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Bassman Sam
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Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm trying to find the best way to remove white paint from my gold anodized PG. I bought my P-bass thinking it was in original condition 15 years ago but now know, thanks to Basschat, that it has been strip and varnished. The PG has at some point been painted white and is now chipped so I thought I would remove the paint but don't know what to use so that I don't bugger the original finish.

Any suggestions welcome.

Edited by Bassman Sam
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[quote name='Bassman Sam' post='1204353' date='Apr 19 2011, 02:39 AM']Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm trying to find the best way to remove white paint from my gold anodized PG. I bought my P-bass thinking it was in original condition 15 years ago but now know, thanks to Basschat, that it has been strip and varnished. The PG has at some point been painted white and is now chipped so I thought I would remove the paint but don't know what to use so that I don't bugger the original finish.

Any suggestions welcome.[/quote]
Assuming it's aluminium, stay away from anything abrasive & also anything that contains Sodium Hydroxide (e.g. Oven Cleaner, Caustic Soda etc.). Abrasives will damage the micro-thin anodised layer, and caustics will attack the aluminium.

So... What's left? Chemicals!

Either good old-fashioned paint stripper (e.g. Nitromors), or some nasty solvent like Acetone (Cellulose thinner), MEK, or Xylene. Of the solvents, Xylene is probably the easiest to get as it's freely sold as Hammerite Thinners. You might get lucky with Acetone from a car spares shop.

Personally I'd try the Nitromors first. Plenty of newspaper & an old brush, then lard it on. Leave it for half an hour or so then apply some more. With any luck the paint will start shifting & you can then just rinse off the yuk with the old paintbrush and plenty of washing up liquid.

If you opt for the solvent approach, the trickiest bit will be finding something that'll allow you to fully immerse the pickguard - have a look in Poundland or similar for a roasting tray perhaps. You could try repeatedly swabbing it with cotton wool soaked in solvent, but a full soak will be less work - with any luck the paint will almost completely dissolve & then you can clean it up with a coarse cloth (like an old flannel) & plenty of washing up liquid.

You may also find that there's a slight haze left on the surface. Other than repeating the process with fresh gunk there's not much can be done; the anodising process can be slightly porous & paint that's got in there can be a bugger to get shot of.

If you do need to use a scraper, make sure it's plastic & go [i]very[/i] gently. There's a good chance that the solvents will make a mess of it though & it'll only be fit for the bin afterwards. Patience is a virtue with this kind of thing, it may take several applications.

Oh, wear gloves & open a window.

Edited by Bloodaxe
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[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1204359' date='Apr 19 2011, 04:50 AM']Assuming it's aluminium, stay away from anything abrasive & also anything that contains Sodium Hydroxide (e.g. Oven Cleaner, Caustic Soda etc.). Abrasives will damage the micro-thin anodised layer, and caustics will attack the aluminium.

So... What's left? Chemicals!

Either good old-fashioned paint stripper (e.g. Nitromors), or some nasty solvent like Acetone (Cellulose thinner), MEK, or Xylene. Of the solvents, Xylene is probably the easiest to get as it's freely sold as Hammerite Thinners. You might get lucky with Acetone from a car spares shop.

Personally I'd try the Nitromors first. Plenty of newspaper & an old brush, then lard it on. Leave it for half an hour or so then apply some more. With any luck the paint will start shifting & you can then just rinse off the yuk with the old paintbrush and plenty of washing up liquid.

If you opt for the solvent approach, the trickiest bit will be finding something that'll allow you to fully immerse the pickguard - have a look in Poundland or similar for a roasting tray perhaps. You could try repeatedly swabbing it with cotton wool soaked in solvent, but a full soak will be less work - with any luck the paint will almost completely dissolve & then you can clean it up with a coarse cloth (like an old flannel) & plenty of washing up liquid.

You may also find that there's a slight haze left on the surface. Other than repeating the process with fresh gunk there's not much can be done; the anodising process can be slightly porous & paint that's got in there can be a bugger to get shot of.

If you do need to use a scraper, make sure it's plastic & go [i]very[/i] gently. There's a good chance that the solvents will make a mess of it though & it'll only be fit for the bin afterwards. Patience is a virtue with this kind of thing, it may take several applications.

Oh, wear gloves & open a window.[/quote]

Thanks, Bloodaxe, for this advise. i will give the Nitromors a go. Cheers

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[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1204359' date='Apr 19 2011, 04:50 AM']Either good old-fashioned paint stripper (e.g. Nitromors), or some nasty solvent like Acetone (Cellulose thinner), MEK, or Xylene. Of the solvents, Xylene is probably the easiest to get as it's freely sold as Hammerite Thinners. You might get lucky with Acetone from a car spares shop.[/quote]
MEK was a widely used solvent in the print industry. It was found to be dangerous to as little as one part in a miliion in air, if inhaled it attacks soft tissure; lungs, kidney, liver. It's not so much banned outright but avoided like the plague now.

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[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1211195' date='Apr 25 2011, 08:37 PM']Glad it worked out - what did you use in the end?

All it need now is a Candy Apple Red paint job :)

P.[/quote]

I used the Nitromor, only took 30mins, quick wash and back on the bass. Ace stuff and thanks for the tip.

As for the refin, the jury's still out on what to do. A set up is next and some advise from the Tech if to would be worth it.

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