Strat finishes and Color Charts
When the Stratocaster was introduced, in 1954, the only color available was the 2-tone sunburst; actually, on those made between March and July, the body was painted only with dark brown on the edges, without the yellow, that was given by the natural color of the wood – sort of 1-tone sunburst. Already in August, however, Fender began to spray yellow for a real 2-tone sunburst.
This remained its standard color until mid ’58, when Fender changed its sunburst from two to three colors, inserting the red between yellow and dark brown (the first three tones documented are found on body hard tail dated December ’57 and painted in early '58). However, the red paint of the first two years tended to fade easily when repeatedly exposed to the sun. For this reason today there are more 2-Color Sunburst Stratocasters than those actually produced – although some 2-tone sunburst strats were made until 1962, in particular between late 1959 and early 1960. But also in the following years some (rare) Stratocasters of the ’60s, due to extreme exposure to environmental stress, had completely lost red.
Sometimes, however, special Stratocasters with different colors could be made. In fact, already in the 1956 Fender catalog was indicated that, according to customers’ tastes, different finishes could be chosen paying 5% more: "Stratocaster guitars are available in Du-Pont Duco colors of the player's choice at an additional cost of 5%". But it was since late 1957 that Fender, on the idea of George Fullerton, had decided to standardize and offer custom color finishes (and the blond finish, which was the first to be standardized), as reported in ’58 Fender catalog: "Stratocaster is available in custom colors or blond finish at an additional 5% cost". In 1960 Fender printed its first color chart which included the colors Lake Placid Blue, Daphne Blue, Sonic Blue, Shoreline Gold, Olympic White, Burgundy Mist, Black, Sherwood Green, Foam Green, Surf Green, Inca Silver, Fiesta Red, Dakota Red and Shell Pink. The catalog in this year stated: "These 14 colors, plus Blond, available at 5% additional cost. Sunburst finish standard at no extra cost"; but it also mentioned:"Colors subject to change without notice". In fact, in 1963, the Shell Pink was replaced with the Candy Apple Red, unique among the custom colors developed by Fender – the others came from the automotive industry. This was only the first change followed by others in 1965 with the move to CBS, but always keeping fourteen custom colors plus the blond finish.
This remained its standard color until mid ’58, when Fender changed its sunburst from two to three colors, inserting the red between yellow and dark brown (the first three tones documented are found on body hard tail dated December ’57 and painted in early '58). However, the red paint of the first two years tended to fade easily when repeatedly exposed to the sun. For this reason today there are more 2-Color Sunburst Stratocasters than those actually produced – although some 2-tone sunburst strats were made until 1962, in particular between late 1959 and early 1960. But also in the following years some (rare) Stratocasters of the ’60s, due to extreme exposure to environmental stress, had completely lost red.
Sometimes, however, special Stratocasters with different colors could be made. In fact, already in the 1956 Fender catalog was indicated that, according to customers’ tastes, different finishes could be chosen paying 5% more: "Stratocaster guitars are available in Du-Pont Duco colors of the player's choice at an additional cost of 5%". But it was since late 1957 that Fender, on the idea of George Fullerton, had decided to standardize and offer custom color finishes (and the blond finish, which was the first to be standardized), as reported in ’58 Fender catalog: "Stratocaster is available in custom colors or blond finish at an additional 5% cost". In 1960 Fender printed its first color chart which included the colors Lake Placid Blue, Daphne Blue, Sonic Blue, Shoreline Gold, Olympic White, Burgundy Mist, Black, Sherwood Green, Foam Green, Surf Green, Inca Silver, Fiesta Red, Dakota Red and Shell Pink. The catalog in this year stated: "These 14 colors, plus Blond, available at 5% additional cost. Sunburst finish standard at no extra cost"; but it also mentioned:"Colors subject to change without notice". In fact, in 1963, the Shell Pink was replaced with the Candy Apple Red, unique among the custom colors developed by Fender – the others came from the automotive industry. This was only the first change followed by others in 1965 with the move to CBS, but always keeping fourteen custom colors plus the blond finish.
Since 1969, respecting the trend of the guitarists of the time who preferred "natural" Stratocasters to solid colors, Fender had began to remove more finishes than it had added, down to reducing the number to six in 1974, the 3-Color Sunburst and the Blond (which went out of catalog in 1979) included, and eliminating, the following year, the difference between custom and standard color.
New colors were added in 1977, but custom colors did not reappear until 1981 (until 1980 with reference to models other than the Stratocaster Standard), when Fender introduced the International Colors as optional in the last Stratocasters equipped with Tilt-Neck (codes from 580 to 586) and replaced them, towards the end of the year, with the Jewel Colors (from 542 to 548), with the exception of the Arctic White which remained on the list until 1983.
In 1982 also the three Stratoburst (Bronze, Black and Blue) finishes were introduced. The 225 Marble finish (called also Bowling Ball finish) Stratocasters Standard, produced in limited edition at the end of 1984 and sold in 1985, must be also remembered. The bodies of these Stratocasters were not painted in Fullerton, but in a New York company.
New colors were added in 1977, but custom colors did not reappear until 1981 (until 1980 with reference to models other than the Stratocaster Standard), when Fender introduced the International Colors as optional in the last Stratocasters equipped with Tilt-Neck (codes from 580 to 586) and replaced them, towards the end of the year, with the Jewel Colors (from 542 to 548), with the exception of the Arctic White which remained on the list until 1983.
In 1982 also the three Stratoburst (Bronze, Black and Blue) finishes were introduced. The 225 Marble finish (called also Bowling Ball finish) Stratocasters Standard, produced in limited edition at the end of 1984 and sold in 1985, must be also remembered. The bodies of these Stratocasters were not painted in Fullerton, but in a New York company.
The Custom Colors were the same paints used for the American cars and they were produced by DuPont: the Duco line for the nitro lacquers, the Lucite one for those acrylic. However, Fender didn't always use DuPont colors for its guitars: the formulas were always the DuPont ones, but the paint could also be purchased from other suppliers. And this is why sometimes the same color can vary from a guitar to another.
Stratocaster colors from 1960 to 1984
