axo151 Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 hey. i just bought a used '57 reissue strat. i couldnt pass it up, the deal was great. it retails for 1250, i got it for 375, and its got some good replacement pickups in already. that said, it isnt in awesome shape. aside from it needing a setup, the body doesnt look too great. the wear on it is not wear that adds character, it just looks shitty. there is duct tape residue, scratches, excessive fingerprints that arent coming off. on top of this it smells like weed, very strongly. i'm going to replace the trem and change the wiring up a bit to give me some more pickup selecting options, but i also want to refinish the body. how would i go about doing this? i read somewhere that you can scrape off finish with steel wool, i was wonding if i should do that, paint it, and refininsh. i know next to nothing about painting and finishing guitars. how hard is this to do, how much will it cost? and could i make an attempt at sunburst even though its already black (of course i'd put the red or yellow or whatever down and then another coat of black. anyway, any tips or full blown descriptions of how to do this would be appreciated. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted August 8, 2004 Report Share Posted August 8, 2004 well, you can refinish 2 ways. one is to just scuff the finish, and spray over, the other is a lot more labor intensive, but in my opinion, will yield a better result. you'll have to completely strip the body, prep it, then paint it. if you're doing a sunburst, reranch has some aerosols that are suppoes to be pretty easy to use and give good sunburst results. plus, reranch is easy as hell to use...as long as you're in the US, it'll be shipped to your door in about 5 days. i suggest you check them out for a tutorial on how to finish, int he first place. www.reranch.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 alright, thanks a lot. i am in the U.S. so i'll check those guys out. edit: i might just buy a strat replacement body and paint the thing myself. seems like stripping isnt too easy, and this ones dinged up, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 stripping is piss easy, especially if you get the right stuff. most "strong" chemical paint strippers will take off the finish pretty quick. i've heard "aircraft stripper" works the best on poly finishes, and works quick. all you really have to do is put the stripper on, put it in a plastic bag for a while, then scrape the paint off. make sure you wear glvoes, a mask, and goggles. that **** isn't good for you! by the way, good luck with the projecy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 hey, could you tell me which product to use. i type 'paint strip' or 'strip ease' into search engines and get the weirdest results. any good brand names? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 Try "Paint Remover" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 hey, could you tell me which product to use. i type 'paint strip' or 'strip ease' into search engines and get the weirdest results. any good brand names? thanks Awesome :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 what? awesome? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 come on, please someone just give me a good brand name for paint stripper. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 i think it's called aircraft stripper. it's from home depot, and comes in an orangish/goldish tub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibleboy3 Posted August 11, 2004 Report Share Posted August 11, 2004 Hi Axo151, I've heard of some stuff called zip strip. for stripping paint. as for wiring options my korean strat has the standard 5 way switch and I've added 3 mini switches and a single volume and no tone circuit. 2 of the mini switches are where the tone controls use to be and I drilled a hole in between them for the 3rd mini switch. my pickups are as follows NECK: Dimarzio HS 1 MIDDLE: Dimarzio HS 2 BRIDGE: Duncan hot rails (originaly a neck pickup) I've found this pickup setup balances quite well, now on to the switching..the first mini swtch will give me the bridge OR the neck pickup no matter what position the 5 way strat is in. the next mini switch is a phase switch for the middle pickup and the last mini switch will let me select either coil on the hot rails. this is the most versitile system that I've ever had!! I can go from country twang telecaster sound to a thick creamy les paul sound. and every thing in between I can even get and awsome david gilmore sound.. sorry for any typo's as its 1:30 am here LOL!!! May Jesus bless you Sincerely, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 hey guys. i didn't get your posts in time and was at the hardware store, so i picked up some stripper and such. here's what ive got....... Liquid Kutzit. THe label says "removes paint, varnish, lacquer, and shellac. for all furniture and fine woods. Penetrates crevices and carved detail" It says to apply it, wait 15 minutes, then scrape away the paint with a brush or scraper. It also said to use deglosser or paint thinnger to get all the residue off. So I got some five star paint thinner. I bought some brushes and such to take the finish off. Do you think this stuff will work or should I go and get that aircraft stripper? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 try it, what's the worst that could happen? but i'd advise you to use a card of some sort, rather than a brush to remove the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 like a credit card? ive got a scraper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 i had an old black ibanez and decided to try and strip it. i put a coat of kutzit stripper on and waited 15 minutes (as directed) and scraped. nothing happened, finish was still intact. i noticed that the paint inside the routed holes for pickups was turned to sludge. i think because there were places for the finish remover to pool up, it soaked into the wood and did its job. sure enough, i lifted that finish with one scrape. i decided to heavily apply the stripper to the rest of the body, to see if it would puddle up. i did this, scraped, a bit came off. i reapplied and scraped 3 or 4 times, and more and more finish came off each time. i'm still in this process. the wood is stained in some areas (black) but some areas show wood. i was wondering if i could just use a small paint tray and submurge the body in stripper there. i think it would do the job well, i'm just not sure if it would damage the wood. any ideas would help. if worse comes to worse i can use that airline stripper from home depot. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axo151 Posted August 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 here's an update..... that liquid kutzit wasnt doing anything. i went to home depot to look for airline stripper or whatever, there was none. i ended up getting Klean-Strip's Strip-X for stain, varnish, and paint. It's a big jug of the stuff and I'll go to work tomorrow. Anyone used this stuff before? Any suggestions on use? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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