Members draines1220 Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Maybe a few of u fellas would be able to tell us the easiest way to take finish off of a poly guitar to make it look used and abused....we all know sandpaper steel wool, yada yada....any tricks guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tweak'd Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Micro Mesh works well for me. And a flat head screwdriver... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poolshark Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Make your dings, dents and wear wherever you like, then follow it up with an SOS pad, rubbing compound and polishing compound to put a satin sheen on the finish. Sandpaper should never be your final step if you want a convincing relic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Paint stripper then refin with nitro, then relic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Won't a heat gun lift polyurethane finish, or is that a polyester finish? Which "poly" are we talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrfan Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Paint stripper then refin with nitro, then relic. Agree, most modern urethane finishes just laugh at paint stripper though.Poly guitars don't look reliced, they just look damaged and beat.JMHO but artificial relicing is the dumbest thing ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members draines1220 Posted March 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 But trying to blend in bigger nicks and chips of paint missing will make it look better. Idealy of course everyone would take good care of their gear so when poor boys like me buy it, it looks new....but that's not always the case. I would much rather look at a missing spot of finish that looks naturally worn and not dropped 10 ft and smashed across the drummers forehead. That's what I am doing. Or....attempting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Won't a heat gun lift polyurethane finish, or is that a polyester finish? Which "poly" are we talking about? Heat might work best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members draines1220 Posted March 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 And sorry, its a polyester not polyurathane. Sorry bout that. I know you can use a heat gun but from what I gathered, that is for if you plan on stripping the entire finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 And sorry, its a polyester not polyurathane. Sorry bout that. I know you can use a heat gun but from what I gathered, that is for if you plan on stripping the entire finish poly just don't take to kindly to relicing. In most cases they end up looking like beat to crap poly guitars not aged guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faber Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 poly just don't take to kindly to relicing. In most cases they end up looking like beat to crap poly guitars not aged guitars. + 1.000.000 I tried to relic my poly finished Charvel strat years ago ( )- it did look like shit. Poly doesn't relic in the same way as nitro, it's come off in flakes with sharply defined breaks for instance. It in no way looks like natural wear and tear. in a word: DON'T! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Poly guitars don't look reliced, they just look damaged and beat. This is totally correct. You cant do much with a poly finish to relic it, other than take off the gloss. If you try to remove the poly in spots to "relic" it, it just leaves ugly chunks missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Why, why even relic a guitar? Seriously, it's like buying a new car then scraping your keys all around it. You may as well throw a couple of rocks at it while your at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Hey, if the drummer needed hitting..... Just sayin EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beckman Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 The nicest thing I saw the on a poly guitar was a thread yesterday or the day before. Where a guy uses scotch brite pads to dull the finish on a gold top. It looked really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Armitage Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Poly guitars don't look reliced, they just look damaged and beat. JMHO but artificial relicing is the dumbest thing ever. I agree on both points 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 I have a poly-finished squier, and I appreciate the fact that it keeps looking decent even after the 6-year old knocks it over or drives hot wheels cars over it. Buy a strat body off ebay and do a nitro rattle can finish and relic that. Keep the nice poly body for when relics look as dated as pink and purple pointy guitars do now so you can switch it back. I have an older 62 RI strat with nitro and it looks pretty rough. But not the way the phony relics look. I don't have the power sander scrapes above the pickups or the armrest fade. The whole bottom edge is pretty banged up and there is a straight line crack where I assume two pieces of wood were joined to make the body. I think that is honest relicing. The finish is hazy and scratched in those normal wear places, but not down to bare wood. And this guitar was used alot. I have seen some of those road-worn strats that I admit look pretty tough. But when there are 4 of them hanging on the rack that have identical wounds and wear patterns, it ruins the effect. All that said, I got the new musician's friend junk mail and it had this 1966 relic strat with a floyd. That thing totally pushes my buttons. If I had the means, I'd pay money for something like that and it would probably make me feel special http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Custom-Shop-1966-Stratocaster-Relic-Masterbuilt-Electric-Guitar?sku=H61754 I remember this issue of rolling stone, too: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Michael-J-Fox-Rolling-Stone-no-495-March-1987-Posters_i2063374_.htm vintage hack job floyd install. It just seems so dirty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BoneNut Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Why, why even relic a guitar? Seriously, it's like buying a new car then scraping your keys all around it. You may as well throw a couple of rocks at it while your at it. Rat rods. Those seem to be popular too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yavin Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 I did a squire tele that had been dropped several times from the looks of it. First, I did the edges where I had to blend in large chunks of missing paint with an electric sander on low. Then I used a 3M micro mesh type pad on a sanding disc setup to just remove the sheen from the black. Once that was done, I took some steel wool to it to soften the swirls etc. It was a process to work it down from massive amounts of paint being removed to "polishing out" the rough edges to just leave a satin finish. Key is to go slow and work down to a less abrasive sanding medium. Here are a couple pics before I finished the hardware and put an old beat up pickguard on it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yavin Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Why, why even relic a guitar? Seriously, it's like buying a new car then scraping your keys all around it. You may as well throw a couple of rocks at it while your at it. The point is, that sometimes you get a guitar or body that does not have that new car smell, look or possibly not even all of the original shards of wood. On a body with a Poly finish, stripping pretty much requires a heat gun and a month or more of work and waiting to do Nitro correctly and let it cure. Going this route is cheaper, faster and if you screw it up too bad, guess what...strip and refinish it then. No harm no foul. Would I do it to a brand new US tele, nope. A cheap squire that looks like someone went stair surfing with it? Sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 This may do the trick: [video=youtube;jZ1uYUZiZew] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members draines1220 Posted March 11, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 That is exactly my point in case here. I got a jaguar through a trade and while it is in fair shape here are chunks missing fcfrom the finis. I'm not at all relicing a new guitar nor would I ever. I am simply trying to make the missing chunks of paint look more like naturaal wear and not chunks of paint missing. I was just asking for helful info here, no to get scolded for doing it. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 I dont think anyone is scolding you. They just have strong opinios and respect for their instruments. Why not just repair the paint chip? You do know most women considera a guitar a mans other girlfriend and actually get jealous that a musician spends more time with the instrument vs them.Thats why its shaped like a woman anyway. To me purposly damaging a finish is like making a woman look ugly. It doesnt say much for the one playing it nor the women he attracts. But there again, some guys like ugly chicks and ugly guitars, so who am I to tell them what to do with their own instrument. My best advice is just use sandpaper and a sanding block. Keep it smooth and localized. Id you ever decide to patch it up then there wont be alot of work to do. By the way, polyester is a poly finish. Poly simply means theres plastic resins added to the clearcoat to give it durability. Most varnishes and lacquers use resins to give the finish hardness which is a more natureal finish. Then theres oil finishes. Tung and True oil uses resins as well as other varnishes added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jarick Posted March 11, 2011 Members Share Posted March 11, 2011 Post some pics! I think it could look cool if it's a little beat up and/or worn and the paint chips are repaired funny. Would have some character, like my dad's beat up truck that he sprayed a close but not quite color after fixing some damaged spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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