Finish and tone?

[Steve_Karl]

My oldest Warmoth Strat. 1983 I think ... (body only ... See Foot Note **** ) has the most annoying finish on it that I've ever felt.
It gets sticky easily and the only think that keeps it moderately under control is Johnson and Johnsons "Clean and Shine" which was originally recommended by the guy who finished it.
I love the way it sounds, ( I can feel the body vibrate and love that ) and am a bit worried about stripping it down and refinishing it because it might sound different.
You wouldn't mess with an old violins finish for the same reason?
Or am I delusional?

Anyway ... the finish that is on here noticeably thick. There's a place on the butt where the rubber of a guitar stand ate through it down to bare wood and it's obviously thick.

So ... talk to me if you will?
Thanks.

--------------------------------------

Foot Note ****
I stripped the maple neck down to bare wood with a 50/50 mix of Windex and water ( which was finished with the same stuff as the body )
a few years back and refinished it with Behlens Master -Gel and it's been very nice ever since.
But ... ( and it might only be my imagination ) I think I noticed a slight loss of resonance after I re assembled it.

Stripping the body won't be as easy because it's much thicker and there seems to be a layer of dye or something in there.
If I rub it with a damp white rag before the J+J fix it needs every few months, the rag gets yellow/brown color on it.

 

[Cagey]

Finish makes a difference on instruments that rely heavily on the resonance of very thin woods like acoustic guitars, violins, cellos, etc. On an electric? Fuhgeddaboudit. It's urban legend and ignorance.

I don't know what kind of finish you could clean off with diluted Windex other than sweat, snot, fingernail scrapings and hooker dust. Maybe if it was oiled with Valvoline 10W-30?

In any event, go ahead and strip it. You'll be glad you did. You've suffered too much already. Might want to wear a respirator so you don't contract creeping crud and end up in the hospital <grin>

Lacquer is relatively easy to apply with good results in garage/barn/basement situations. Takes some serious prep, time and follow-up work to make it look its best, but it's cheap and easy from a tools and materials point of view. Polyurethane is a much faster and more robust finish that returns excellent results, but for reasons I won't bore you with it takes some serious dedication to make a go of it. Usually, only professional shops that do it all day every day will do it all. The difference in sound/tone between the two is non-existent on an electric guitar. On an acoustic, lacquer is better because you can just barely kiss it with the stuff, rub its tummy, and you're good to go. Wood barely knows the stuff is there.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I don't know what kind of finish you could clean off with diluted Windex other than sweat, snot, fingernail scrapings and hooker dust. Maybe if it was oiled with Valvoline 10W-30?

Yea. I wish I knew what it was also. Then maybe I could save it and treat it in a way that it behaves.

I'd be willing to send a scraping by snail mail to anyone that thinks they can diagnose it's origins.

 

[Cagey]

My understanding is that there is no chin beneath Tonar's beard; it's an input port to a mass spectrometer...

Mmm-hmm. Just as I suspected: hooker dust!​

 

[Steve_Karl]

ROFL !
You're probably right.

If I get the urge to scrape I'll PM him.