IbanezFreak666 Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 iv spent hours sanding with 60 and 80 grit and an electric sander, and iv tryed paint stripper...but i still cant get through to the wood on my LTD M-100! iv worn out 3 sets of mouse sandpaper...its costing me so much just to get the paint off, and its taking sooooooo long! what can i do to get it off easyer? or is it normal to have this much throuble getting factory finish paint off? this is my first try at anything like this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNichols Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 (edited) these links might help, i was looking into stripping my old guitar too but wasn't sure how much work it was going to be. the chemical strip looks the easiest, still very time consuming though Heat Strip Chemical Strip Sand Strip Edited May 21, 2007 by BNichols Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 i couldnt find any 50 grit paper to fit the palm sander i was using and i tryed the paintstripping thing but that didnt work at all... it just dryed up on the surface without even touching the paint. so do i just have to carry on and on and on with the sander? i hate sanding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 My first refinish ever (2+ years ago) I did all by hand with a rubber sanding block and 60 grit sandpaper. Took me 3 hours a day for 4 days to get the body nice and clean. Patience is key. You can make your own sandpaper for a palm sander, I do this with higher grits for my orbital. Just place a used piece of sandpaper from your palm sander on sandpaper of choice and cut around it to fit on your sander. Use cloth that will attach to velcro for hook and loop or a single piece of double stick tape in the center. Don't forget to cut out the holes so your sander will suck up the wood dust. Use an equal grit sandpaper piece to clean up clogged sandpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewu22 Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 i couldnt find any 50 grit paper to fit the palm sander i was using and i tryed the paintstripping thing but that didnt work at all... it just dryed up on the surface without even touching the paint. so do i just have to carry on and on and on with the sander? i hate sanding Polyester is a pain to remove. Heat is your best bet to get most of it off. Be careful if you use heat, follow the tutorial, The fumes can kill you. Also, just take it down to the sealer, not to the bare wood. This will save you a lot of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 okay thankyou for the tips i might have a go at the heat gun method my im too scared of charring it :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewu22 Posted May 22, 2007 Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 okay thankyou for the tips i might have a go at the heat gun method my im too scared of charring it :/ If it has a sealer on the wood like a charvel, it is thick, and chalky. Try not to gouge it too much, it will save you some time on filling later. You will have to use a metal scraper, I tried plastic to avoid gouging, but it melted it. Make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 hmmm im really really scared of burning it!!! :/ and hopefully ill have all the paint off by the time i have acsess to a heat gun :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted May 23, 2007 Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 What type of stripper did you use? Usually I have read that you need to get the aircraft stripper to get through the heavy poly coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2007 just standard stuff..it was suppost to work on car paint though :/ iv managed to clear the main paint off the front..but iv gone through a whole packet of sandpaper and severly damaged the palm sander :/ tomorrow i will look into that other paintstripper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedora Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 I found a similar finish on a guitar I was stripping. I took a small propane torch, and carefully applied heat to the surface. The finish literally popped off in small patches as the flames passed over. Really wierd, but it worked. Now I did get a couple of scorch marks but I wasn't concerned about them as I will be putting on a pearl white finish. So for what it's worth, this is how I did it. Good Luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 Whenever you use the chemical strippr, brush it only one direction and lay Saran Wrap over it as soon as it's spread. That keeps it from drying out as fast and lets it penetrate deeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 lay Saran Wrap over it as soon as it's spread. what is saran wrap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 lay Saran Wrap over it as soon as it's spread. what is saran wrap? It's a clear cling wrap that is normally put over left over food and stuck back in the refrigerator. Sorry, it's just a common name for it over here, like Coke or Band aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebuilder Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 I have used Klean Strip premium Stripper on a Fender Lead 1. It took 2 cans. I used scrapers to cut away loose paint. The base coat on that guitar was thick and looked like epoxy. It was time consuming and a nightmare. If you try using it, put on some rubber gloves. It will burn the skin. After I got to the wood I cleaned up with naphtha and sanded 220 and applied grain filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 tryed the cling film thing...didnt work. but iv got most of the main paint off, just the sides and the undercoat stuff that im going to have to take off because iv gone too deep in other places. i was thinking of using a laquer to fill the slight dents and then sanding it flat so i have a perfectly flat surface for putting the sealer on and then the paint..will this work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewu22 Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 tryed the cling film thing...didnt work. but iv got most of the main paint off, just the sides and the undercoat stuff that im going to have to take off because iv gone too deep in other places. i was thinking of using a laquer to fill the slight dents and then sanding it flat so i have a perfectly flat surface for putting the sealer on and then the paint..will this work? I would use bondo, A product used in car body, and finish repair. Can get it most anywhere, and it dries fast and hard, quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Preston Swift Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 Oh oh oh oh oh!!!! I just stripped all the paint off a guitar on Monday. Actually pretty easy (probably the kind of finish) what i did was sand a little bit down to get the top layers of the finish off. After that i use paint stripper. Supposedly I use a special kind that dosn't raise the grain (I don't know for sure though) If it's any help the brand is Dad's Spray on stripper which came with a little spray bottle. I used a brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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