Sanding

[loquito5765]

Hey guys, as you can see Im new here, and Im glad to find a forum that has alot about painting, because Im painting my old strat. Its either that or Im gunna smash it, cuz this things really not worth it. Anywho, thought it would be a good idea to paint it up, make it look cool.

Alrite back to the topic. Sanding. Do I need to sand it down? If so, what grit would your recommend? Ive been told not to use a sander because of all the edges, its too easy to ruin it.

Edited August 10, 2005 by loquito5765

[AlGeeEater]

No, you don't HAVE to sand it to bare wood, but I recommend you do. If this is a newer Fender, the finish must be Poly(Poly Urethane). Good luck stripping that. It would be easier to use a palm/hand/orbital sander with 40 grit on it to take the finish down. You can use it on the edges. I think you may have gotten confused with sanding the edges on the finishing process. Even if you do mess up on the edges, there's always your hand and some sandpaper available to correct it.

[loquito5765]

Sounds good, thanks alot!

[LGM Guitars]

GOd, I've said this a thousand times, and in response to you algee.....

DO NOT sand it down to the wood, the ONLY time you should do this is if you want to have a trans finish or the original finish is TOTALLY screwed. The factory paint is the best seal you can get. You take it down to the wood and you just have to seal it all again, not only that, you risk altering the contours etc.

It's a pointless waste of time to sand a body down to the wood UNLESS you want to put a transparent finish on. If the factory finish is in good shape with no chips or dings, sand it until it's all over flat with 600 and prime and paint.

[AlGeeEater]

GOd, I've said this a thousand times, and in response to you algee.....

DO NOT sand it down to the wood, the ONLY time you should do this is if you want to have a trans finish or the original finish is TOTALLY screwed.  The factory paint is the best seal you can get.  You take it down to the wood and you just have to seal it all again, not only that, you risk altering the contours etc. 

It's a pointless waste of time to sand a body down to the wood UNLESS you want to put a transparent finish on.  If the factory finish is in good shape with no chips or dings, sand it until it's all over flat with 600 and prime and paint.

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I know. That's why I said you don't have to. I like to! Clean slate. That's what it's all about to me.

For some reason painting nitro over a poly finish kinda scares me though

My bad though

Edited August 11, 2005 by AlGeeEater

[LGM Guitars]

you can paint anything you want over a poly finish with no issues, painting over a nitro finish can yield very bad results, he never stated any type of paint he wanted to use anyway, but seriously, sanding back to the wood is a poor idea, you're going to be sealing it all again anyway and you don't seal with nitro, so you're using dis-similar materials again anyway. It's just a waste of time unless you want a trans finish.

If I was going to bare wood, I would never use 40 grit either, the second you touch the wood you've wrecked the contour, there is on "touching it up" unless you want to alter the shape, once wood is gone it's gone.

Anyway, no big deal, just differening opinions I guess.....

[loquito5765]

No, I was thinking more, sanding off the gloss. I wasnt sure if the paint would just drip off of it or what. I know Ive got to prime it first, but before I ruin it, Im just making sure I get all the facts.

[KAPT]

painting over a nitro finish can yield very bad results,

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So what kind of bad results?

I painted urethanaclyd paint over nitro laquer last week and so far its ok

but will it crack later?

Nitro over paint caused a lot of bubbles

[LGM Guitars]

Any paint with high solvents can attack the laquer and cause it to wrinkle or adhere poorly. Laquers will continue to shrink indefinitely so that may be an issue to the smoothness of the finish later.

The best bet is to use paint systems designed to work together.

[AlGeeEater]

you can paint anything you want over a poly finish with no issues, painting over a nitro finish can yield very bad results, he never stated any type of paint he wanted to use anyway, but seriously, sanding back to the wood is a poor idea, you're going to be sealing it all again anyway and you don't seal with nitro, so you're using dis-similar materials again anyway.  It's just a waste of time unless you want a trans finish. 

If I was going to bare wood, I would never use 40 grit either, the second you touch the wood you've wrecked the contour, there is on "touching it up" unless you want to alter the shape, once wood is gone it's gone. 

Anyway, no big deal, just differening opinions I guess.....

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Gr, I meant go to sealer. I usually do it that way anyways. And yes, differing opinions man.