stripping MIM poly..

j9fd3s

j9fd3s

New member
so i took a 2003 MIM strat apart to refinish, i should take pics.

anyways its wine red, and i was looking at the body and my nail caught a paint edge and took a quarter sized piece of paint off down to the wood!

so i got excited and a pocket knife, and it seems like about half the poly finish isn't actually adhered to the wood at all!

ive got a significant portion of the hard to sand upper bout down to bare wood with a knife and fingernail!

its takes a little skill not to put gouges in the wood, or yourself, but its not dusty, and no hazardous chemicals. if i can get most of the hard to sand parts i'm gonna be really happy!

anyone wanna guess how many pieces the body is? right now i see 3

mike
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

You're lucky. Some guys really have a tough time removing the finish on MIM Fenders. I know I had a tough time with a MIK squier bass.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

I bought a used (99?) 52' tele, butterscotch blond. Took it home, removed the pickgaurd and someone had routed the neck pup for a humbucker, no big deal was gonna do that anyway. Then I noticed the paint was chipping off aound the pup route. Soon I was popping off large chunks of plastic like the entire guitar body was coverred in a plastic shell. Most of the finish wasn't attached to the body, so i removed all of it, and discovered a 2 pc ash body with gorgeous grain patterns, and it sounded better without the poly/plastic finish anyway.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

i don't mind if i have to sand the top and bottom, but i'd be psyched if the paint on the horns just fell off

found the seam for the 4th piece of wood....
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

If the paint doesn't chip off nicely, I just scuff sand and paint over it. Removing poly SUCKS. :D
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

A heat gun is the best way to tackle an MIM Fender finish. I did my entire tele in about 20 minutes this way. No sanding required.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

I thought this requires about the same tools as digging a tunnel into solid rock?
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

uOpt said:
I thought this requires about the same tools as digging a tunnel into solid rock?
Click to expand...

well it could be, its a TOUGH material, however they didn't get it to stick to the body, the paint on the lower horn would have come off in 1 piece if i had some patience and a longer scraper.

its weird, some parts stuck, some parts smell still, like the paint didn't dry completely.

finish seems like its thicker than it should be (not an expert!) but its mostly thinner than i was expecting. its ranging from maybe .020" to maybe .010"? its not the 1/2" i was expecting.

body is 7 pieces, not counting the front and back caps!
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

j9fd3s said:
well it could be, its a TOUGH material, however they didn't get it to stick to the body, the paint on the lower horn would have come off in 1 piece if i had some patience and a longer scraper.

its weird, some parts stuck, some parts smell still, like the paint didn't dry completely.

finish seems like its thicker than it should be (not an expert!) but its mostly thinner than i was expecting. its ranging from maybe .020" to maybe .010"? its not the 1/2" i was expecting.

body is 7 pieces, not counting the front and back caps!
Click to expand...

Do a natural finish, but stain each piece different colors.

:D
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

dominus said:
Do a natural finish, but stain each piece different colors.

:D
Click to expand...

It would be badass...

post-325-12528058822868.jpg
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

what's the solution that's used to make huge chunks of poly fall off of guitars when you want to recoat with nitro? Perhaps we could tell astro of this.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

Good Lord! You have it really easy.

My MIM was painted clear > red > clear > black > primer > wood. It was REALLY thick. Aircraft grade chemical stripper took the gloss off and hat was about it. I had to power-sand it ALL off. Took forever and made a mess.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

B2D said:
Good Lord! You have it really easy.

My MIM was painted clear > red > clear > black > primer > wood. It was REALLY thick. Aircraft grade chemical stripper took the gloss off and hat was about it. I had to power-sand it ALL off. Took forever and made a mess.
Click to expand...

mine is just 97 pieces of wood->pink->wine red.

i was surprised too, my other wine red has a THICK coat, the trem springs rub the paint
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

oh yeah safety glasses are a MUST. we'll be picking up paint chips for a long time. i got hit right in the face by plenty of em too

you also MUST be careful to have the sharp edge of the tool going AWAY from you. that way WHEN it slips, you're not in the way.
 
Re: stripping MIM poly..

You can get a blade and scatch it all off
 
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