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Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:34 am
by andrewsrea
Like others, I've struggled in the past to remove thick, chemically cured finishes like urethane and polyester.
I am going to refinish my Squire Jazz Bass which I believe to be a poly finish. My idea is to:
1.) Heat gun, immediately followed by blasts of compressed air (which is very cold) to begin cracking the finish.
2.) Exploit what I can with a putty knife and a luthier's joint knife, without adding additional gouges.
3.) Mask the neck pocket and then, paint stripper, which says it is for urethanes.
4.) Sanding.
5.) Swelling. 1st: using a water dropper, a wet sponge and a very hot soldering iron in the divots. causes the wood to swell. 2nd: spritz the entire body with water & then gently heat with a heat gun. This swells all the wood and opens the pores.
6.) Scuff sand and nitro-vinyl seal.
Has anyone tried this?
What has been your most effective way to strip a guitar?
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:54 am
by toomanycats
andrewsrea wrote: ↑Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:34 am
Like others, I've struggled in the past to remove thick, chemically cured finishes like urethane and polyester.
I am going to refinish my Squire Jazz Bass which I believe to be a poly finish. My idea is to:
1.) Heat gun, immediately followed by blasts of compressed air (which is very cold) to begin cracking the finish.
2.) Exploit what I can with a putty knife and a luthier's joint knife, without adding additional gouges.
3.) Mask the neck pocket and then, paint stripper, which says it is for urethanes.
4.) Sanding.
5.) Swelling. 1st: using a water dropper, a wet sponge and a very hot soldering iron in the divots. causes the wood to swell. 2nd: spritz the entire body with water & then gently heat with a heat gun. This swells all the wood and opens the pores.
6.) Scuff sand and nitro-vinyl seal.
Has anyone tried this?
What has been your most effective way to strip a guitar?
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I know that one of the points of doing this is to get to the bare wood, apply nitro, and let it breathe like a vintage instrument does. But getting that polyurethane off is a major PITA. That's why I've always used method 6) listed above. Scuff sand and paint. With the new color it's almost like having a new guitar.
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:17 am
by nomadh
I sanded 1 guitar body after chemical stripper both completely failed and somehow took a chunk of wood with it. I'm still not done. And if I were it would still have a chunk of wood missing.
Heat gun sounds good to me. Only if you want a wood grain finish. Otherwise [mention]toomanycats[/mention] scuff and repaint.
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:22 am
by Gergo
Hate being a party pooper, but my general rule of thumb is that if it has a thick poly coating on it, then don't even think about it and enjoy the finish it already has
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:50 am
by honyock
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:18 pm
by andrewsrea
I am doing a solid color, so am not worried about a little scorching. Poly is a PITA for sure!
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:09 pm
by RockYoWorld
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 2:21 pm
by mozz
For $129 plus shipping i would go this route, it's alder too. You could then sell or keep the other body.
https://reverb.com/item/29715917-jazz-b ... der-hbd-41
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:20 pm
by Mossman
Save yourself some trouble... I've tried all manner of finish removal, and I'm with [mention]toomanycats[/mention] with this one. If it's going to be a solid color, just scuff the finish with 220 grit sandpaper and paint right over it.
Re: Urethane / Poly Removal
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:35 am
by Rollin Hand
I am on board with the scuff and paint crowd as well. I realise that part of it is the experience of doing it, but still, it's a Squier, so it probably isn't the sexiest wood in the world under that poly.
