Hi.
I'm stripping the paint of a guitar that has a matt black finish my uncle said to wipe it with a shirt with some paint stripper on it then sand what i couldnt get off. Though i just realised in a book it says after using paint stripper to wash down with white spirits and i was going to strip it tonight. i think white spirits is the same as mineral spirits and does mineral spirits do the same. What other products would work i think there is turpentine and methylated spirits at home i'm not sure if that can be used. Even though the entir guita is painted matt black i beleive it has flammed maple underneath(i think they mass produced the same guitar then just painted it matt black or sunburst). i dont think there is anything more to say apart from i do have some sandpaper but i think it is very fine 600 or 800 grit and its very difficult for me to get to a hardware stores and would like to do this as soon as possible. any comments would be appreciated.
I find it unlikely that a company would incur the cost of flame maple and then use opaque paint over it, since flame finishes often sell for more. But, you never know ...
By the way if there's a poly finish over that paint, you'd better get the 50# or 100# sandpaper out ...
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
white spirits is denatured alcohol. it is different than mineral spirits and gum turpentine.
paint stripper and sand paper work fine.
I think the white spirits were meant to be used to neutralize and remove any paint stripper left in the grain.
I don't know what works to remove polyester finish. polyurethane is removable with paint sripper.
and I agree, I really doubt a flame grained wood is under the black paint. flame is too expensive to cover.
what you will probably find is an uneven unattractive grain pattern. and the wood could be a poplar or alder.
still, a fun project. let's see some pics.
I'd have to vote for it not being a flame finish as well. :| I have a bargain basement blem guitar I'm going to refinish and it is matt black. The only thing I intend to strip is the neck because I want a bare maple feel. (It's a bolt on) The body will just get a light sanding and the flat black will be my primer. No need to strip it. I'm convinced the wood under the finish will be butt ugly. I'm going with paint and likely graphics!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Thanks for the quick reply guys.
Yah i know i was telling my friend i doubted the guitar he bought(now mine cause he got bored of it) had a flammed maple top cause it was matt black. Though the catalogue had his guitar with alder body and flammed mapple top. I never really thought it did but my sister got annoyed one day and took a few chunks out of the side and there looks to be a laminated peice of maple on top though probably not flammed, but the gutiar is ruined its 2nd guitar and i got it for free. So i may aswell see.
Hopefully its flammed and i can stain it blue, and if not well i havnt even thought about that. probably be way too hard to try laminate a new peice of flammed maple. Anyway if anyone posts anything leave an extra comment on how you would want it to look(eg solid blue gloss).
Dunno. But I really don't like the matte black. It remains to be seen whether that'll strip off cleanly without leaving black staining in the wood. May take heavy sanding after the stripping to get it all. Might be better to sell that to some Goth and get another.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
yah i hate the matte black too, but this is kinda just a learning experience and would like to make a guitar one day. I wouldnt be able to sell it for much it has 3 good dings in it from my sister took of the paint and dinted the wood. There is a lesson to be learnt here if your not holding your guitar lock it in a hard case and not on a stand. Anyway my mistakes will be a learning tool for others, i've got my paint stripper, white spirits and plastic scrapper. I'll get some nasty pics of how the whole thing goes for you guys lol.
Hi all
i started stripping my gutar i started on the back. i just put a short brush of stripper to let it sit, it bubled up and was easy to scrape off. The next time i covered a lot of the guitar in it, the resault was not too great. it raised but some bits didnt come of when i scrapped it and left a black tinge where i had lost my patience. So the smart thing seems to do it in small strips and check it every 5 min or so applying more if parts are not raising then scrape it in one motion and looks very nice. The sander sealer(i think i'm a newbie) still seems to be intact after. i sanded it very lightly, but managed to sand through the sealer where there was a dip. I'll need to sand through it anyway if i want to stain it. but i think thats everything i picked up from this just small strips and lots of patience no rushing. I did this to the back as it was the bit i was least worried about. so you will have to wait to know if the top is flammed for a while lol. i have pics so u can see where it turned bad and such though they are poor quality with a phone. anyway its late and i'm tired so night. Once again thanks for your help i use white spirits to whipe down the guitar, i dont know if the smell should go from it or what but it'll be sanded out anyway i supose.
Angry sister + metal = Damaged guitar
apply
melt 1
first scrape
my lack of patience
after my lack of patience
fin for night 1
fin2
Not flame maple, but doesn't look bad.
As you noted, the sanding sealer will be the difficult part. Best of luck!
"Everybody got to elevate from the norm."
you do know of this site where you can design your own guitar.?
you can apply your color of choice and see how it can look.!
I've never stripped a guitar but I've done a kitchen full of cabinets. For the sanding you really want to use a sanding block for the flat parts - it's far too easy to add a ripple or dip in the wood. Even if there is some curvature a smaller sanding block or stick can be helpful. For the really intricate parts a sanding sponge can be useful - a spongy material with a sanding surface - to get into the details.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Try auto parts stores for the very fine grade sand papers. If you can find a parts store that caters to autobody shops you can find sandpaper down to 800 or 1000 grit.
I may be going to hell in a bucket but at least I'm enjoying the ride. (Jerry Garcea)
Looks like a good start; shouldn't you remove all the hardware, etc. & clean the entire body down to the bare wood? I have done this before, paint stripper sure makes it easy! I also used a wire brush (gently) to work some of the paint out of "dinged" areas.
For the dinged areas, you could then use a wet rag/hot iron to pull the dents out. Woodworkers commonly use that method, works pretty well.
Good Luck! :)
http://www.nymphusa.com/tele/ is an interesting site and a pretty nifty idea havn't played with it much but its nymphusa.com not .co if anyone hadn't picked that up.
i have a spongy sanding block i was just going to use a block of wood from around the house but couldn't find one so i think i'll buy one of those flat sanders from a hardware store.
yah i've been using 600 dry sandpaper just to give a quick sand to clean it up a bit and get an idea of what it looks like. I'll have to buy some more.
Yes i know i should remove the hardware i did that later that night i just did it quickly when i got back from work so i could do some of it in the daylight and there isn't much hardware on the back except in cavities which i havtnt been stripping i'm unsure if i should bother stripping them as the wood is very rough in there and would take a lot of effort for something that will be covered up.
and that thing for dinged areas wet rag or hot iron to pull out that dents is that just to raise the grain of crushed wood? i'm not really sure what to expect from doing that. Could you explain exactly what it does and the details of doing it katmetal?
OMG OMG OMG
ITS FLAMMED
TIGER STRIPS AND REALLY STRONG TOO
Looks like i beat the odds and had a guitar with covered flammed maple.
Now i just gotta get the money together to finish the damn thing.
