MIM Strat refinish

[JB_From_Hell]

This:



Minus the black armor shell equals

This:



Plus this:



Equals...

[BeKindRewind]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

That already looks rad as hell, but it I'm excited to see the final results ! The zebra pickup looks cool too.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

Thanks man.

It's got two coats of stain on it now, but it's in the low 50's here, and not drying very quickly. Unfortunately, I'm probably done messing with it for the night. Aside from the color itself (looks very Daphne Blue), I don't have much of a plan. Once the stain has dried, I'm going to lightly sand it, maybe another coat, sand it again, and keep repeating until I'm happy with how it looks. Picked up a rattle can of Krylon clear gloss, which will be applied very lightly.

I took this opportunity to put a few coats of tung oil on the neck after I sanded the nasty poly off. I'm pretty motivated to get a few singles while it's taken apart, so if somebody wants an RG 7 project, hit me up and I'll make you an awesome deal.

[Silence Kid]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

Is there a veneer? Also, I’d be careful the Krylon isn’t enamel. I like wipe-on poly.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

Yes, there is a veneer. My understanding is all the Mexican bodies get the veneer. Makes sense for production reasons.

This was by far the easiest to strip body ever. I spent maybe an hour chipping the paint off (it came off mostly in guitar pick or larger chunks), and the seal coat was maybe 10 minutes with my orbital sander. The only hand-sanding was a little bit on the cutaways, with sandpaper wrapped around a screwdriver handle.

Just checked, the Krylon Colormaxx Clear is acrylic. Should I still not use it?

[Silence Kid]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

My Telecaster body also had a veneer over five pieces - fine body, I just figured they wouldn’t do it on a non-transparent Strat. From my experience more recent Fenders have pretty light finishes; they actually chip down to real wood nowadays.

Acrylic should be fine but never used Krylon myself. Spray enamel sometimes never hardens, had to deal with it once when I accidentally primed a body using enamel, wound up stripping it all; that’s what I would avoid, but I still think the results of a couple coats satin Minwax wipe-on poly are pretty great and it’s far less bothersome than spraying anything.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

I've used poly for other projects, like the antique table I refinished. For that, I wanted heavy protection. For the guitar, I'd rather use something that will wear like an old nitro finished guitar. I suppose I should read about whether acrylic will do that before I use it.

[Silence Kid]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

I've used poly for other projects, like the antique table I refinished. For that, I wanted heavy protection. For the guitar, I'd rather use something that will wear like an old nitro finished guitar. I suppose I should read about whether acrylic will do that before I use it.

It will if the Telecaster I refinished in Duplicolor acrylic fifteen years ago is any indication; full checking, forearm wear etc. (I don't like relics, so I'm ditching that body to refinish later, actually.)

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

It’s coming along. After sanding out the first coat of clear, I decided to try tung oil. Think it was a good choice.

[GuitarStv]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

That's an unfortunate choice of not-fluorescent-pink. :P

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

That's an unfortunate choice of not-fluorescent-pink. :P

Lol, shell pink was on the short list. Went with this because it was available inexpensively. I’m much more comfortable working with stain than paint. Also, because I like it.

[AniML]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

Love shell pink on a strat.

I've used Minwax acrylic lacquer with very good results. I got at HD years ago but not sure they still sell it

https://www.amazon.com/Minwax-15210-Aerosol-Lacquer-12-25-Ounce/dp/B0002YOPOG/ref=asc_df_B0002YOPLO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198071503086&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2427083265118076035&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012053&hvtargid=pla-511352520952&th=1

I finished and assembled a tele about 12 years ago. Has faded somewhat, did not check or crack and has some natural wear

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

That looks great!

If the tung oil doesn't come out great, I'll probably give my spray acrylic another shot, but more patiently this time. Given that the temps are dipping down below freezing now, I'll probably give the tung oil a few months to see what I think.

[Silence Kid]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

I have no good pictures since I’ve since disassembled it (I disowned it when it started checking/aging, really) but here’s one that shows fifteen year old Duplicolor acrylic; it would definitely ding and wear like nitro.)

[Ayrton]

Re: MIM Strat refinish

Oooo, good color choice. The Minwax "Tung Oil" is a good polymer-based finish.