Squier Affinity Series Strat Restoration | Part Two

◀ Part One

It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, and I'm so glad you could join me for Part Two of the Squier Affinity Series Strat Restoration saga. Right then, we saw in Part One just how badly this guitar needed some TLC. So, what did I do? Where did I begin? And what was the outcome? All these questions and more shall be answered shortly, dear readers.

The first thing I did was take everything, and I mean everything apart. As expected, most of the screws were beyond salvation, and they were most honorably laid to rest. Following this, with the help of various lubes, cleaning fluids, polishes and good 'ole elbow grease; each and every component was restored as best I could.

The electronics were a revelation, I do declare. I did not expect to see full-sized pots in there at all. Turned out that after a thorough servicing, the pot spindles were turning smoothly again, and yes; there was sound once more. I'm really glad I did not have to replace any control cavity component. Looking at the guitar, the sudden realization that I should keep it as original as possible dawned upon me.

The fretboard and frets were given the Zippo treatment and gently scrubbed with 0000 steel wool. After all the gunk had been removed, the frets were polished and the rosewood fretboard conditioned with lemon oil. 

After everything had been put back together again, this Squier Affinity Series Strat was set up with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys and plugged into my Fender Champion 40 for a playing test. I was really pleased with the stratolicious tones this guitar produced. Here's a YouTube Video of the playing test; for those of you who are interested.

Besides the quality sealed tuners, another interesting aspect of this Squier Affinity Series Strat is that truss rod adjustment requires a 3/16" hex key. So here I was going through all my metric hex keys; and none of them fit. Then I decided to try imperial-sized keys, and the 3/16" fit like a glove. Imagine that!

Well, that's all I have to share on this Squier Affinity Series Strat Restoration. Thanks for dropping by, and do check in again for more exciting adventures in the land of guitar repairs. Stay healthy, stay safe; and don't leave home without your mask.