Removing Finish From Acoustic Guitar?

N

Nalencer

New member
I'm considering having the finish removed from my acoustic guitar. I have a few questions about it, though.

First, who would I get to do something like that? Could a regular guitar tech do it, or would I need a specialist? What do you think it'd run me?

Second, what sections would the finish be removed from? I suppose they'll do what I tell them, but what sections should be done? The front, of course. The back? What about the sides? I don't think the sides would be done, or should be. Then that would create a marked transition between the body and the neck, which would look terrible.

Third, what kind of thing would be put on instead? Obviously it can't be just straight wood. I suppose some kind of clear finish. I really don't know. If anyone can answer my questions, I'd be grateful.
 
Can I ask why you want to remove the finish? I wouldn't touch it unless you have a really good reason.

What guitar are we talking about here? If you do decide to go ahead how you approach it will depend on the finish on there already.
 
Nalencer said:
Need to? No. Want to, yes. It's a long story why.
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Just that you are unlkely to be able to remove and refinish it as well as it is already finished thats all. Do a search on these forums there are quite a few threads on finishing. My views on the subject are well known :) Yes you can do it but it isn't as easy as you might think. If you do want to have a go be prepared to have headaches along the way. With finishing preperation is the key and a methodical approach is essential and you can't rush it.

I don't know what the Epiphone EJ-160e is finished with, others might, but a lot of the new Epi's are polyester in which case you are gonna have to work to get the stuff off. It's a real bitch.

A little background on what you hope you hope to achieve would be helpful.
 
We really need to know why you want to strip it before we can advise. Basically, though, my advice will probably be; don't. You will make your guitar sound worse, it will be less stable, and it will not have the protection the finish provides. Honestly, finishes are not bad for the tone, and they are very important for the long term duribility of the guitar. Also, any value the guitar might have (though it will never be much), it will be LESS if you do anything to the finish.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Jimi Hendrix used to remove the finish on his guitars with lighter fluid...

If it's good enough for Jimi... :p
 
Armistice said:
Jimi Hendrix used to remove the finish on his guitars with lighter fluid...

If it's good enough for Jimi... :p
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Yeah, and look how long THOSE guitars lasted!!!!!



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
There is a good possibility you have a poly finish and most solvents and strippers wont work well on it. Industrial strippers which will are likely do damage any binding and loosen glue as well. This leaves sanding as the only practical option but this is tedious and time consuming. If you remove the finish (for whatever reason) you will need to replace it with another to protect the wood. At least put a sealer coat on it to preserve the wood. If you want it to look natural (unfinished) you can apply several coats of true oil then lightly buff it with .0000 steel wool. Unless the existing finish is really awfull I'd leave it as is, even an ugly finish is better than no finish at all.
 
I should have said 'replacing' rather than 'removing'. I just wanted to remove the colored finish and replace is with a clear finish so you could see the natural wooden color. I don't want to remove the finish entirely and just have straight wood. If you guys did understand what I meant and your responses stand, I'll just leave it alone.
 
Nalencer said:
I should have said 'replacing' rather than 'removing'. I just wanted to remove the colored finish and replace is with a clear finish so you could see the natural wooden color. I don't want to remove the finish entirely and just have straight wood. If you guys did understand what I meant and your responses stand, I'll just leave it alone.
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Well, I figured it was something like that, and my response still stands. To do a refinish so that it would look right is extremely expensive (in my shop, you would be looking at something considerably north of $1,000). It would, at the very least, be higher than the value of the guitar. You will be much better off leaving it alone. If you want a guitar with a natural finish, then I'd recommend trading your guitar for a different one.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
If it sounds all right why not just leave it alone? Ugly finishes seem to have an appeal to some people, I've seen some really ugly paint jobs and finishes which other people liked. Unless you are already pretty good at woodwork/finishing I don't recomend refinishing as a DIY project. As I said in a pervious reply, guitar finishes are very difficult to remove, especially without doing some damage to the binding. Binding materal is usualy plastic and dissolves easily when exposed to many solvents. Finish materals are often more resistant to solvents than the glue used to hold a guitar together, so use extreme caution with any strippers.

If you do remove the old finish, you have several options for the new finish. No matter what finish you use you will need to use a sealer first, several coats may be needed, lightly sanded between each. Remember, sealer serves the same purpose to a clear coat as primer does to paint. The sealer also has to be compatable (so the top coat will bond properly) with the finish materal. Nitrous-cellulose laquer is one of the easier finish materals to use but is a somewhat "soft" finish. Catalized laquer and conversion varnish are both much harder (more scratch resistant) but are harder to work with and quite toxic in spray form. Clear acrylic is probably the safest but tends to "crackle" over time if it is thick enough to really look good. Poly-resin is commonly used in the guitar factories because it can be applied in pretty heavy coats without running (and it is a very tough finish) but you will need a high volume/low pressure spraying set up to apply it properly. There is a lot more work involved in a refinish project than many people realize, maybe that's why it is so expensive. I hope some of this gives you a little insight into your options, if you are determined to proceed... good luck.
 
Well there's no way I would tryt o do something like that myself, and if Light is right on the price, forget it. The finish sin't that bad :cool:
 
Dani Pace said:
If it sounds all right why not just leave it alone? Ugly finishes seem to have an appeal to some people, I've seen some really ugly paint jobs and finishes which other people liked. Unless you are already pretty good at woodwork/finishing I don't recomend refinishing as a DIY project. As I said in a pervious reply, guitar finishes are very difficult to remove, especially without doing some damage to the binding. Binding materal is usualy plastic and dissolves easily when exposed to many solvents. Finish materals are often more resistant to solvents than the glue used to hold a guitar together, so use extreme caution with any strippers.

If you do remove the old finish, you have several options for the new finish. No matter what finish you use you will need to use a sealer first, several coats may be needed, lightly sanded between each. Remember, sealer serves the same purpose to a clear coat as primer does to paint. The sealer also has to be compatable (so the top coat will bond properly) with the finish materal. Nitrous-cellulose laquer is one of the easier finish materals to use but is a somewhat "soft" finish. Catalized laquer and conversion varnish are both much harder (more scratch resistant) but are harder to work with and quite toxic in spray form. Clear acrylic is probably the safest but tends to "crackle" over time if it is thick enough to really look good. Poly-resin is commonly used in the guitar factories because it can be applied in pretty heavy coats without running (and it is a very tough finish) but you will need a high volume/low pressure spraying set up to apply it properly. There is a lot more work involved in a refinish project than many people realize, maybe that's why it is so expensive. I hope some of this gives you a little insight into your options, if you are determined to proceed... good luck.
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If the guitar is finished with a polyester resin you would have trouble getting anything to adhere to it after you've stripped it. Most polyester finishes (at least on guitars are applied without any significant grain filling You will have polyester sitting in the grain. This is going to be a problem when you come to re-coat. So the question of a sealer becomes sort of mute. If I was attempting to do the job I'd be looking to get a coat of shellac on it to help get the final finish to take. Unless you can get ALL the polyester off and out of the grain, which is unlikely, you can rule out any pre cat lacquers and most likely acrylics. Oil based finishes would also be a problem.

What do you mean by poly-resin finishes? I can only assume you are talking about the likes of polyester and you don't really want to be useing that at home, nasty stuff :) . As to nitro cellulose read the comments in other threads about the dangers involved. Best avoided. The best options are still the water borne products sold by the likes of Stew-Mac and LMI. They are just as easy to work, safer, not expensive, and give a fantastic finish on guitars, its what they are designed for and many pro's use them. You do not need an HVLP set up to do any of these finishes but they are what most hobbyists and small setups would have.
 
Well, excuese me for speaking from 20 years experience in refinishing. Maybe I should have read more posts instead of relying on practical knowledge gained through actually using almost every product on the market. I guess with all the information so readily available, anyone can be an expert on anything without ever actually doing anything more than a little web surfing.

BTW the "water base" finishes available thru Stew-Mac (and other suppliers) has almost an identical chemical composition to Johnson's "acrylic" floor wax. Oops, that is something else I didn't learn on the web.
 
"Just as easy to work with"?????? :rolleyes: That comment doesn't even make sense in the context of the sentence that precedes it.

Gimme nitro.
 
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