Suggestions on stripping paint (off a guitar)?

[yellowperil]

I'm thinking I need to take this to a pro, but the DIY demon inside of me is bugging me to take a shot. I have a solid-body electric guitar (Telecaster) with black paint. I want to take it off and refinish it to a natural finish. I've heard 3 alternatives: using a heat gun, solvents, or an electric sander. I think the current finish is polyurethane and the wood is agathis. Is this a realistic shot on my own, or no? Also is there another service besides guitar techs who might do this? The ones around here are pricey and frankly do crap guitar work. Thx

Before pic

After pic (still to come)

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

Don't do it. Buy a Squier Affinity & butcher that if you want.

If you absolutely HAVE to destroy it, strip the finish with Tal-Strip paint remover. The prep work you spend now will determine what the finish will look like later.

 

[yellowperil]

Actually this is a Squier as well. Here's a pic of it:

smtele.jpg

I already changed the knobs to dome knobs, and I'm trying to get a red tortoise shell pickguard cut for it. Stripping the finish is step 3

 

[MaxDepth]

yikes! Heat gun! Uhm, that's a big hell no! The wood is esentially your middle sound medium. Heat will warp the wood, take my word for it. Jellied removal agents might work, but will raise the grain too. If it is agathis, then it is of the evergreen family. Some chemicals may be too harsh for it. Sanding might be the only option, but hand sanders may make the surface uneven.

This is an intersting question. Hmm, I need to consult my friends who are in bands too see first hand this type of guitar.

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

Don't strip it!!

You are crazy if you do. If I were you, I'd change out the bridge pickup to a Duncan JB-4 and the neck pickup to a hotrails or a Dimarzio Super Distortion. Then learn how to play.

Those pickups are garbage. JB-4's will change the whole sound and style of that guitar. My current jamming guitar is a squier with the bridge pickup routed out for a humbucker, and a JB-4 in it, plus numerous other changes like the bridge. It is an exact replica of Cobain's "Vandalism" strat, minus the bumper sticker.


Looksa likea thisa

It's hobbies are banging into walls and smashing cantaloupes.

 

[AlienCraft]

Stewart MacDonald Unfinished Tele Bodies
I suggest www.stew-mac.com

 

[yellowperil]

Well, call me crazy, but I started today. I got some Formby's Paint & Poly(urethane) Remover Kit from Lowe's today after class. I followed the directions, applied the paste, and waited for 20 minutes. At first it did nothing. It was some thick-ass poly, like a plastic sleeve. I was feeling pretty dejected (I spent ~$45 on supplies and scratched up my guitar) and was ready to put it away, when I spotted the bottom corner showing through. I spent a couple hours sanding it with some 60-grit and have most of the front sanded off :beer: At this rate I should have the sanding done by the end of next week, and add the dye (probably butterscotch blonde) and nitrocellulose lacquer the following week. I'll post a pic when I'm done.

 

[thomsbrain]

i'd just sand it off. but i'll warn you, they don't use nice wood on those guitars, so don't expect it to look all pretty. it will probably be kinda blotchy and stuff.