Starting my first project

[Tralfaz]

I've always wanted an all natural Jazzmaster and was about to order everything from Warmoth,but then I came across this loaded body.I got it really cheap and I thought this would be a cheap way to test my skills before working on an exspensive body

The previous owner says it's a nitro finish.Is the best way to strip it with chem. stripper?I tried sanding a little spot but it didn't seem to work to well. It's an alder body.I want to be sure I get everything out of the wood,cause I'd like to finish it with an amber tint gloss lacquer.Should I try to remove the bridge mounts before I do anything? And is it possible to leave the sheilding in or should I just trash it?
I odered an all maple Warmoth neck and want to finish it in the same amber tint.Anybody ever use the Reranch amber tint spray finish?It looks easy enough to use.I'm lookin to get a finish similar to this.Although this is an ash body.I love that aged amber look

Any input would help ....

 

[RLW]

Depending on who made the body, you may be in for some unpleasant surprises once you strip the finish off. The wood will likely not be as attractive as the Lake Placid Blue that's already there. I know that's not what you want to hear, but...

 

[DangerousR6]

Hello Tralfaz and welcome to the caos...Looks like an interesting project you got on your hands. As far as stripping it goes, I'd say that the fastest way is going to be a spray on or brush on stripper. But I've never used any on wood, so you might want to check before using any to see if it's ok to use on wood. Other than that, a orbital sander would be the next best thing..And really I don't see any reason to remove the shielding, you should be able to strip the body without bothering it.... :dontknow:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Depending on who made the body, you may be in for some unpleasant surprises once you strip the finish off. The wood will likely not be as attractive as the Lake Placid Blue that's already there. I know that's not what you want to hear, but...

Ditto!

Solid finished bodies tend to have multi-pieces... Saw a picture of a Fender Strat USA made of 8 (eight) pieces of alder...
Imagine what you would get if it's a cheap asiatic guitar... But it's not "dead sure" saw a guy who found a nice looking wood from a korean guitar... it's up to lucky...
If you want it transparent, better buy a new body... just my opnion...

Somebody told here that a good way to take poly finish is using a heat gun... The pics he showed us looked as very easy to do! EDIT: Read again, it's nitro, so no idea...

Welcome to the forum  ccasion14:

 

[Tralfaz]

It is a Warmoth two piece body and I did see a pic of it before he finished it.The grain look pretty good.

 

[blue313]

Easy enough to find out what kind of finish it has.  If you have access to lacquer thinner you can hit it with a little to see if it'll reflow the lacquer, if it's a poly finish the thinner wont do anything.  Lacquer isn't bad too sand off......poly on the other hand sucks.