Ibanezjd2002 Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I got a Kramer Baretta off Music-Yo a few years ago.. suprisingly for a new kramer, I love everything about it apart from the finnish. I want to remove the paintwork (tis solid red colour... looks cheap- ergh) I was wondering if it was possible to stain the body after removing the current finnish? maybe put a flamed maple veneer on it but I dont know of anywhere in England where I can buy one.. any ideas?? What chemicals can I use to remove the finnish? what dyes are suitable? what lacquers are best? look forward to your loving replies! cheeeers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I was wondering if it was possible to stain the body after removing the current finnish? This is definately possible. But there are two things to keep in mind: 1. You have to remove the old finish and then sand away some of the wood so that you get a wood surface that is not penetrated by the old finish and is able to accept the dye 2. The wood may look very boring and unfigured after you removed the finish maybe put a flamed maple veneer on it but I dont know of anywhere in England where I can buy one.. any ideas?? Ebay or Brian at Universal Jems What chemicals can I use to remove the finnish? Depends very much on the finish what dyes are suitable? The metallic dyes stew mac sells gave me excellent results so far. what lacquers are best? Read the pinned thread by Jeremy where he compares the different finish options. HTH, Marcel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWhoSoldTheWorld Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 If it were me, I wouldn't use chemicals to get the finish off. I'd just sand it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 well if it is polyester it won't come off chemically anyway...but i would use a heatgun sanding off the finish sucks and i can't see why anyone would go that way when a heatgun costs under $20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivin Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 if you use chemical stripper, be prepared to work at it.... -hard- im in the process of stripping a guitar i have here, and mannnn its taking ages. maybe the finish im stripping isnt meant to be stripped with chemicals, but its just such a long process. I was going to sand it, but the clear on this thing is absolutely nuts... like it was built to withstand a nuclear explosion, it would just clog up my sandpaper over and over and over and i wasnt getting any of it off. also, this thing had a thickarse coat of sealer (quite strange i thought... it was a good 2mm thick), then a layer of primer, then the paint, then lots of hardarse clear. Just saying be ready for anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 well if it is polyester it won't come off chemically anyway...but i would use a heatgun sanding off the finish sucks and i can't see why anyone would go that way when a heatgun costs under $20 I will second wes's opionon. Heatgun. Aside from pointy guitars he's usually on track. Ive stripped several guitars, on many factory finishes chemical strippers just make em shinny. As far as staining you wont know untill you see whats under there. Basswood and Poplar are very common and usually painted for a reason. Keep in mind, ugly woods are why the burst was invented. Also use caution with the heatgun if you want a natural finish, burn marks are hard to sand off. Its like power sanding if you let it stop moving bad things can happen. Unless your a fan of the BSB(burnt stained blue) finish, this can bee seen on the tutorial Brian did. I like to preheat a section then go back with the gun and work it slowly and peel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 Aside from pointy guitars he's usually on track. pointy guitars rule!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 I've had good success with both heat gun and chemical stripper. It all depends on what you have to remove from the guitar to get back down to bare wood. I had to use a heat gun on a 70's Ibanez Roadstar (stratocopy) that must have been dipped, , or something. The coating on that thing had to be 1/8" thick in some areas. And I've used a spray on stripper called Circa 1850 on an old archtop that had a heavy varnish coat over brown sunburst paint. It only took 3 spraying and scraping sessions to get down to the wood. Trying to sand heavy finishes will bog down pretty quick and you will go thru a lot of sandpaper. You could buy a cheap paintbrush and cut the bristles right down to about 1/2" long. Its a good tool for cleaning your sandpaper now and then. I would also look into wetsanding the finish with a fairly rough grit, maybe 150 to 180. Your paper won't clog but it could get messy, wipe up often and plug all the holes beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibanezjd2002 Posted May 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 thanx, I didnt want to use a heat gun because of the burn it may cause on the wood. The body is north american Alder & the neck is 3-peice hard maple. stilll not very sure of what chemicals I should use to strip the paint off.. Im willing to do what it takes to get the wood nice and clean! is it possible to clean the wood abit after stripping, maybe using some kinda white spirit or sumthin?? Thank you for the universal jems link- im going to order some veneer from there once I get my next paycheck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 stilll not very sure of what chemicals I should use to strip the paint off Head over to any hardware store and look for paint strippers. Most have a large selection to choose from. If it works on furniture it will work on guitars, its all wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 stilll not very sure of what chemicals I should use to strip the paint off Head over to any hardware store and look for paint strippers. Most have a large selection to choose from. If it works on furniture it will work on guitars, its all wood. Most furniture is not dippped in a vat of clear. Many guitars are. Most cheap foreign guitars are. Its not the wood that matters here its the finish. Some finishes are resistant to chemical stripping. You really have to know what finish is on the gutiar to choose the right ones. If it was dipped my experience is force of some kind will be required, sander, heat gun, whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWhoSoldTheWorld Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 I actually used a finishing sander on mine, it got through the finish fairly quickly, and didn't mess up the wood. And I only used 4 things on sandpaper total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar4life Posted May 20, 2004 Report Share Posted May 20, 2004 I didnt want to use a heat gun because of the burn it may cause on the wood. I dont know a great deal about finishing guitars but can't you just be extreamly careful and sand off any scortch marks left behind and still keep the beauty of the wood?? ps comments are are greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted May 21, 2004 Report Share Posted May 21, 2004 You have to sand off quite a lot of wood to get all the burn marks out. Unless you're better than me at it and don't burn as deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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