How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

[astrozombie]

I was told a hairdryer would work but instead the dryer crapped out on me, it was working but obviously a lot of work would have to be put into it since only a few chips of the paint came off.

any ideas?

 

[zombiewolf]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

AZ, you need a heat gun not a hair dryer. This is about the only "easy" way to do it. Stewart-macdonald has a video on their website that shows how to do it.

 

[Snoogles]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

i did my first just by picking away at a chip in the finish that went down to the wood, with a razor blade.
it basically peeled right off.
using fresh blades was the key though.

although i tried it on 2 other guitars, and it went horribly wrong. the finish was almost impossible to remove with a blade

 

[Kam]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

AZ, you need a heat gun not a hair dryer. This is about the only "easy" way to do it. Stewart-macdonald has a video on their website that shows how to do it.

I was gonna say. If the hair dryer was working then either someone's painted your guitar with cake icing or you have a nuclear powered dryer.

If you go for the heat gun, long sleeves and goggles are an absolute must, by the way. Preferably gloves and a full face mask.

 

[Snoogles]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Don't use sandpaper.

I sanded my guitar down by hand and it took me months of hard work. Totally not worth it.

I heard paint stripper is good. Use a mask though, those fumes are trippy.

holy cow, DO NOT USE PAINT STRRIPPER !!!!
that stuff is pure evil
and i don't think it can get through a thick poly finish

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

I used a heat gun and the stuff peeled right off. thats the way to go.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Use a stripper that has methylene chloride as the main active ingredient.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

i was wondering why not paint stripper? Has poly got some kind of resistance to it?


....astro...what are you planning on doing to the axe once its stripped?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Any chemical stripper has to include a solvent that will act on the material to be stripped.

A proper heat gun will make the poly coats deform and lift away easily from the sealing coats.

After that, a light sanding will key the exposed surface for your new finish.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

old fashioned way... 80 or lower grit block sanding.

No it did not take me months, it did about 6 hours though. No power sander, just elbow grease and a dust mask (you NEED a dust mask. I've coughed up black poly paint before)

 

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

I sanded mine. It took forever. In fact, I'm still working on it right now as I type this.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Heat gun.

 

[Dr.K]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

I've done the stripper and it's hard. It's better when it's warm and expect to use a lot of coats, that poly is some hard shtuff. If your going to repaint I wouldn't take it all off. Use it as a base and you'll have a nicer finish.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Heat gun

 

[BEACHBUM]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

Don't use sandpaper.


I heard paint stripper is good. Use a mask though, those fumes are trippy.

It used to be a good way to go about 30 years ago before the EPA diluted all that stuff down to weak tea.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

If the heat gun will work it's a lot safer than messing with methylene chloride. Trust me on this.

Not only was I once chemically engineered but I knew an organic chemist too.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

i was wondering why not paint stripper? Has poly got some kind of resistance to it?


....astro...what are you planning on doing to the axe once its stripped?

I read that paint strippers will work on nitro but not poly.

On the axe: I will take the finish off and stain it sort of a walnut wood colour.

Can I just leave it without a finish? ( I really don't know..)

or do I need to get a clear coat on there to protect it?

If so, what's the best kind? i don't want anything thick.

similar to this:

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

I read that paint strippers will work on nitro but not poly.

On the axe: I will take the finish off and stain it sort of a walnut wood colour.

Can I just leave it without a finish? ( I really don't know..)

or do I need to get a clear coat on there to protect it?

If so, what's the best kind? i don't want anything thick.

similar to this:

you will need to put something over it or the stain will just keep coming off. I love Tru oil! looks great, water resistant and durable & its really easy to use. plus it smells really good (or am I just weird?) it builds up a shine after about 10 coats. if you want it more like the first pic maybe tung oil would work better then tru oil.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?

If your going to repaint I wouldn't take it all off. Use it as a base and you'll have a nicer finish.

This, and 60 grit sandpaper works just fine. Slow and steady wins.

 

[dominus]

Re: How do I remove my guitar's Poly Finish?