How You Can Transform a 1956 Fender Stratocaster Into A Hello Kitty Guitar

Today, my friends, I will show you how you can take a vintage 1956 Fender Stratocaster and update it to the more contemporary 21st Century look of a Hello Kitty® Strat.  It's much easier than it sounds. Just follow along.

1956 Fender Stratocaster

First you will need to procure a vintage 1956 Fender Strat complete with original tweed case.  They are available, just check out eBay.

Sand the body to remove sunburst finish

Remove the neck, then sand the body and neck down to the bare wood.  Nice lookin' wood, huh?  Don't forget to sand the headstock and neck to get out those darn aged-in finger marks. To heck with patina. It is overrated.

I suggest routing out the bridge pickup area to accommodate the Hello Kitty® humbucking pickup. You may want to get some wood filler or Bondo™ fiberglass filler to fill in those routed sections of the body. Then sand it again until the surface is smooth.

1956 Fender Stratocaster Neck

Now this might be the hardest part. The 1956 Fender Stratocaster neck came with black dot inlays that were made of baked clay buttons. These were then glued into routed out spaces in the neck.  You will have to get a knife, or some kind of tool to pry those pesky buttons out.

Then get some #0000 sand paper and scrape out the remnants.  Fortunately in our modern times there is a readily available substance called polymer clay, which is available at hobby shops.  Get some that is already colored pink. You can even get it at most Walmart stores, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby stores.

There Are Your Pink Fret Markers.

Shape the pink polymer clay into tiny flat buttons. You can air-dry these, or put them in an oven and bake them for 15 minutes. Once cooled, put a dab of glue on the back of your pink buttons and place them in the routed area of the neck. You will have to do some further sanding, but it will look great.

Mambo Pink Kryon Spray Paint.

Next, get a couple cans of Mambo Pink acryllic spray paint. Krylon® glossy ought to do the trick. Hang the body up and spray it until it looks good. Repeat this step eight, or nine times until you have a shell-like look on the body of your Hello Kitty® guitar.

Pre-assembled Hello Kitty pickguard, pickup, and adjustable bridge/saddle

There are a number of companies that supply guitar parts, such as Musician's Pal, and Guitar Parts-R-Us where you can get a pre-wired Hello Kitty® pickguard.  Buy one. But, don't ditch those old original parts. Some folks love the sound of vintage pickups hand wound by Abigail Ybarra, so you can sell them on eBay, along with the old wiring harness, and potentiometers for a lot of money.

Back of Your Hello Kitty Stratocaster

Now for the final touch, get a Shocking Pink Sharpie permanent marker and in your best cursive hand, write Hello Kitty on the back of the body. Better yet, get your girlfriend or wife to do this step. Girls seem to be able to do that flowery cursive script, better than guys. And if you are a lady, then you got this step!

Your Finished Hello Kitty Stratocaster

Put it together and what have you got?  Hello Kitty®!  And it sure looks great!

Making a Vintage Martin D-28 into a Hello Kitty Acoustic Guitar

Next week, we will learn how to take a Pre-war Martin D-28 and turn it into a Hello Kitty® acoustic guitar.

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