Bass body stripping question...

[LukeFRC]

Quick question - I have a body I started stripping - the finish is very very thick and very very hard.
I tried chemicals on a previous body years back and know stripper does or doesn't work depending on the type of poly finish used.
Mine smells of pear drops when sanded - any suggestions of what will get it off - hand sanding will take about a month I think!

[MarkG3]

I've used a heat gun before although had better results with sanding by hand.

Heat guns are really cheap and you can get them from most DIY shops like homebase, wickes etc I got mine from screw fix for about £10 I think

[Stacker]

I've done it once with nitro-mors then cleaned the body with white spirit and removed the rest by hand-sanding after drying. I'd be very wary of using a heat gun in case you cause burn-through into the wood.

[MarkG3]

I agree, I was more comfortable sanding it down, took longer but looked better

[ezbass]

I got as much as I could off my Ibby with Nitromors, but the real grunt work was done with a palm sander.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1350205240' post='1835654']
I started stripping
[/quote]


[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1350205240' post='1835654']
very very thick and very very hard.
[/quote]


[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1350205240' post='1835654']
Mine smells of pear drops
[/quote]


haha, everything is funny when taken out of context

[DarkHeart]

im going to do the same with a Squire precision to match (hopefully) my jazz when its finished so im following this thread

[lettsguitars]

Pear drops=nitrocellulose. You can get cellulose thinners from halfords. You just wash it off. Nitromors should work too. A cabinet scraper and washing with thinners would be my way.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1350239054' post='1836208']
Pear drops=nitrocellulose. You can get cellulose thinners from halfords. You just wash it off. Nitromors should work too. A cabinet scraper and washing with thinners would be my way.
[/quote] that's what I thought! I thought that the whole thing wasn't really behaving like it should- the pear drop smell, and the way it was coming off.... seems to be fairly thick nitro though, you sand it and you can see the layers and pale bands seperating them.... and and ..... who on earth makes nitro covered bodies these days? This is supposed to be a cheap body??

Edited October 14, 2012 by LukeFRC

[yepmop]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1350224710' post='1835948']
I got as much as I could off my Ibby with Nitromors, but the real grunt work was done with a palm sander.
[/quote]
+ 1 worked for me.

[rushbo]

I'm in the middle of a refin job and I've had a nightmare stripping back a Squier Precision Special. Firstly, I heat gunned - the paintwork came off, but I was left with a thick, orangey-yellow plastic coating. I tried sanding, nitromors, more heat, crying and swearing but this stuff would not shift. In the end, I got it as flat as I could and sprayed primer over it. So far so good....

[DarkHeart]

sh*t do i wait?

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1350251405' post='1836496']
sh*t do i wait?
[/quote] dunno... my body is a bit odd... it's reportedly a 1994 japanese squier - but the body cut on the lower bout is a bit off what you would expect (but i've seen that on others too) the rear pickup is possibly a bit far back for 60's spacing and forward for 70's and now Jon Letts tells me it may be nitro finish.... Which would be odd.
So it's an oddity.

[KiOgon]

From the pofessionals: [url="http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/ts0151_polystripping.hzml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0151"]http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/ts0151_polystripping.hzml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0151[/url]

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1350252160' post='1836517']
From the pofessionals: [url="http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/ts0151_polystripping.hzml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0151"]http://www.stewmac.c...campaign=ts0151[/url]
[/quote]

that's really useful.
but.... does poly ever smell of peardrops?

[LukeFRC]

£5 spent on paint stripper..... and all to find out that yes it is the uber hard acrylic.

honestly sandpaper doesn't do much to this... the wee drill bit plug in spiny things are a bit better- but it's still going to take weeks to get all this finish off... any tips? uber course grain sand paper? or even a rasp?

[xgsjx]

I stripped my ibby with a kitchen blowtorch & a paint scraper.
Heat the paint until it slightly blisters & then scrape it off gently with the paint scraper (be careful not to overdo it or you might burn the wood). Under the paint, I had a layer of shellac. You can either continue with the heat or take a sander to it.
Any scorch marks can then be sanded out fairly easily.

Have a look here.

[media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/xgsjx/sets/72157626549753939/[/media]

I've got a thread on here somewhere too that might help.

Edit:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/134250-changing-the-look-of-my-bass/page__p__1217852__hl__stripping%20ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry1217852"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/134250-changing-the-look-of-my-bass/page__p__1217852__hl__stripping%20ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry1217852[/url]

Might help a little.

Edited October 23, 2012 by xgsjx

[Looper]

Never known anything that could withstand cellulose thinners. I've not used it on guitars but was using it in a specialist spray shop. Eats the paint off the guns, melts rubber and plastic, destroys your skin after its eaten your gloves. Could be worth a go, but be careful!
You can also get sanding discs for small angle grinders, would shift the paint but it would be very easy to sand chunks out of the body.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1350980150' post='1845691'] I stripped my ibby with a kitchen blowtorch & a paint scraper. Heat the paint until it slightly blisters & then scrape it off gently with the paint scraper (be careful not to overdo it or you might burn the wood). Under the paint, I had a layer of shellac. You can either continue with the heat or take a sander to it. Any scorch marks can then be sanded out fairly easily. Have a look here. [media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/xgsjx/sets/72157626549753939/[/media] I've got a thread on here somewhere too that might help. Edit: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/134250-changing-the-look-of-my-bass/page__p__1217852__hl__stripping%20ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry1217852"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/134250-changing-the-look-of-my-bass/page__p__1217852__hl__stripping%20ibanez__fromsearch__1#entry1217852[/url] Might help a little. [/quote]


that is really cool and helpful!
So I don't have a kitchen blow torch but I do have a gas hob..... you can see where this is going?!
So hold it over the hob, just to soften it and then chip it off.... and a funny thing happened- it seemed to lift the top layer of wood off... but... it seems a almost plasticised very thin wood layer with a smooth finish has been glued to to the top of the (basswood?) body. the whole thing just chips off with the paint ontop - it's very odd. Underneath seems to be some kind of lower quality wood. very light colour.
Not sure of grain as yet, and it seems harder than I would expect basswood to be. Also a lot of the weight seems to have been in the surface layer as the thing is getting a lot lighter

[xgsjx]

It sounds like it had a laminate top. Was the bass refinished by a 3rd party?
You could maybe glue another laminate top of some nice wood to it.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1350988258' post='1845826']
It sounds like it had a laminate top. Was the bass refinished by a 3rd party?
You could maybe glue another laminate top of some nice wood to it.
[/quote] nope. I would put any kind of money on it coming out of the factory like this- I've heard of similar things with early 90's japanese squiers too. It's going to be a solid colour so really doesn't matter too much!

[xgsjx]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1350988456' post='1845829']
nope. I would put any kind of money on it coming out of the factory like this- I've heard of similar things with early 90's japanese squiers too. It's going to be a solid colour so really doesn't matter too much!
[/quote]

They maybe made them so that they could either laquer the natural or paint it.
Looks like you've now got a slightly thinner, slightly lighter bass.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1350988978' post='1845841']
They maybe made them so that they could either laquer the natural or paint it.
Looks like you've now got a slightly thinner, slightly lighter bass.
[/quote]
yep. The good news is that I was going to reshape it so the contours copied my JV anyway.
Well the paint/plastic layer stuff peeled off the front and back no problem with a bit of heat.... on the sides and tummy cutaway it is a different question- I just had to chisel the damn stuff off! it's so hard so the wood's going to take a fair bit of sanding.... but I'm fine with that- I don't mind taking ages sanding wood- sanding ultra hard plastic i'm less happy about!

[xgsjx]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1351096737' post='1847326']
yep. The good news is that I was going to reshape it so the contours copied my JV anyway.
Well the paint/plastic layer stuff peeled off the front and back no problem with a bit of heat.... on the sides and tummy cutaway it is a different question- I just had to chisel the damn stuff off! it's so hard so the wood's going to take a fair bit of sanding.... but I'm fine with that- I don't mind taking ages sanding wood- sanding ultra hard plastic i'm less happy about!
[/quote]

Get a small lekky sander (or a dremmil) & that shouldn't take too long.

[Dave Vader]

Red Nitromors eats poly, it's great. Sorry if this is a bit late....