Finish Questions

[thetroy]

So I have an old '94 Rhoads EX Professional body that has a pretty sad finish right now. I want to completely remove it and refinish it, but I have no idea what they use to finish these things.

What kind of paint is on there?

What should I use to get it off of there?

What's the best stuff to put on afterwards to make it last?

Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

[Model 88]

Re: Finish Questions

This is a long read but lots of good info. http://www.jcfonline.com/ubbthreads/...art=1&vc=1

[thetroy]

Re: Finish Questions

I've read that among other things and have a good idea how to finish it after it's stripped, but I still have yet to see anyone specify what they used to remove an old finish. Any good ideas? Thanks

[etaeniura]

Re: Finish Questions

If it is one of the poly finishes, they can be a biotch to remove. I'm pretty sure after a nuclear holocaust, all that would be left is cockroaches, twinkies, and guitar bodies. The best advice is to be patient. There are alot of different strippers out there for refinishing furniture that will work, but even those sometimes require several attempts. Afterall, you are going through several clearcoats, several color coats, sealers, primers, etc. Good Luck!

[thetroy]

Re: Finish Questions

Maybe I should just take a belt sander to the thing! Hmmm it's looking like I may just put it together and see how it plays before screwing with the finish.

[mm2002]

Re: Finish Questions

There's no reason to strip off the old poly unless you're wanting some kind of natural wood finish. By using the original finish as a base you've just saved lots of time and money sealing and priming.

[thetroy]

Re: Finish Questions

The original stuff is really banged up, and the plan is to do a large amount of cutting to improve the 24th fret access. I figure getting the whole thing down to the wood and starting over will be the best way to do it since there will be a fair amount of wood showing to begin with.

[Evol]

Re: Finish Questions

I've belt sanded quite a few,no reason to screw around,plus the poly as a base doesn't work (for me anyways) if you use another type of clear or incompatible paint.Just be careful you don't gouge the wood too much with the sander,keep it nice and level this will save you tons of headaches when trying to level the body before painting.

[dg]

Re: Finish Questions

I agree with what Mark said. If you can avoid stripping, avoid it. If you absolutely have to strip, sanding is the way to go. Projectguitar.com has tutorials on the sanding, chemical, & heat gun methods. Check them all out & I think you'll agree that sanding is the lesser of the evils. I recently stripped a star body (poly) & it wasn't as bad as I expected it would be. I started with a palm sander (with dust catcher, which helps alot) & 100 grit. I personally think a belt sander is a recipe for disaster unless you are very, very good with one. Wear a mask! There is nothing good for you in that dust. I used Norton 3x paper, which is amazing stuff that doesn't load (clog) & somehow works way faster than regular paper. It costs about twice as much as regular paper, but it's well worth it for this type of work where the paper is likely to constantly load. Home Depot has it, & I've seen it in a few other places. In the tutorial he starts with 60 grit, but with the 3x paper you can use a finer grit & still remove a lot of paint in a hurry, without risk of those 60 grit scratches in your wood if you make a mistake. I got through the clear & most of the color coat with the palm sander & 100 grit, then finished by hand with a hard block & 150 grit, then 220. You've got to be very careful not to ditch the body. The whole thing took about 2 hours, which I never would have believed. The tutorial goes into how to attack tight spots & radiuses, but you shouldn't have too much trouble with the Rhoads shape. There are other ways to do it, but this worked pretty well for me, & I can't say enough how nice it was not to have to constantly stop to clean the paper. The Norton 3x is the sh*t.

[thetroy]

Re: Finish Questions

Well it turns out I have some chemical stuff here already that may or may not do anything. I'm going to let it soak in that for a day or so and if it doesn't do enough I'll get to sanding. Thanks everyone.

[mm2002]

Re: Finish Questions

[ QUOTE ]
I've belt sanded quite a few,no reason to screw around,plus the poly as a base doesn't work (for me anyways) if you use another type of clear or incompatible paint.Just be careful you don't gouge the wood too much with the sander,keep it nice and level this will save you tons of headaches when trying to level the body before painting.

[/ QUOTE ]

So educate me here, exactly what kind of paint have you found that's incompatible with poly??

[mm2002]

Re: Finish Questions

[ QUOTE ]
Well it turns out I have some chemical stuff here already that may or may not do anything. I'm going to let it soak in that for a day or so and if it doesn't do enough I'll get to sanding. Thanks everyone.

[/ QUOTE ]

Let it soak for a day or so????
Damn, you guys are amazing.

[Manyaxes]

Re: Finish Questions

I'm with Mark, What's the paint issue?

[thetroy]

Re: Finish Questions

[ QUOTE ]
Let it soak for a day or so????
Damn, you guys are amazing.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] Hmm, care to elaborate? I realize that I have no clue what I'm doing, but this isn't exactly quantum physics. And I do know (some) quantum physics.

[dg]

Re: Finish Questions

In the case of catalyzed paints like polyurethane or polyester, once it has cured it's basically a thin sheet of hard plastic with pigment (or not, if it's clear). It should be compatible with just about any paint you care to spray on top of it. Just prep it like you are painting a plastic or fiberglass surface (most fiberglass is catalyzed polyester resin, actually). You can spray lacquer (spray can) or poly on it without reacting with it or dissolving it. Chemical paint stripper will work on a lacquer finish, but it won't work on poly. If your Rhoads has the original finish on it, it is poly & stripper won't work.