Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
- Thread starter CTN
- Start date
J
JohnJohn
Guest
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
Try a car paint stripper.
IIRC factory auto finishes get a blast of heat (about 400 degrees) so they can polish up quickly and cheaper guitars use a type of fish that is applied in sheets and flash baked for the same reasons.
This makes the finish tough and durable but a royal P.I.A. To remove.
~edit~ you can find some really good step by step stuff here: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm
Try a car paint stripper.
IIRC factory auto finishes get a blast of heat (about 400 degrees) so they can polish up quickly and cheaper guitars use a type of fish that is applied in sheets and flash baked for the same reasons.
This makes the finish tough and durable but a royal P.I.A. To remove.
~edit~ you can find some really good step by step stuff here: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/tutorial5.htm
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CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
Well I ditched the original paints i was thinking of using, cuz I was trying to get some clarification on compatibility of topcoats with the colour coats I picked, but the company (Rustoleum) is dumb and didn't get back to me in more than a week. Eat lead paint chips, suckers.
I decided to go with Duplicolor instead, for the colour coats anyway. For the primer and clear coats I'm going with a Canadian brand called Dover. Nitrocellulose primer, Acrylic metallic silver and gloss black colour coats, and Nitrocellulose super high gloss clear coats.
Gonna use some Meguiar's polishing compounds after wetsanding the clear coats to get it up to a gorgeous mirror finish.
I tried to use my heat gun on the body today seeing as it's been the first day this week that we got any sunshine. Unfortunately, it's still quite cold and extremely windy, so it was a no-go. Looks like I might have to wait another few weeks before any good weather, so what I might do instead is move the operation to my improvised indoor spray booth. Got some more work to do before that's ready though.
Well I ditched the original paints i was thinking of using, cuz I was trying to get some clarification on compatibility of topcoats with the colour coats I picked, but the company (Rustoleum) is dumb and didn't get back to me in more than a week. Eat lead paint chips, suckers.
I decided to go with Duplicolor instead, for the colour coats anyway. For the primer and clear coats I'm going with a Canadian brand called Dover. Nitrocellulose primer, Acrylic metallic silver and gloss black colour coats, and Nitrocellulose super high gloss clear coats.
Gonna use some Meguiar's polishing compounds after wetsanding the clear coats to get it up to a gorgeous mirror finish.
I tried to use my heat gun on the body today seeing as it's been the first day this week that we got any sunshine. Unfortunately, it's still quite cold and extremely windy, so it was a no-go. Looks like I might have to wait another few weeks before any good weather, so what I might do instead is move the operation to my improvised indoor spray booth. Got some more work to do before that's ready though.
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kramersteen
PowerMetalRaph
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
Just use it inside the paint fumes will do you good. Those heat guns take a bit to start working Its not instant. Some older 80's era guitars have the thickest paint so it takes awhile to lift it. Once one part starts to lift the following areas will come of easier because you can sort of angle the heat under the paint line and scrap at the same time.
Just use it inside the paint fumes will do you good. Those heat guns take a bit to start working Its not instant. Some older 80's era guitars have the thickest paint so it takes awhile to lift it. Once one part starts to lift the following areas will come of easier because you can sort of angle the heat under the paint line and scrap at the same time.
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CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
yeah I know that....it's just that it was so ludicrously windy today. 55km/h (almost 35mph) gusts. Plus it's hovering around freezing so the hot air from the gun is getting blown away before it can have any effect on the paint.
blargh.
yeah I know that....it's just that it was so ludicrously windy today. 55km/h (almost 35mph) gusts. Plus it's hovering around freezing so the hot air from the gun is getting blown away before it can have any effect on the paint.
blargh.
CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
indeeeeeeeeeeeed.
le sigh. Gonna see if I can get the spray booth set up so I can strip the finish in there.
ok.... success/fail.
set up a little bench in the spray booth to put the body on while I work the heat gun. and it works, albeit a bit slowly. The finish softens to the point where i can scrape it off, but it doesn't bubble up, which would make my job easy.
Also, it gets quite warm in there, to the point where I was dripping big beads of sweat onto the body within 10 mins. So I think I am just going to wait until good weather gets here because I'm not about to spend 3 hours in a tiny room sweating my balls off for a job that should go like a piece of cake.
indeeeeeeeeeeeed.
le sigh. Gonna see if I can get the spray booth set up so I can strip the finish in there.
ok.... success/fail.
set up a little bench in the spray booth to put the body on while I work the heat gun. and it works, albeit a bit slowly. The finish softens to the point where i can scrape it off, but it doesn't bubble up, which would make my job easy.
Also, it gets quite warm in there, to the point where I was dripping big beads of sweat onto the body within 10 mins. So I think I am just going to wait until good weather gets here because I'm not about to spend 3 hours in a tiny room sweating my balls off for a job that should go like a piece of cake.
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CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
I got impatient and didn't want to wait for a few weeks, but I also decided to not be impatient and take my time with the stripping. Got a good portion of the front face done, and I'll keep at it little by little until it's done. It's pretty buttugly right now but I'll post pics when it's all done and sanded back to bare wood.
I dunno wtf kinda paint they used on this, but when softened, it peels off in big chunks like latex paint does.
I got impatient and didn't want to wait for a few weeks, but I also decided to not be impatient and take my time with the stripping. Got a good portion of the front face done, and I'll keep at it little by little until it's done. It's pretty buttugly right now but I'll post pics when it's all done and sanded back to bare wood.
I dunno wtf kinda paint they used on this, but when softened, it peels off in big chunks like latex paint does.
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youngthrasher9
New member
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
I used a craftsman heat gun on a guitar body recently and I caught the body on fire like 17 times. I would have stopped but wood with burnt patches has a cool look to it. I'll be starting a similar thread to this soon.
BTW That bass is gonna turn out awesome.
I used a craftsman heat gun on a guitar body recently and I caught the body on fire like 17 times. I would have stopped but wood with burnt patches has a cool look to it. I'll be starting a similar thread to this soon.
BTW That bass is gonna turn out awesome.
CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
fookin FIIIIINALLY!!!!!!
Got all the horrendous coats of that godforsaken finish off. Under the thick clear coat, red coat and silver metallic basecoat, there was some sort of ULTRA hard sealer or something that wouldn't even come out with a heat gun, so I had to sand away all that crap which took forever. I'm not finished taking off all the sealer shyte from the neck, but the body is ready to be sprayed. It's buttugly, but it doesn't really matter, cuz the finish is gonna be opaque anyway.
Next step is to turn this here 2nd bathroom into the painting equivalent of Dexter Morgan's "Kill Room".
Progress from here on should go a lot faster than this thread has been thus far.
fookin FIIIIINALLY!!!!!!
Got all the horrendous coats of that godforsaken finish off. Under the thick clear coat, red coat and silver metallic basecoat, there was some sort of ULTRA hard sealer or something that wouldn't even come out with a heat gun, so I had to sand away all that crap which took forever. I'm not finished taking off all the sealer shyte from the neck, but the body is ready to be sprayed. It's buttugly, but it doesn't really matter, cuz the finish is gonna be opaque anyway.
Next step is to turn this here 2nd bathroom into the painting equivalent of Dexter Morgan's "Kill Room".
Progress from here on should go a lot faster than this thread has been thus far.
crusty philtrum
Vintageologist
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
You're not planning to use a fan when you spray in the second bathroom are you ? (If you are, your loved ones might like you to reconsider that idea).
You're not planning to use a fan when you spray in the second bathroom are you ? (If you are, your loved ones might like you to reconsider that idea).
CTN
The Drama Dude
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
I live on my own, and ya i'm using the ventilation fan, otherwise there'd be dangerous levels of solvents hanging around in the air and they'd probably leak out into my apartment, thereby giving me unnecessary health problems.
I will be using an appropriate respirator and goggles while spraying to avoid contamination of my natural oxygen to carbon dioxide exchanger apparatus and visual sensors.
also, about explosions. I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. I sprayed my Jolly Roger strat the same way and had zero problems.
I live on my own, and ya i'm using the ventilation fan, otherwise there'd be dangerous levels of solvents hanging around in the air and they'd probably leak out into my apartment, thereby giving me unnecessary health problems.
I will be using an appropriate respirator and goggles while spraying to avoid contamination of my natural oxygen to carbon dioxide exchanger apparatus and visual sensors.
also, about explosions. I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. I sprayed my Jolly Roger strat the same way and had zero problems.
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youngthrasher9
New member
Re: Explorer Bass Refinish thread of doom
The sealer stuff you describe sounds like the same stuff I found underneath the finish on the body I'm working on... it's kinda opaque-ish and smells really weird.
The sealer stuff you describe sounds like the same stuff I found underneath the finish on the body I'm working on... it's kinda opaque-ish and smells really weird.
