Greg Koch (Fender Roadshow) made a comment in regards to all the 'F' custom shop guitars he tests. He suggested he had a general dislike for reliced guitars, however as they have less finish (nitro) on them their tone was far superior to a 'standard' finished axe.
I recently rebuilt a mim tele that was covered in that awful poly finish. Sounded like a dead squid. I refinished in Wudtone and about 3 layers of top coat - it now sounds totally awesome (with no fuzz effect !)