Squier Affinity Series Strat Restoration | Part One

Part Two ▶

The "Crafted in China" Squier Affinity Series Strat featured in today's post hails from the Yako factory in Taiwan, as suggested by the "CY" prefix. That's about all I dare say about this instrument's origins. As for the numbers "090602679," your guess is as good as mine. If anyone can enlighten me, I'd be much obliged.

As received, the guitar was in really bad shape. It was covered in dust and grime, would not make a sound, the volume and tone controls were frozen, the saddles could not be adjusted; and almost all the hardware was either discolored, tarnished and/or encrusted in rust. Right away I knew that I'd have to dismantle the whole guitar and service each component separately. However, on the bright side, I was mighty impressed with the smooth-turning sealed tuners. These were comparable to the tuners you'd find on say, an MIM Strat. 

Please do not be put off by the images accompanying this post. I've uploaded them for a reason; and that is as an example of what can happen to any guitar if neglected and allowed to fall into ruin. That's it for this post. In Part Two, I'll share what was done to restore this Squier Affinity Series Strat to playable condition.