Best way to remove satin/poly blend from guitar?

[Triumph1050]

Any tips on a good way to remove a stain/polyurethane blend finishfrom a guitar body.

Sanding? Be a chore I bet...but possible? Or is the wood to thin?

Not worried as much with the poly as the stain...it soaks in.

Thoughts, Pros???

[Triumph1050]

Anyone???

Surely some builder or restorer has tried this or knows what to expect.

It's a dark stain/poly blend over the whole acoustic guitar.

[runamuck]

An acoustic or electric?

I'm guessing an acoustic.

In trying to remove a penetrating stain you'll either most likely
go through the veneer if it's laminated, or you'll degrade the sound
of a solid wood guitar.

Jim McCarthy

[Triumph1050]

It's an acoustic with solid woods, all mahogany, with a jacked up dark stain/poly blend finish. I'd like to strip/sand it back to a plain mahogany finish but not sure how deep the dark stain has soaked in.

Not alot of room to sand the top I'm guessing.

[tadol]

Maybe - just maybe - the body was sealed prior to the stain being applied. It is even possible that the stain is part of the finish, so that it could come off as the finish is removed. Unfortunately, its pretty hard to find that out without really trying it. Can you try the manufacturer and see if they can offer you any more info about how they do their sunburst?

If you know how, I would consider using a sharp cabinet scraper and just gently scraping it off, then using just a very fine grit paper with a cork or felt backing block to prep it for a new finish. That would help prevent sanding into the wood too deeply -

[Triumph1050]

Thanks for the tips. I'll try to clarify even more.

It's not a factory job and I doubt it was sealed first. It's an all mahogany Gibson acoustic that someone "re-finished" by covering it all with one of those 2-in-1 finishes....a stain/poly mix. So, it's stained dark, basically black, and poly hardened. And looks like crap to me. Why do that to a mahogany Gibson, I dont know. It has no pickguard

I suppose you're right, there's no real way to know how far the stain has soaked in the wood but I think it's worth trying being a Gibson. At worst it may mostly sand or strip off and then re-do it in a burst or something. Might not be correct look for that model but it could be a player and could look better than it does.
I'm no luthier but I did just build a dread from a scratch kit so I can handle it I believe. That dark stain is the big concern though.

OR......I could just leave it and slap a white or tiger pickguard on there and call it done. Hmmm????

[charles Tauber]

My advice? Unless you have time to kill and are looking for a lengthy, laborious project, I'd either leave it alone or sell it and buy what you want.

[Triumph1050]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

My advice? Unless you have time to kill and are looking for a lengthy, laborious project, I'd either leave it alone or sell it and buy what you want.

Thanks Charles. These aren't angst driven questions. I like to tinker. I like to buy cheap old parlors and other guitars and fix them up and either keep 'em, or donate them to the music program at the school I work at. This one would be for me and an interesting project.

Mainly wondered about stained guitars...if they typically are stained/soaked thru and pointless to try and sand off. I know I can get poly off but that black stain? Not sure.

[runamuck]

If it's one of those hardware store all-in-one stain/poly mixes, I've found
that the color doesn't penetrate as far as an oil based penetrating stain.

You'd still have to remove wood though which will change the sound of the guitar.

Jim McCarthy

[Triumph1050]

Originally Posted by runamuck

If it's one of those hardware store all-in-one stain/poly mixes, I've found
that the color doesn't penetrate as far as an oil based penetrating stain.

You'd still have to remove wood though which will change the sound of the guitar.

Jim McCarthy

Good to hear....thanks

[badbazil]

Here is a link where someone is trying to remove the poly/stain finish from his
PRS guitar. One person said the only thing that worked for him was ZAR stripper.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/arc.../t-283549.html

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Triumph1050

donate them to the music program at the school I work at.

Nice idea.

Mainly wondered about stained guitars...if they typically are stained/soaked thru and pointless to try and sand off. I know I can get poly off but that black stain? Not sure.

You won't know for sure until you try. It will depend on the type of stain used and how the finish is applied. In some cases, the wood is not stained, but, rather, the finish colored.

[Triumph1050]

OK...sounds good.