I knew a guy way back in the mid 80s who would take a $50 Strat copy and turn it into a Fender with a simple decal and paint job. They would end up in the local pawn shops and even music stores selling for $300-$500. Good to see the practice is alive and well.

Be nice to this guy, he sells excellent quality necks and other stuff in the UK, his prices are good, and he's super helpful.

Good video guys. I read down on the comments, I see no shame in applying a Fender decal if your not selling it as a Fender neck. Thanks for taking the time to show your process! There is no specific way to do things, I always find it interesting to see how others do them! Nice vid

Thanks for making this video showing the entire process. Most of the decal videos I found just show you how to apply the decal and then vaguely talk about lacquering and sanding without showing the process. I was a bit sidetracked because I had to research what “washing up liquid” is, but I found out it is what we call dish soap in my part of the world. After that, it was smooth sailing and my decal looks great! Thanks again

Your level of craftsmanship is both amazing and inspiring. It’s always that attention to detail that separates the mediocre from the great.

I understand about not making the video too long but dang! I invested all that time watching and didn’t see the end product.

Thanks for taking the time to make this very helpful video, I'm planning to add a custom decal to a guitar I built and this gives me the info I need to handle the job. Much more comprehensive than the instructions that came with the waterslide paper itself. This video gives a realistic idea of the time and effort to get a high quality result.

Your tutorial really helped me out with my project. I used a cue-tip to help smooth out the water bubbles after applying.

I used this video to fix a new logo to my old Tokai. It actually looks better than the originals on my other two!! Thanks for the video, it helped a novice doing it for the first time. 👍

OMG! What a process!

Thanks ! It’s really helpful! I have two fenders one deluxe and an ultra, but my first guitar was an squier, it’s old and almost lost the logo, recently made an full upgrade hardware and change the logo, this video helps a lot

Glad it was of some help!

Great stuff. Probably the best tutorial I've seen yet.

Excellent description! Thank you for the knowledge...My guitar turned out beautiful!

Thanks for the tutorial, good information. Thanks for your time.

This was very helpful. Thank you.

This is the only video I've seen so far that goes into how to finish and sand out the edges.

Just doing this process on my bass. Very helpful video. Cheers guys.

Dude busted out the Swiss Army knife out... like a boss.. Great video... This process takes time and patience..

this guy is a millioner. thanks man

Great video. For anyone wondering, this is what worked best for me. I sanded the headstock to bare wood, applied one layer of satin clear finish, and then applied the decal after an hour. I then applied around four layers on top of the headstock with the decal with an hour in between. I then sanded down the headstock, and applied another layer. Repeat around 3 times.

You do it the right way. I use almost the exact steps to apply them. Great work and looks fantastic.

Thanks for this video. I had no idea how work intensive this was.

This was a really useful video - very informative, thank you! Have used your lacquer in the past as well and it's great, I'd recommend it!

Day 24, "As you can see there is still an outline. That's fine, I'm happy with that. We need to sand it 2 or 3 thousand times more until the outline slowly dissapears"

In the mid-1980s, When I was a young child, my Dad (an electrical engineer) bought a black American Standard Fender Stratocaster. The finish started checking almost immediately, so, I remember being in my dad’s office at the house we lived in at the time, and he was on speaker phone with a man (who *NOW* would be referred to as a _Fender Master Builder)_ & my dad asked him “My 1969 Strat didn’t do this, what’s the deal?” And the guy from Fender said “well, in 1969 we were allowed to spray Nitrocellulose Lacquer into the finish & Nitrocellulose can expand and contract with changing wood” & at that time, Something my dad used *A LOT* was Freon Electronic Contact Cleaner (that got outlawed because of how bad for the environment it was & is) so being a toddler at the time, I always connected the two & lived under the assumption that Nitrocellulose was outlawed the same way & you couldn’t get it for love nor money _(like Freon electronic spray)_ fast-forward to my early 30s, I’d just become separated from the mother of my kids, I had two guitar bodies that looked like shit, so, I figure “f••k it, I’ll paint them myself” so, I’d always loved the 1996 Bonnie Raitt signature Stratocaster which is like Royal Blue-to-Navy Blue Burst & it’s an opaque burst color, so I decided to paint one that color, and one like Dimebag Darrell’s _DimeSlime_ color…so I was in Marlborough, Massachusetts after an appointment, and they have this Benjamin Moore store, and I go inside & I’m asking the guy questions about lacquer and he was a guitar player, and he mentioned Nitrocellulose & I was like “wait, I heard a guy from Fender say they weren’t allowed to use that anymore” and he said to me “Fender is in California” and I was like “yeah…” and he said “All Lacquer’s illegal in the state of California”, and he went in the back room, grabbed an aerosol can, brought it back out & showed my _Nitrocellulose Lacquor_ so I bought a can… and brought it to my dad & he was like “Where did you get this?!?” And I explained the whole thing to him…

Fender will be happy you're doing this

Great video... thank you. Mine turned out great.

Very informative video thanks!

Excellent camera work showing the sheen, and details.

Thanks for the video. It is helpful

Great video! Thanks

I just bought a tele neck from northwest ..excellent

Awesome tutorial !

Awesome, thanks!

Thank you for such a great easy watch and learning curve with your video - you explained it so well cant thank you enough - Malc the Fly

Okay... I followed your instructions in detail and I got excellent results, only I used a polyurethane lacquer and I made up my own waterslide decal with my own logo and printed it on special inkjet waterslide decal paper with clear medium ( hard to find...) I got a very fine looking result thanks to your video.

Nice work...I had finally realized that - like snow falling on a piece of wood in the garden - That it made no sense to keep putting wet coats over a decal, else I would end up laying on 25 coats of nitro. I will say that your method is correct, and the best method to make the decal edges disappear without spraying for a month.

Thanks for the video. Results are what I am finding - you can put a lot of work in and hope that you will lose the "flash" of the decal, but you never do... You can make slight improvements, but it will always look like a waterslide with 1 turn of the headstock, and it will never disappear into the finish. I wish there was a screen print option available...

A lot of guys do this. There's no harm in doing it. Thumbs up

thanXss bro.. inspiration

Looks good to me. I just finished applying a proper Fender decal on a late 60's Tele and also repairing and restoring a Squier neck that someone had butchered with the guitar with spray paint and other stuff. I do everything this guy does but I have a buffing wheel that I use to bring the final finish to a perfect gloss.

Thanks I tried this method and it works. Nitro lacquer 3 passes x 6, leave overnight - day 2 wet sand and re-apply the same as Day 1 - Day 3 sand down and re-apply 3 passes x 2 job done can't see any lines at all thanks North West guitars.

There are a few brands the plastic model guys use micro sol and micro set that will make them dissapear on a flat glossy surface. Give that a try after one coat and then coat over it twice. Good video.

Nice one, I have one of your P Bass necks. My decal separated from the backing in about 30 seconds, which nearly ended in disaster! The video was a big help, cheers.

excellent video.

I heard something about vinegar lightly applied to edges to make the outline disappear. You're lucky to get nitro. Not easy in Canada however. Regular lacquer is garbage as it never hardens. Machine heads eventually sink into the laquer, even after a year of drying first. My suggestion for anyone who can't get nitro is to use Maxx 2k. It's dangerous too so wear proper ppe. It works amazing and the notion it affects tone is crazy. I like this video thanks!

This video was very good, thank you for posting.

Thanks :)

I love the spaghetti logo. I have that one stock on my 2017 MIM FSR. Nice aesthetic...

Agree with Eric and Adam, would of liked to see the finishing process through to the end. Contemplating buying two spray tins of varnish from you off e-bay, one vintage amber gloss and one clear gloss including discounted postage is just under £30.00 so i would of like to see a top quality finish.... Go on finish the process!

Just thought I'd post a tip based on experience in case it's helpful to anyone: I sanded through the decal when keying the mist coat after applying the decal. It was just a couple of tiny scratches, so I decided to just live with it. But to my surprise, when adding another coat of nitro, the scratches actually filled in and miraculously fixed themselves! I can only think the scratch released some of the pigment from the decal, and the solvent in the nitro then mixed it and filled in the gaps. So if you do go through the decal, might be worth applying a coat of varnish before aborting and sanding off the whole thing to start again.

Excellent demonstration, thanks for the tip as I am doing this project over the weekend. I would assume a good poly aerosol would be fine to use oppose to the Nitro. I don't like Nitro as destroys my sinuses as it is quite toxic, Thx !!

Good tutorial friend, I watched your video is very interesting, I'am going to apply the same method in my guitar, I have the sandpaper grade 1500 to buffing with turtle wax

wow, thank-you so much for a precise and clear tutorial!!

The process is correct. Final polish can be done with a luthier polishing wheel or wet sand with a 1500 and then use a high grade (Mcquires) glaze hand polish.

I did that method on 4 necks and it works. 3 times spraying and sanding and it looks perfect!

Great video! Thank you very much! The decal itself also looks fantastic! Very accurate. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?

Thanks for the Great Video! Did you sand all the decal area? Or Do you recommend concentrating on the edges only?

Nice job ! This will be great for me to share with Customers on the process. Get this one a lot .

Too all those concerned: Headstock Decal's can be found on E-Bay, but you got to go to the purchase part to describe what kind of decal you want. As far as the clearcoat that's a matter of choice, Me I like (Minwax Clear Aerosol Lacquer). And Gregg it's spelled Meguiar's. I find Meguiar's Swirl remover does work kinda nice, but any fine cut cleaner work's wonder's then using (Johnson's Paste Wax) for the final step in polishing with a handdrill,after changing the pad's from fine cut cleaner pad to paste wax pad! P.S. Never bear down the drill while using fine cut cleaner or the wax, (Lightly). 10 inch flat pad's for the face and the back of the headstock as well as the body, and Meguiar's polishing ball for all the Arches.

I recommend having a printout of a fender headstock to compare positioning of the decal

Thank you! This instruction was very helpful to me. I was able to apply my spaghetti logo just as you have shown here.

Hi. Thanks for the great video. Question: Before polishing, is the last step to apply a final coat of Nitro - or is the final step to give the headstock one last wet sand? Thanks in advance.

I’ve never used nitro cellulose lacquer so I’m unfamiliar with the process. However, I use regular lacquer and I do six coats , ten minutes apart and let it sit for four days. Then I start with 1000 grit paper dipped in water ( I never add soap, that seems to be asking for trouble), then up to 1500 grit, ending with 2000. After that I use 4x steel wool. Then I let it sit overnight because it’s still a little soft after the sanding. Then I use scratch removal wax, buffing it out. After that it looks pretty good.

I wasn't sure about this guy at first, but when he pulled out the Swiss Army Knife for scissors, I knew we were kindred spirits.

but good video thanks!🤩

So all the people claiming this is dishonest or deceitful I would suggest you know very little of guitars. There are many many reasons to replace a guitar neck. The stratocaster is actually specifically designed with an easily removable and replaceable neck as this is the piece which receives the most wear. There are also aesthetic reasons. Fender only now make one vintage maple tint neck and it has the 7.25 radius. I have a USA standard and will be ordering one of these necks and doing this exact decal mod myself soon. As Leo intended!

Thanks great instructional vid ....So if nitro can be sprayed over poly, as you have done to the headstock ....could you actually spray clear nitro over a poly finished body ....without problems? .....maybe with a light sand ?

Hi, thanks for tuttorial. Do you use water when sanding?

Nice work! Is nitro laquer necessary for success of dissapearing the edges? Will minwax polyurethane clear satin work?

After reading some of these comments, I would like to point out that a lot of companies manufacture and sell Tele, Strat, & various Fender style bodies, necks, & parts that are actually licensed by Fender, Inc. If you put a decal on licensed Fender parts, it's hardly a counterfeit. All you would have to do is take the guitar apart and most of these parts are clearly labeled "Licensed by Fender."

You can use vinegar on the decal after application, that will smooth the edges so you don't need that many coats. Just rub the edges lightly with the a finger. Be sure to remove the vinegar before applaying the lacquer.

Great job. Where can the decals be purchased?

Hi! What stain did you use to get that amber color on that maple neck? Did you apply first or you mixed it with the lacquer? Cheers!

Does the sanding take some of the actual top layers off the decal (since the image is printed onto the bottom, where you adhere it to the wood), or does sanding just smooth the surface of the clearcoat sprayed on top of it? I understand that we are also building up clearcoat around the border of the decal, to raise it to an equal level But what causes the decal itself to go from opaque to clear? Thanks for helping me understand. This might answer if we can overlap decals (I am thinking about a custom design printed myself on waterslide paper, and then a purchased gold Martin & Co decal overlapping some of it (which I can't print because my printer can't get that true shiny gold color). This would make it double as thick/raised in some areas... so do I need to do this whole process twice? One time to level out the wood with my custom design, then another time to level it to the logo I slap on top?

you can spray that lacquer a hole lot wetter after it flashes off the first time. spray it till its like glass almost.

+ Northwest Guitars UK. It's sorta funny that I buy all the custom Decals from the UK. I suppose that here in the states there's some great sellers who can make anything you want but I've said this a lot of times, that if I need any Decal that comes out of the Fender Factory, I have to buy the Decals from the UK. Plus he has the best prices & does great work.

Great Tutorial!! Do you have any Tips to remove the old Decal?

Do you have a video on how to install a walnut truss rod plug on a non-Fender neck?

Hi, thanks for the video! I decided to completely refinish my neck and right now have raw, unfinished headstock. Will it be fine if I apply polyurethane over polyurethane instead of nitrocellulose? Thanks!

Regardless of putting on a decal, what is the process of applying nitro lacquer onto a one piece maple fretboard and headstock? Like do i mask off every individual fret, or do i just do a few coats over the entire neck? Thanks

Hello Northwest Guitars UK, excuse my english but i have a deubt, to remove the "borders" of the new decal, for eliminate the relief, i have to sand the borders right? not over the new decal? Please excuse my english

Hi from Argentina, the water you use to sand with a grid paper is only water? or with another stuff in it???, for the colour white I mean, thanks Mario

I was in a similar position as I have a guitar where the headstock snapped in between the tuning peg hole. It’s a Jackson dinky xl pro. It was made in 91. It’s American made. I was lucky enough to find another dinky xl pro with a scratched and nicked up body and a mint neck. I just did the neck swap. Now I got a parts guitar.

I know it's an old video but for "opaque" you need to substitue "translucent" - pedantic moi? Anyway, received a new Korean made Precision neck from Northwest Guitars a couple of days ago, not had chance to fit and set up yet but first impressions; very nice, excellent fret job and finish. Lets hope it plays as good as it looks. No I don't intend to fit a Fender decal..... Might design and fit my own custom decal though.

Cheers for this video, very helpful! I see a lot of people basically accusing you of counterfeit here, but I can say for myself that I'm a poor bugger who can't afford a real Fender but I'm also vain enough to want it on my guitar's headstock! As long as you're not selling the guitar on and passing it off as a genuine Fender (which I'm certain you're not) there's no issue whatsoever in my opinion. Fender just looks better than Squier I think!

Please SOMEONE tell me how you tinted the neck that color !! love it . All help is greatly appreciated .

I just organized all my nails/screws and other hardware and thought I was awesome. And then I see this dude's setup......

Hi Northwest Guitars, I appreciate your video very much. Presently I also try to put a decal on a type of "roasted headstock" (dark wood). I put 3 coats of wipe-on poly (excellent laquer) on the headstock, then placed the decal on it and put another 3 coats of wipe-on poly over it. I then tried carefully to wetsand over the decal, to bring the outlines down and to remove the "opague" white shadow under the decal. I tried that with a 1500 grid wetsand-paper. At the very beginning it worked outstanding, but what a pitty, suddenly I sanded into the decal somehow and the letters in the decal were ruined. I can't understand, how this was possible, because I was doing very carefully and the 3 coats of laquer couldn't be sanded through this fast, because I didn't use pressure while sanding. Could you tell me , what I was doing wrong ? Would appreciate your advice very much. Cheers Roger

Legal as long as your refinishing a fender product.

It don't stick to raw wood what type of clear should be used for the headstock to apply the decal ?

Hello , is it ok to do the same with a matching headstock ? like metallic colour

i like to put a bit of water on the area where im going to place the decal, it makes it really easy to move and gives you plenty more time to get it placed, and it never seems to get any air bubbles, just have to leave it a bit longer before before drying it

so for the people who think that is not a real fender neck it is a licensed copy, a few company's make them for fender, like wormoth and their are a couple in the UK. and they do not all the time come with decals on them most come blank to you, some company's you can pay a lil more and have the logo put on it.

Do I need to let the foundation layer of lawyer dry overnight before applying decal? Or can it be applied just an hour after spraying headstock

hi there did u apply the decal to the bear timber of the headstock ???

I did a flawless one using this method, thank you so much mate! Worth mentioning, make such the neck has finish on it first! Don't start on bare wood.

Do you have a recommended decal paper? I'd like to put my strat's name on my new Warmoth neck

Great tutorial. Thank you. There is one question: my neck isn't laquered. Is it possible to apply a decal to raw wood? Thank you very much.