Stripping a Stratocaster

[moobox]

And so people, I come to you in all humility because what I have to ask has nothing to do with Warmoth. Not yet at least but it may well have in due course. And I'll explain.

I have a MIM Fender Stratocaster. An awful color purple and I decided that it should be Fiesta Red. So I whipped off the neck and other bits and looked at it. And someone said I should take a scraper to it. So I did and very shortly after starting to scrape I realized that I was going to be scraping for some while. So, I looked at it some more. And then I decided to take a heatgun to it.

Now, that has been working so far. Well, working to a point I'd say. In one or two little spots I have got through to wood and what I see doesnt look so great.  But anyway, it seems like the last coat (of which there are very many) is like a pink plasticky stuff which doesnt react as well to the heatgun as the other coats.

Are there any recommendation or suggestions on how I should proceed? Should I persevere with the heat? You will note that there has been a slight scorching in the spot that I've broken through. I'm not too worried about that because of the opaque finish I am planning on.

Cheers - Ed

 

[anorakDan]

Seek the advice of a professional. Years ago, I took my strat body to a professional refinisher who stripped off the vintage white solid finish. He told me it was quite a job to remove the stock finish.

You can try whatever products are available at your local hardware store, but follow the directions! Most people mess up a strip job thinking the product works like paint. It does not. You have to brush it on and do not backbrush at all. Meaning, flow the product on with your brush and leave it alone. Don't brush over a stripper. This destroys the stripping action. Just lay it on and let it sit. The finish will blister, and that can be removed with a scraper.

Good luck and always start on a less than visible part of the body before you do the front. In case it doesn't work very well, at least it's not on the most visible part of the guitar.

 

[Cagey]

Sometimes it helps to break up the surface with some coarse sandpaper as well. Helps the stripper get into the finish and do its thing. A stripper based on methylene chloride is best for poly finishes, but it's nasty stuff. Don't get it on you or anything you care about.

 

[JCizzle]

I'd start by browsing the showcase for a strat body in Fiesta Red.  :toothy12:

 

[Cagey]

I'd start by browsing the showcase for a strat body in Fiesta Red.  :toothy12:

Hehe! That'd be me. Stripping is no fun at all, then you gotta clean up a bad mess, sand, more mess, finish, sand, finish, etc. on and on. Warmoth will do all that for $225, tops. It's a bargain, especially considering the quality.

 

[stubhead]

Or put it back together as-is and learn to play punk rock. Or un-learn? De-learn to play punk....(?)

Hmmm - whiff enough of that stripper, it'll probably take care of itself.

 

[Rickgrxbass]

I remember Erik Coleman tried a heat gun on a StewMac "Trade Secrets" newsletter, and he didn't like it. I'd give a +1 to the Methylene Chloride, the "eco" or "non-poisonous" stuff won't touch that poly.

 

[JimBeed]

Didn't know fender had any standard purple colours, But i would've said just go warmoth save the hassle, but the others know what they are talking about for stripping paint more than me,

 

[MSP]

Next time, just give it a bit of a sand and spray over the top.  For a stock poly-finish body it's not worth stripping it back.

 

[59tele]

fender uses some heavy duty primer under the paint..  :redflag:

 

[Eric Banjitar]

I didnt know you could buy strippers for home use! They come in a can? I agree that  they are usually quite strong smelling, but I dont find it too bad. Use strippers in well-ventilated and dark areas. I could go on.....

 

[swarfrat]

Sandpaper always works. Chemicals are just a shortcut. I could see if for ornate trim work, but stratocasters are eminently sandable by design.

 

[JCizzle]

I didnt know you could buy strippers for home use! They come in a can? I agree that  they are usually quite strong smelling, but I dont find it too bad. Use strippers in well-ventilated and dark areas. I could go on.....

I smell what you're cookin'...

 

[Cagey]

Sandpaper always works. Chemicals are just a shortcut. I could see if for ornate trim work, but stratocasters are eminently sandable by design.

That's generally true, but with poly finishes being as tough as they are you have to use a fairly aggressive paper and you're liable to sand through the finish at one point and not another. When that happens, the wood (being relatively soft) is no match for the sandpaper and starts changing shape as you grind off the rest of the finish. You'll end up with with your body's topography altered. It may not be obvious at first, but when you refinish it you'll end up with all kinds of wavy spots that don't look good.

That's one of the problems with using polyurethane for a finish. It's very difficult to mess with/repair once it's on there.

 

[Updown]

fender uses some heavy duty primer under the paint..  :redflag:

Well then ..... it's probably best to tie it to your car, and drive up & down the Freeway / Highway / Motorway  :icon_jokercolor:

Should give it that real 'Road Worn' look    :laughing7:

 

[tfarny]

I can think of better ways to spend a spring weekend....I wouldn't take this on unless you enjoy the process itself. If you just want a red guitar, browse ebay till you find a red MIM body, they go for about $100 all day long, or if you want something nice and new, yeah, Warmoth does fiesta red. Then sell your "relic" body to a rich suburban teenage punk.

 

[Tonar8352]

The last poly guitar I stripped I used several chemical strippers up to and including dipping it in a strip tank and leaving it over night, and none of it worked.  The final method of removal on that guitar was literally with a belt sander. That was in 1998 and I have not stripped one since.

So my recommendation at this point is get out the heavy-duty sander and 180-grit paper and it will be ready to refinish in short order.

 

[moobox]

Thanks everybody. So I'm thinking I'll be getting a stripper. One of the methylene chloride ones. And I'll slap it on a small spot about 3X3 and leave it and see what that does. See I want to paint this guitar. Part of a learning process. It's not valuable to me so that is why I want to use it for this. Does the chemical not do any damage to the wood? If and when the paint and primer and all the stuff is off, then surely the stripper residue may have a bad effect on the paint that I put on, no?

Anyway, if the stripper dont work it's back to the heat gun.

 

[Tonar8352]

I always give any piece of wood that has been stripped w good wipe down with Acetone to remove any residue.  Good luck with chemicals on that stuff, I think you will be wasting your money, but if you find one that works let us know.  If it works it most likely will only strip one layer at a time.  Do not wash the wood of with water as the label may recommend.  I stripped a vintage Mosrite one time and when I washed it off with water per the cans instruction it caused the wood to swell and loosened a glue seam.  I never made that mistake again!

 

[stubhead]

But at the same time, I don't think you want to hit anything like stripper residue with a full-on heat gun. I'm not sure if the inhaling of the fumes, or the explosion, will cause more damage. Houses you can always re-build, lungs are forever....

Can't you just drag it around behind your truck for a week and sell it to a "relic'd" dude? :dontknow: