Removing Poly Fiinsh

[jumpwin]

I've got an S.G copy that I want to strip the finish off of.

It's thick, see-thru red, plastic looking, and I want to remove it (without damaging the wood)

I've heard it's a bit of a pain in the rear to remove, so before I attempt, I'm seeking advice.

Anyone done it? If so, please throw me some pointers.

[Belva]

It's a royal pain in the arse to remove. If you want to go with a natural finish I'd advise against using a heat gun. Aircraft stripper will work, but it's hazardous to work with and still takes time. Get a vibrating type sander and work from 80 grit to finer sandpaper. If you wish to use a solid color paint then just scuff it up, fill the dings with a good solvent based wood filler and use B.I.N shellac based primer before going with your new color. The finish on it is a good base to start with.

[WRGKMC]

Well what you heard is right, and it is a pain in the ass, and you're unlikely able to do it without loosing some wood. You got to get it out of the grain to refinish the instrument and have the new finish adhere properly.

 

To get the old finish you have the choice of sanding or melting the old finish off with a heat gun and scraper then sanding afterwards. Sanding alone is a real bitch because the finish is so hard and most sanders cant do all the nooks and crannies so be prepared to get blisters doing those areas by hand.

 

There may be some chemical removers that may work, but I've tried most of the major name brands and they do nothing but set there. Also be careful around areas like the neck pocket. They put the stuff on so thick there and actually have the neck align with the thick finish instead of the wood. Once the finish is removed, the neck overhangs the wood so you wind up having to put a finish back on just as thick.

 

So, unless there is something terribly wrong with the finish you have now, It would be the last thing I'd do to the instrument. It also devalues the instrument to nearly nothing. You find all kinds of botched bodies on ebay selling for $5~10 all day long.

 

For an instrument that has a laquer coating its a snap to remove the finish with paint remover and steel wool. But even then you can buy laquer sticks and use a putty knife and heat the stuff and repair all kinds of finish dings and scratches so keeping it original and restoring the finish is a snap in comparison to a complete removal.

 

Getting the high gloss flaw free finish from a can is not easy either, removal is only half the battel. Unless you've used sprayers before, have all the tools and experience and know how thick to go between coatings its very difficult to get the factory finish look. (Its like getting a car repainted, its not going to look pro unless you got a pro doing it)

 

If you still do plan on going with it do some reading first. The Reranch site has some good info on guitars, and there plenty of woodworking sites on refinishing furnature.

 

Lastly, dont rush. If your going with laquer, you need maybe 30~40 thin coats and dry time between those coats. Having a dust free area to do the spraying, 70~80 degrees with low humidity are very important too. Once the humidity goes up it will trap the moisture in the layers and turn the finish white. Using thin dusting coats can greatly reduce the problem and avoid having to start over from scratch. So just go very thin and inspect carefully between layers. If there is a drip or dust gets on there, You can get rid of it with some steel wool before trapping it with additional layers making it perminant.

[jumpwin]

DANG!!

The reason I want the finish removed is so I can have as natural a finish as humanly possible. I've had this guitar for a few years, so no fears of having a fettle, it's a back-up for the back-up's back-up!

But saw a natural finish S.G (type) and it looked ace!

So after the finish is happily disappeared, it'll be lightly sealed (if at all possible by the sounds of it!)

[Goominim]

do yourself a huge favor and just buy a cheap unfinished body off of ebay....taking poly off a guitar is like pealing plastic....you might as well use a knife rather than sandpaper

[wrathfuldeity]

After testing with chemical and sanding, resorted to an infared stripper that worked great, but had lots of practice from stripping my house.

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=2587848

[Belva]

Finding an unfinished body is always the easiest and best approach IMO.

[stratotak]

Is the guitar worth the trouble?? is it a solid wood guitar or is the top layer just for show? a veneer? If you do get it sanded down and its a veneer you ll probably end up sanding through the top layer and it will look ugly. Something like this

[WRGKMC]

Good point Stratotak. Painted guitars dont usually make good candidates for natureal finishing because the grain below the paint sucks. Thats why they're painted to begin with. In this case though I think he said its transparent red (a very cool color if you sak me and hard to duplicate). He will still need to see if its plywood by removing the pickguard or spring cavity cover and chip the paint off to see if it is or not. The edges can be masked by painting with red paint below the finish and it may not show the layers.

[jumpwin]

Well, I took the first steps! Went at it with a heat gun! Bubbled up, and just scraped off! Decided to practice on a cheapo tele copy that i'm working on before tackling the S.G. So far, so good! As for the body replacement, It's a set-neck, buggered if i'm going through that! Any ideas on how to seal and varnish the wood?

[Belva]

Go to reranch. Check the stickies at the top of this forum. I think there's a link there. Or just use wipe on poly. What ever method you use, I'm sure you know that all of the scratches have to be out or they will show. At least they have to be small enough and in the same direction as the wood grain so as not to be noticeable.