Rockhorst Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Hey all. I've got a couple of guitar bodies I want to refin next spring/summer. It's going to be my first try at it. One of them is a contoured heel Strat body that going to be white (hopefully ). Two quick questions: -Previous owner put a thin coat of clear lacquer on it (no clue what it was). I've sanded most of it off with 220 grit sandpaper. How zealous do I have to be about it? It's a bit hard to see if all the clear is off. Can I just sand it smooth and put a grain filler on it (even though the wood seems pretty dense, probably alder)? -Sites like Stew Mac and Reranch can't ship to Europe. Any adresses in the Netherlands or Europe where I can order laqcuer/color aerosols? Vox Humana (Dutch) has a finishing system on offer, but a very limited choice in colors. Edit: one more question: there are a few small dings in the body, not very deep but deep enough to not be sanded out. Should I fill them up with some wood paste, or can it be fixed with sand&seeler and primer coats? Thanks a lot! Edited October 17, 2011 by Rockhorst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 One thing I have learned the hard way is never count on primer/sealer/clear coat to fill anything. It might, it might not, just don't bank on it. Also, white can be really tough to keep flecks of stuff off of when shooting clear (I just told my wife last night to remind me to not do another white guitar as the one I am doing right now is white with pearl and has been a royal pain to finish). However, what I did for mine was use Mixol tints (which are german so you should be able to get your hands on them no problem). Just mix it up in some sealer and brush or spray on. You don't want to go more than 5-10% tint by volume, but it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I wouldn't worry too much about the old finish as long as what ever you put on top doesn't react with it it will just act like sealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Edit: one more question: there are a few small dings in the body, not very deep but deep enough to not be sanded out. Should I fill them up with some wood paste, or can it be fixed with sand&seeler and primer coats? When you say ding is the wood chipped out and missing or has it just been dented? If the latter you might be able to steam them out by using a damp cloth and a clothes iron. Dampen the ding with the damp, not wet, cloth, hold the cloth over the ding and iron over it. The steam will swell the cells in the wood and the ding can disappear. A soldering iron can also be used to heat things. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 -Sites like Stew Mac and Reranch can't ship to Europe. Any adresses in the Netherlands or Europe where I can order laqcuer/color aerosols? Vox Humana (Dutch) has a finishing system on offer, but a very limited choice in colors. Hi there, I am also based in The Netherlands and so far I have sourced my rattlecan nitro from these guys. They have a good color selection, and for pretty much everything they are much more reasonably priced than Vox Humana. I've only used clear-glossy, but have gotten consistently good results. Good luck with your project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhorst Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) When you say ding is the wood chipped out and missing or has it just been dented? If the latter you might be able to steam them out by using a damp cloth and a clothes iron. It's a ding. I've tried the steam method before (on other projects), never really succesful. But I'll give it a go! Edited October 19, 2011 by Rockhorst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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