MakeShift
 
I am not sure what clear finish Fender is currently using on the brand new Mexican-made Strats, but I really like it much better than the prior thick clear finish.  My hands would kind of stick to the old finish.  I believe the Deluxe that I had, had more of a "gun-oil" finish.  I loved the neck on that Strat...was like butter.

Not sure what they used back in the 90s when I bought mine (MIA) but I loved the way it looked - it was closer to 50's strats, like the first one I'd played, a 57 IIRC. It had the old school logo and the darker maple neck. The finish on the neck eventually started chipping away. I don't think it aged all that well. The body was coated in a ridiculously thick amount of paint/finish. There's just no way this thing would wear out naturally. Though the last time I picked it up I noticed those lines forming in the paint...
 
Every now and then I pick up the Fender catalog or browse online and try see if anything can get me drooling but it's just not working anymore. They were my dream guitars for so long - strats w/ a maple neck.
 
Sometime I try and think to see how I could integrate things from different guitars into a strat, customizing it, starting w/ the set neck, and then humbucker and then... Everytime, I end up something that's actually a Les Paul and has nothing to do w/ a strat.