thinking of going John Lennon

Sordid Tales

Sordid Tales

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And removing the gloss top off my Seagull S6. She said that I could keep two guitars, and the Seagull (along with the Taylor) are it. I don't have any room for electrics at the moment.

Now, I've removed the finishes off solid bodies for myself and customers using a palm sander and finishing off by hand with absolutely no problems. I've never done it on an acoustic before except for a small amount to do finish repairs.

Anyone have any advice? I know Zerb is not the resident luthier of the forum, since I haven't seen a post from Theodie in awhile.
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

Great question. I probably have no answers, but this subject is of great interest to me, and i have some thoughts on the subject.


I have had similar thoughts, particularly on polyurethane finishes, which by their nature are usually rather thick. Removing poly from a solid is easy enough using a heat-gun, but i don't think i'd want to be taking a heat gun anywhere near the top of an acoustic guitar.

My thoughts are to thin a poly finish by careful hand sanding. Poly doesn't sand well, but it does work. Of course, any other type of finish would sand a lot more easily. The thickness of most poly finishes would allow you to see quite well the progress you are making, but the sanding would need to be kept even to ensure an even finish with no breakthroughs. Personally i would lean toward using a finer grade paper and spending more time, as i think the best result would require care and patience to achieve a good result without any unwanted disasters.

Scraping could be an option, but one would need to use a good quality, strong scraper with a brand new blade that has had it's corners ground off. I think scraping might be a better way to remove or thin a finish on the back of a neck.

I am currently re-finishing an old Strat using Tru-oil (body and neck) and i keep wondering just how an acoustic might sound, feel and survive if finished with Tru-oil rather than the traditional finishes.

I'm very interested to see what others may be able to contribute here, particularly if anyone has actually removed or thinned the finish on an acoustic as the original post proposes.
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

I dunno, but I feel sorry for any guy on whom his woman has so much power... no disrespect intended though, I just feel sorry for you.
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

Mcearlock said:
He just lost his job, and has a kid to raise, Go easy on him.:thanks:
Click to expand...
Really? I honestly didn't know that... that's a completely different story... I'd just like to say that, in such a case, I'd have (myself) stated that I needed to sell some stuff, hence the fact that I thought his wife made him do it for any other reason...

My sincere apologies to you ST, best of luck in these rougher times. I hope you can forgive my unsensitive comment brother.
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

Surgeon said:
Really? I honestly didn't know that... that's a completely different story... I'd just like to say that, in such a case, I'd have (myself) stated that I needed to sell some stuff, hence the fact that I thought his wife made him do it for any other reason...

My sincere apologies to you ST, best of luck in these rougher times. I hope you can forgive my unsensitive comment brother.
Click to expand...

Hey, it's all good man. No harm, no foul.
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

Myself, I wouldn't do it. What's to be gained? Are you doing this for research?

You're not going to turn your S6 into a pre-war Martin D-28 by sanding off the finish.

If you don't like the guitar, sell it to some kid that will think it's the most beautiful guitar in the world; and then go buy what you want.

I don't believe there was a huge difference in tone when Lennon stripped his Casino; and I think he even admitted as much.

I loved John Lennon, but during that period he was dropping so much acid and smoking so much weed--it makes me wonder if he could hear the difference.

And if he could have heard the the difference between finish versus no-finish....

...then how do you explain the fact that he let Yoko sing?

Bill
 
Re: thinking of going John Lennon

Well, it's mix of both research and appearance. I've never been a fan of gloss tops, I don't know why, I just haven't. Add that with me never being able to leave well enough alone and how having the "I wonder" run through me as to what it sounds like with a bare top.

The guitar ain't going nowhere.
 
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