Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

[Nostalgic Distortion]

So for my next project I'm going to be stripping a 99 MIM Stratocaster down to bare wood then it's going to be re-sprayed with black Nitro. The last time I stripped down a guitar to the wood I was 16 & I did the whole thing with sand paper and elbow grease, the result was not what I had anticipated! There were gouges from me going too heavy with the paper in some spots, I got it looking good again but it took a lot of work, most of which could have been avoided had I used some kind of paint & Polly stripper. So, I guess my question is- Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I should use? I need something that will make its way through the Polly-paint and not damage the wood underneath? By damage I mean it won't soak into the wood making it so I have to sand 1/4 of an inch off before I can re-spray! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[fordmugg]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I've seen a video where a guy used a heat gun and small scrapper to get the paint off

 

[dominus]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

As someone that has stripped *many* bodies, there's no stripper that will do it alone. You may have good results with a heat gun, but the possibility of scorching the wood is pretty high. If you want to go the stripper route, get some rough grit sanding pads and scuff sand the body first. Then hit it with Klean Strip Aircraft Remover. Nothing else comes close to it.

Of course, you need to wear THICK rubber gloves and work in a well ventilated area. This stuff is f-ing dangerous. The fumes are incredibly strong, and it burns. I got a tiny drop on my arm (above where the gloves were) and running 10 feet to the sink wasn't fast enough to not feel the burning sensation. Put the stripper on the body, put the body into a black garbage bag, and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, come back and wipe off the stripper / paint, and repeat as necessary.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

That poly coating is a bear to wrestle off. I've heard of using Varnish Stripper for wood floors that have a poly finish but I don't know about for guitar finishes...

On a side note, I once got a sweet deal on a MIM Strat because a teen at Church tried to take the paint off with a grinder...looked terrible on the back but thankfully he only did the back. With some fret work and American Fender pickups and electronics the guitar was a great sounding Strat!

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

Put the stripper's body in a bag for 20 minutes. Got it.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

As someone that has stripped *many* bodies, there's no stripper that will do it alone. You may have good results with a heat gun, but the possibility of scorching the wood is pretty high. If you want to go the stripper route, get some rough grit sanding pads and scuff sand the body first. Then hit it with Klean Strip Aircraft Remover. Nothing else comes close to it.

Of course, you need to wear THICK rubber gloves and work in a well ventilated area. This stuff is f-ing dangerous. The fumes are incredibly strong, and it burns. I got a tiny drop on my arm (above where the gloves were) and running 10 feet to the sink wasn't fast enough to not feel the burning sensation. Put the stripper on the body, put the body into a black garbage bag, and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, come back and wipe off the stripper / paint, and repeat as necessary.

I'm familiar wit Airplane Stripper & with how dangerous it can be!!! My old Bass player had a body shop & I'd go work for him on the weekends for extra cash so I've used it before. Actually, that's what first came to mind whe I started thinking about this whole thing but I was worried that it might be too abrasive for wood?

Lol, he ended up getting himself arrested because he caught his girlfriend in bed with our drummer @ his house & decided that it would be a great idea to go get some Airplane Stripper & paint the word "WH**E" on the hood of her car! He went to jail for a couple days and fixed the hood, we got a new drummer....

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

Put the stripper's body in a bag for 20 minutes. Got it.

Preheat the oven to 350* & cook for 15 minutes per pound, right???

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I'm familiar wit Airplane Stripper & with how dangerous it can be!!! My old Bass player had a body shop & I'd go work for him on the weekends for extra cash so I've used it before. Actually, that's what first came to mind whe I started thinking about this whole thing but I was worried that it might be too abrasive for wood?

Lol, he ended up getting himself arrested because he caught his girlfriend in bed with our drummer @ his house & decided that it would be a great idea to go get some Airplane Stripper & paint the word "WH**E" on the hood of her car! He went to jail for a couple days and fixed the hood, we got a new drummer....

Dude that is crazy!...should've "fixed" the word with a just slightly off color paint so you could still read it at certain angles/lighting jk

I think you would have to get through a ton of the poly before worrying about being the wood, those MIM Strat bodies have coats and coats of thick poly on them...

 

[guitarSQUIRELL]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

As someone that has stripped *many* bodies, there's no stripper that will do it alone. You may have good results with a heat gun, but the possibility of scorching the wood is pretty high. If you want to go the stripper route, get some rough grit sanding pads and scuff sand the body first. Then hit it with Klean Strip Aircraft Remover. Nothing else comes close to it.

Of course, you need to wear THICK rubber gloves and work in a well ventilated area. This stuff is f-ing dangerous. The fumes are incredibly strong, and it burns. I got a tiny drop on my arm (above where the gloves were) and running 10 feet to the sink wasn't fast enough to not feel the burning sensation. Put the stripper on the body, put the body into a black garbage bag, and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, come back and wipe off the stripper / paint, and repeat as necessary.

+1 to this.....I used this same stuff a couple months ago to strip a fernandez strat copy and it did very well.....just apply it and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and then use a metal or plastic scraper to remove the finish....I did notice that the edges and inside the curves were the most picky areas to remove the finish without gouging out the wood....

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

Try sticking dollar bills under the back cover



*(Sent from my durned phone!)*

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

What's up with drummers & other guy's girlfriends? I've been in two other bands that ended up in the same situation & I can think of countless more just like it! In my personal life and in the industry as a whole. I think this is why a lot of bands have the "no G.F.'s @ practice" rule? We say that they are distractions but really we just don't want them anywhere near Lars & his big sticks...

 

[guitarSQUIRELL]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

What's up with drummers & other guy's girlfriends? I've been in two other bands that ended up in the same situation & I can think of countless more just like it! In my personal life and in the industry as a whole. I think this is why a lot of bands have the "no G.F.'s @ practice" rule? We say that they are distractions but really we just don't want them anywhere near Lars & his big sticks...

The GFs know they like to beat it.....:doh:

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I will say this is not the first time I've heard of a drummer cheating on a band mate...but I look at if a girl will cheat on me then she was never really into me and has serious character flaws that I want no part of.

 

[Securb]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I used that on my black MIM Telecaster and the paint laughed at it. I have used it before on both guitars and cars and was waiting for the paint to lift...nothing happened. It didn't even soften the paint up. A sander and some elbow grease was the only thing that got the paint off for me.

 

[BriGuy1968]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I find it's easiest when the clasp is in the front.

Oh sorry, thought the subject said "Ma'am Strap." My bad!

 

[dominus]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I used that on my black MIM Telecaster and the paint laughed at it. I have used it before on both guitars and cars and was waiting for the paint to lift...nothing happened. It didn't even soften the paint up. A sander and some elbow grease was the only thing that got the paint off for me.

That's why you use a rough sanding pad to start with, and then hit it with that stuff. The scratches in the finish seem to let it start working.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

Right, just like ripping down wallpaper. You make the surface pours then apply the soapy stuff, or in this case airplane stripper, & the tiny holes start to fill up, from there it just keeps working its way through until the paint lifts. Even without taking that step I would have thought it would have done something to the paint? That's some evil s***, perhaps your stripper separated? I know it can happen if the can has sat in one spot for a while, especially after its been opened. I seem to remember putting some on a car and when it wasn't working properly that was the explanation I got? We had to wipe it down, wash it, dry it, & use a new can before it would react. But, if the paint on your car was as thick as the paint on a Mex-a-Strat you probably wouldn't have to worry about shopping carts @ Walmart anymore?

 

[ItsaBass]

Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

You are better off just buying an unpainted body. You could probably get one for what you would sell your made in Mexico body for, or not much more.

If you want to strip that thing, be prepared to spend at least a full day's labor doing it, and more likely a couple hours a day for a week. You need to use a combination of abrasion, chemicals, and heat to get the stuff off. And then you're left with a so-so quality body in the end. Your time is precious, and a Mexican Stratocaster body isn't; just buy an unpainted body. Hell; you would even spend less time making your own body from scratch then you would stripping the crummy Mexican body. My two cents.

Personally, what I would do if I was set on keeping that body, is to just paint right the hell over that poly. Not only does it save you the trouble of stripping the thing, but it also saves you plenty of labor and materials in filler, sealer, and primer steps.

I have taken both of these routes, and that is why I have the opinion that I do on the matter.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

 

[B2D]

Re: Best Way To Strip A MIM Strat?????

I had a '95 MIM Strat that was impossible to strip with chemicals. I don't know what that finish was made out of but aircraft-grade stripper just turned it from gloss to satin. Heat gun had zero effect. I suspect it may have been bulletproof as well.

I wound up power sanding it all off. Never again.

The Squier I once stripped, on the other hand, was a breeze with Citri-Strip.

Good luck.