Originally Posted by badger809

Matt, I think your best bet is to wait for the time being and just leave your Tele as is. From time to time I've thought about refinishing my MIM Tele, but if I did so it would be to simply change the color, not to relic it or change to a nitro finish. As adaptable said, the type/quality of the wood on an entry-level MIM tele is probably not worth the extra effort.

I think you wait until you have the funds to get a good basic tele that's the right starting point for a project of this type, as Cary has done. Until then, your current guitar is still fun to play, even if it doesn't have the look you really want.