Fender Reissue Colors

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Fullerton era (1982-1984) Colors
All American Vintage Reissue Strats are finished in nitrocellulose laquer.  The '57 AVRI came standard in 2-Color Sunburst while the '62 AVRI came standard in 3-Color Sunburst.  From 1982-1984 both the '57 and '62 AVRI strats were available in a number of custom order colors including Lake Placid Blue, Fiesta Red, Vintage White, Candy Apple Red, and Black.  From our experience, only about 5-7% of these early reissues were finished in one of these custom colors.  Finding a custom color fullerton era strat is very rare.  If they do happen to come to market, they usually demand a premium over sunburst finishes.  The most common custom colors during the Fullerton era are Black and Vintage white, wheras the rarest are Lake Placid Blue, Fiesta Red, and Candy Apple Red. 

  • Fender Reissue Colors
    Custom color '57 reissues
  • Fender Reissue Colors
    Two early custom color reissues
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1982%20%2757%20SB
    1982 '57 reissue in 2-sunburst
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2762%20SB
    1983 '62 reissue in 3-sunburst
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1982%20%2757%20fiesta%20red
    1982 '57 reissue in Fiesta Red
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1984%20%2762%20fiesta%20red
    1984 '62 reissue in Fiesta Red
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1982%20%2757%20in%20vintage%20white
    1982 '57 reissue in Vintage White
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2762%20vintage%20white
    1983 '62 reissue in Vintage White
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2757%20black
    1983 '57 reissue in Black
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2762%20black
    1983 '62 reissue in Black
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1984%20%2757%20CAR
    1984 '57 reissue Candy Apple Red
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2762%20CAR
    1984 '62 reissue Candy Apple Red
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1984%20%2757%20LPB
    1984 '57 reissue Lake Placid Blue
  • Fender Reissue Colors — 1983%20%2762%20LPB
    1984 '62 reissue Lake Placid Blue

 

Corona era (1985-present) Colors
The opening of the Corona plant in 1985 marked the addition of a few new custom colors.  All of the original custom colors were available with the addition of Surf Green (some call this Seafoam Green), Sonic Blue, and a special "Mary Kay" see-through Blonde with gold hardware.  From our experience, custom colors among Corona factory guitars are more common than the earlier Fullerton factory reissues.  Some estimate that nearly 50% of Corona built guitars are finished in one of these custom colors.  Custom color Corona factory reissues usually sell at a small premium over their sunburst counterparts.  It was not until 1990-1991 that other custom colors such as Ocean Turquise became available.

  • Fender Reissue Colors — V027828 SG
    1987 '62 reissue in Seafoam Green
  • Fender Reissue Colors — V039451 SB
    1988 '57 reissue in Sonic Blue

 

Finish checking
Due to the relatively thin nitrocellulose finishes these guitars are susceptible to finish checking.  This typically occurs with a rapid change in finish temperature, such as going from a trunk of a car in winter to a warm location without letting the guitar slowly warm-up within its case.  Many AVRI strats, particularly the early ones, have at least some finish checking, although it is not uncommon to find near mint examples with zero checking.  Since the necks were also finished in nitrocellulose many have finished checking on the front and back of the headstock.  

  • Fender Reissue Colors — V000978 SB FC
    Nitrocellulose finish with finish checking
  • Fender Reissue Colors — V002479 VW FC
    Vintage White Nitro finish with checking