elynnia Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hi, I have one guitar neck that has been spray-painted with black paint OVER the original finish, which I am trying to restore to put into a guitar. From where the paint has come off, the finish underneath seems to be of good quality and I would like to keep it. The neck is a Strat-type bolt on made of a light-coloured wood and the fretboard has also been painted over - Is there a good way to remove the outer layer of spray-paint without damaging the original finish underneath from this disaster of a "custom"? Thanks, elynnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 hmm... you say the paint has come off in some places. if its flaking off you could maybe see if you can encourage it to do that. if its not flaking and has just rubbed then try cracking it in the heel area and flake it off that way. sanding is i guess too risky if you want to keep the original finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elynnia Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Ah, thanks. However, I was wondering, is there a chemical stripper that'll take off the top spray without damaging the original finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Difficult unless you can find something that will promote any bad intercoat adhesion and cause seperation. Perhaps a very ginger (sorry ginger people) approach with a heat gun to seperate the layers? Chemical strippers are the paint equivalent of the acid that the facehugger in "Alien" pees out of it's knuckle, and eats through several decks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Why in the world would some bonehead put black spray paint on a neck in the first place, much less over the existing finish? Must be a really sticky neck. If you could figure out exactly what type of paint and what type of original finish, you MIGHT have a slim chance. I think you are still going to have to sand it off though. If you are really careful, you can probably sand off the black and leave enough of the original finish to polish back to something nice (assuming it is a poly finish). Otherwise, you just get to recoat it again the way you want (or use something like Tru-Oil). As mentioned, see if you can encourage the paint to chip or peel off. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 (edited) Without knowing what type of paint lies beneath, I'm going to go with Prostheta's suggestion of using a heat gun. It may or it may not work, but you'll do alot less damage trying to find out IMO. If the neck was sprayed with spraypaint, it's already liable to be soft and sticky. Just be careful what you use to scrape it off. I really think you could use a chemical to strip it, but like ryanb said ... knowing what type of paint you're dealing with is crucial. What kind of guitar is it? Edited July 9, 2006 by Dino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elynnia Posted July 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 Thank for all the suggestions, According to someone who works in a car repair shop, the type of paint is most definitely a flat-black automotive spray usually used to do undercoats and the like in cars. I'm not sure of the original finish, but it seems to be thin, shiny and transparent... elynnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 If it's sticky you might be able to do the "women's wax leg treatment" kind of approach and layer porous paper over the top and heat it till it's sticky to rip it off a bit. How about cheap-ass masking tape? Tape it (not overlaying tape layers) across the neck short ways and leave it a couple of weeks to "bond". Heatgun it a little and see if the masking tape rips it off a bit. My way of thinking here is to exploit the common flaws in badly made paintjobs which (after all) seem to be more common than those made in good paintjobs! Best of luck in this, and I would advice trying techniques in small controllable areas before committing to the entire neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 If it's a flat black, you may wana try taking a cloth with some lacquer thinner and wiping somewhere where it wouldn't be noticable. Did this person paint the neck heel too? If so, that may be a good place to test it. Ceck your progress each time you wipe to help you get a good idea of how much paint is actually on there and try not to rub into the clearcoat that lies beneath. If you're successful, the thinner will probably make the finish dull. You'll probably want to try buffing it up a bit with some compound to bring back the shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 (edited) Some methods are ok, others will put the stripping job out of your control, like heat and/or chemicals. I would use those only if I planned to take it right down to bare wood. I say begin wetsanding with 600 grit. If the black paint comes off too easily then use 800 or if it is difficult then use coarser 320 or 400. You shouldn't break thru the underlying clear if you are careful. But this method puts you more in control, as soon as you remove the paint in one spot just move on, commom sense. Edited July 10, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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