Removing a Warmoth factory finish

[croquet hoop]

At first I thought it would be a waste of time and money, but when I saw the price... I'd read this, and Tonar's report on stripping a Warmoth finish. There might be other useful threads, but I think you'll find what you need there.

 

[line6man]

This is the body in question.  Even if the wood underneath the black is only "average" by Warmoth standards, I'd like to have it visible.

That body is a return, so Warmoth isn't messing with us intentionally, but who would order a Black Korina over Walnut body, and have it painted gloss black!? That would be like paying for exquisite hardwood flooring, and then covering it up with shag carpet. :dontknow:

If this was a custom order when it was built, Warmoth may have selected their ugliest cuts of wood, since they knew it would be covered. Be aware of that, if you want to strip the paint.

 

[swarfrat]

Warmoth may have selected their ugliest cuts of wood, since they knew it would be covered. Be aware of that, if you want to strip the paint.

I still think the grain figuring is breath-taking except for the fact that it manages to spell out 'USACG Forever!' if you stare at it long enough.

 

[MortenB]

I'm the one who will (soon) know if the figuring spells USACG forever, I bought this body, at this price it was too good to pass  :glasses10:

I was also looking at this body for some time, wondering why someone would opt for gloss black over walnut and black korina..!? I talked to Warmoth about the history of this body... They don't track histories on their products, but Ronnie thought the most likely was, that someone bought the body from the showcases and then opted to have it gloss black. This will indicate beautiful wood under the gloss black.

So now it's in Denmark, Europe and I have to decide if I will keep it black or strip the finish and re-finish it with oil. Until I saw the AMAZING quality of the gloss black I was 99% sure that I would strip it. But the black is really amazing, never seen such a perfect mirror black gloss finish... But I'm still quite sure I will strip it because it has a cool feature that I really like; there is a hairline black between the walnut and the Black Korina. See the pics where I have put a bit of water on inside the routing for the 2TEK bridge to make the wood pop.

 

[Updown]

Hope ya leaving the 2TEK naked.  Just looks better  :icon_thumright:
Like so .... http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20346.0

Did you do the 2TEK route ? ... or Warmoth ?

 

[MortenB]

Yes, the 2TEK will be naked  :glasses10:

Warmoth did the routing, I bought it as you see it here...

 

[Cagey]

So now it's in Denmark, Europe and I have to decide if I will keep it black or strip the finish and re-finish it with oil. Until I saw the AMAZING quality of the gloss black I was 99% sure that I would strip it. But the black is really amazing, never seen such a perfect mirror black gloss finish... But I'm still quite sure I will strip it because it has a cool feature that I really like; there is a hairline black between the walnut and the Black Korina. See the pics where I have put a bit of water on inside the routing for the 2TEK bridge to make the wood pop.

I'd be quite apprehensive about removing a finish that was applied over something you'd normally want to expose, especially coming from the manufacturer. If it came from an individual that way, you could chalk it up to poor choices. But, why go to all the trouble to accent the dividing line and use semi-exotic woods, then cover them up with an opaque finish? Only reason I can think of is the naked body was somehow less than perfect. Kinda like a beautiful woman who's had open heart surgery, an appendectomy, and a C-Section. Have to wear a one-piece bathing suit, no matter how hot she looked shape-wise. Still looks fantastic, just needs to be properly presented. That is, covered up a bit to hide the cosmetic flaws.

I know how good Warmoth's finishes are - hate to see one wasted on a sketchy bet.

 

[MortenB]

Well, your bet is as good as mine about what's under the black paint... But since this one (most likely) started life as a showcase item the chances are good, that it looks nice under the black, I have never seen Warmoth do showcase items that are less than perfect. The black paint was added on request from a customer, who then did not want it anyway and returned the body. But time will tell if it's the right choice or not to strip the paint. It was very cheap so not much of a risk.

 

[AutoBat]

Kinda like a beautiful woman who's had open heart surgery, an appendectomy, and a C-Section. Have to wear a one-piece bathing suit, no matter how hot she looked shape-wise. Still looks fantastic, just needs to be properly presented. That is, covered up a bit to hide the cosmetic flaws.

What? If you've got 'em, show 'em off. I've got my share of surgery scars. Decent conversation starter at times.

 

[Cagey]

I've got a decent collection of them, too. But, most people don't want to see them. Although, you're right, if they do it's a conversation starter. Not too many folks have had occasion to let somebody cut them open on purpose and play around inside  :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

Well, your bet is as good as mine about what's under the black paint... But since this one (most likely) started life as a showcase item the chances are good, that it looks nice under the black, I have never seen Warmoth do showcase items that are less than perfect. The black paint was added on request from a customer, who then did not want it anyway and returned the body. But time will tell if it's the right choice or not to strip the paint. It was very cheap so not much of a risk.

I don't know... sounds like a pretty complicated bet. Have you heard of Occam's Razor? Essentially, it's a truism that says "the simplest explanation is most often correct".

In any event, what would be wrong with having such a high-quality black finish on your fiddle? It'll be gorgeous. Save the fancy figured body dream for the next build. You know there'll be one...

 

[MortenB]

Thanks for the advise man .... I'm beyond the point of no return though... And so far it looks like a nice walnut body, black korina top and a thin black stripe... Quite nice    I will do the back tomorrow...

 

[Cagey]

Pretty ballsy move, but it looks to me like you were right - there's some gorgeous wood under that finish! Congrats! That's going to work out just fine.

 

[Pelagaard]

Dammit, I knew I should've taken a chance on that body.  Stupid bills eating up all my money...

 

[MortenB]

Thanks Cagey, and @Pelagaard: I'm sorry for buying it, but it was sitting there on the showcases for more than a month, so we all had the chance... Seems like a really good deal for $199 and I really don't understand why someone wanted it painted black. Maybe I will know the reason when I get the paint of the back 

 

[Cagey]

Chance favors the prepared  :icon_biggrin:

 

[DavyDave53]

Well Morten, you tempted the 'guitar gods' and they smiled down on you.

Good going on a great looking body!

 

[MortenB]

Well Morten, you tempted the 'guitar gods' and they smiled down on you.

Good going on a great looking body!

Seems like they keep smiling..! The back is perfect also, nice looking piece of walnut  :icon_biggrin:  I'm only half way though, there is a ton of clear coat on this one (again indicating that it started life as finished showcase item that was painted later for some reason).

From the local shop I could only get a relatively mild water based paint remover, so this is a bit more work. I will give it another go with the paint remover to get rid of the clear coat.

 

[Cagey]

Wow. Back and front both are quite fine. It seems you got the deal of the century on that one. Good for you! I'm glad that worked out.

Reminds me of a '61 Gibson Melody Maker I bought about 100 years ago when I was just a puppy. Had a fire engine red finish that was all spiderwebbed to hell. Couldn't stand it, so I stripped it to prep for a refinish. Absolutely gorgeous piece of Mahogany underneath, which is sorta unusual for Gibson. Usually, their finished bodies look like they've been cut from recovered gym floors if you see them naked.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

Wow. Back and front both are quite fine. It seems you got the deal of the century on that one. Good for you! I'm glad that worked out.

Reminds me of a '61 Gibson Melody Maker I bought about 100 years ago when I was just a puppy. Had a fire engine red finish that was all spiderwebbed to hell. Couldn't stand it, so I stripped it to prep for a refinish. Absolutely gorgeous piece of Mahogany underneath, which is sorta unusual for Gibson. Usually, their finished bodies look like they've been cut from recovered gym floors if you see them naked.

I agree on both counts here, great looking grain on that.

Same thing happened to my and my LPJ, the black nitro was beat to hell, and found a nice piece of wood underneath.
never know whats under there till ya look.