Here’s a great example of a very loved 58′ Tele! They loved it so much that they even painted hearts on it! Someone years ago painted hearts, spades, and binding on this beautiful telecaster!
After carefully scraping away the paint while leaving the original paint in tact it turned out pretty good! (talk about nerve racking!
The original frets on the tele were as worn as the rest of the guitar! Time to replace them! The original finish has to stay in tact for this kind of procedure. I started by sliding the frets out of the side which kept the fret slots and finish in tact. After prepping the new fret wire that is the same width but much higher they are ready to install. The finish on this guitar was so fragile that it could not be taped off to protect so i made some custom metal protective cauls to protect the finish and maple.
Now this Telecaster is ready to twang for years to come!
CF. Restorations 