How would I remove a Pure Tung Oil finish?

[Soloshchenko]

Hi guys, some time ago I finished a Warmoth Thinline Tele in Pure Tung Oil. I absolutely love the look and feel of the guitar but some years later I'm really thinking about going back, removing the Pure Tung Oil and refinishing the guitar in a nitro burst.

My initial idea was just to sand the body back to wood using light sandpaper, refill the wood and then sanding sealer before starting nitro work. Any better ideas on removing the PTO?

Cheers.

 

[stratamania]

After sanding you could use acetone possibly to try to get some more out of the pores and then raise the grain and sand again.

Be careful if you have binding or plastic nearby as acetone will damage or dissolve it.

 

[Cagey]

The various "oil" finishes usually succumb to fairly common solvents. Turpentine or Naphtha will work equally well. You may not get it all out of the grain, though, so you may want to put a coat of shellac on before starting with any more filling, after which you can start with the wash coats and/or sanding sealer. That will all form a barrier that will let the nitro live happily ever after.

Don't worry about raising grain - that's a water thing. Solvents boil off too fast for that to happen. Besides, you're going to want to go through several sanding steps before you start with finishing coats anyway.

 

[Soloshchenko]

The various "oil" finishes usually succumb to fairly common solvents. Turpentine or Naphtha will work equally well. You may not get it all out of the grain, though, so you may want to put a coat of shellac on before starting with any more filling, after which you can start with the wash coats and/or sanding sealer. That will all form a barrier that will let the nitro live happily ever after.

Don't worry about raising grain - that's a water thing. Solvents boil off too fast for that to happen. Besides, you're going to want to go through several sanding steps before you start with finishing coats anyway.

So could I use this as the 'shellac' phase?
http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/shellac-sanding-sealer

So, this could work:
1) turps and scrape/light sand
2)shellac sanding sealer on and sand
3)grain fill and sand
4)shellac sanding sealer and sand down really fine (2200 grit)
5) nitro time

I'm in the UK and shellac over here seems to be used as a sanding sealer, not sure if we mean the same thing by 'shellac'.

Thank you for both responses so far!

 

[Cagey]

That'll all work, but don't sand it so fine. 2200 grit will leave a surface so smooth nothing will stick to it - nothing to bite into. Take it to 320, at most. And yes, shellac makes a good sanding sealer, but at the price you might want to just use it as a barrier coat, then use a nitro sealer for build coats before you start into color and/or clear coats. Shellac is expensive (relatively speaking), and will produce an increasingly amber cast as you add layers.

 

[Soloshchenko]

That'll all work, but don't sand it so fine. 2200 grit will leave a surface so smooth nothing will stick to it - nothing to bite into. Take it to 320, at most. And yes, shellac makes a good sanding sealer, but at the price you might want to just use it as a barrier coat, then use a nitro sealer for build coats before you start into color and/or clear coats. Shellac is expensive (relatively speaking), and will produce an increasingly amber cast as you add layers.

Great, that's for your help!

 

[stratamania]

I am in the UK and Shellac from a woodworking and finishing sense is essentially the same thing. Not to be confused with some nail beauty product that seems to be marketed with the same name.

Some of it is marketed in the UK as a sealer, but there are different types of commercially available shellac products for this and polishing etc. You can also buy crystals and mix your own.

This company in the UK has about two pages of different shellac based products.

http://www.frenchpolishes.com/acatalog/Shellac_Polishes.html

 

[Soloshchenko]

I am in the UK and Shellac from a woodworking and finishing sense is essentially the same thing. Not to be confused with some nail beauty product that seems to be marketed with the same name.

Some of it is marketed in the UK as a sealer, but there are different types of commercially available shellac products for this and polishing etc. You can also buy crystals and mix your own.

This company in the UK has about two pages of different shellac based products.

http://www.frenchpolishes.com/acatalog/Shellac_Polishes.html

Great stuff, I'll order tomorrow.

 

[stratamania]

I am in the UK and Shellac from a woodworking and finishing sense is essentially the same thing. Not to be confused with some nail beauty product that seems to be marketed with the same name.

Some of it is marketed in the UK as a sealer, but there are different types of commercially available shellac products for this and polishing etc. You can also buy crystals and mix your own.

This company in the UK has about two pages of different shellac based products.

http://www.frenchpolishes.com/acatalog/Shellac_Polishes.html

Great stuff, I'll order tomorrow.

Ok, let us know how you get on...