Step By Step Restoration-1965 Fender Mustang P5
Fixing the Damage

When Sanding a flat surface, it is very important
to use a sanding block. The previous owner didn't.
Note the deep grooves in the top where his fingers
took out too much material.
Document the neck date
on a vintage Fender.
Check that the other
dated parts are from the
same era.
Although Bondo gets a bad rap for shoddy
bodywork on rusted cars, it sometimes is the
perfect filler material. The key to using Bondo is
keeping the layers very thin. For deep holes, I use
cyano-acrylate (Super Glue) and sodium
bicarbonate (Baking Soda). The two react to form
a white plastic material. Below, see that Bondo
has been used to fill in the shallow grooves...then
fine sanded to prepare for finishing.
Vintage Fender Mustangs
have very nice shielding.
Copper sheet is nailed into
place inside the routings!
Note the unpainted area
inside the neck route from
the "paint stick" which was
used to hold the body while
painting at the Fender
factory. We will mask this
area to preserve a vintage
look.
The original color of this guitar was Daphne
Blue...I really wanted a Dakota Red Mustang, so I
bent my restoration rules to always keep the color
original. Kudos to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and
Curt Cobain!

After applying generous coats and letting the new
finish cure, the body is wet sanded; 1000 grit to
start, then 1200, 1500, 2000 and 2500. The body
is buffed...most shops can't afford a pro-level
wheel...luckily, a car buffer works fine with
McGuire's Auto Polish.
The Fender Mustang had
copper shielding installed
inside the routing for
pickups and electronics.
Before painting, these
shield plates are masked
to preserve a vintage look.