said they would do their best!

yes - stagger poled pickups and everything else is all original, except for the paint, the solder, and some wire that was spliced in when it was taken apart for a refin at some point.

This guitar is a little bit of a mystery to me, as it is a 65, but it has a mint green guard and an earlier case. The '64 LPB I had was in a black case and a white guard. I didn't think the mint green guards were still in use by '65 and I know the cases were not the brown tolex. I imagine the case was one the dealer had lying around when the guitar was purchased or someone mated it up at some point. It is longer than my brown tolex strat case and the Jag has clearly been stored in it for a VERY long time, as the body shape has an impression on the bottom and the trem has multiple on the top!

User avatar
Great Yawn
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 11:21 am
Location: Belgium

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by Great Yawn » Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:14 am

Welcome!

A day that a new red Jag with matching headstock is born is a good day in my eyes. Curious to see the end result.

User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:28 pm

for fun, here is a pic of the lpb jag I used to own:

Image

User avatar
spiffy chap
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1107
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 12:42 am
Contact:

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by spiffy chap » Sat Mar 19, 2016 5:59 pm

sikoniko wrote:for fun, here is a pic of the lpb jag I used to own:

Image
Wow that is a great looking guitar. Action is so low!

User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Tue Mar 22, 2016 3:01 pm

here is the reference I provided MJT that I want my Jaguar to look like. I pulled it out of Zhivago's vintage Hottie's.

Image

I really wish rumble seat would publish a book. Their photography is amazing!

User avatar
markham
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:15 pm
Location: Durham, NC, USA

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by markham » Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:49 pm

This is a fabulous project! Looking forward to watching it progress.
Congrats!

User avatar
foot
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 119
Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2015 11:38 am

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by foot » Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:26 am

That red is going look super sexy! Great project!

User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Wed Apr 20, 2016 2:44 pm

The next update is ready to report!

It has been tinted and is getting prepped for the desert sand basecoat, for the matching headstock.

Image

Image

User avatar
mcjt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4295
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2006 2:17 pm
Location: Côte-St-Luc QC

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by mcjt » Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:49 pm

that's some handsome wood!
good luck!

User avatar
will
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1113
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 3:36 pm
Contact:

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by will » Wed Apr 20, 2016 9:36 pm

I have a Jag body over at the MJT shop getting refinished now too (Inca Silver)

Judging by the finishes I've seen from their shop, they seem to really be enjoying what they're doing.

User avatar
sikoniko
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:35 pm

Re: 1965 Fender Jaguar Restoration

Post by sikoniko » Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:23 pm

Another update!

Image

Image

I'm told it is still a month or so out... can't wait! The fiesta red color turned out FAR better than I had hoped.

Post Reply