#1
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Has Anyone Here Successfully Sanded Off a Painted or Stained Top?
There have been a few guitars pass by that I could have snagged (cheap guitars), like some Godin guitars with one of their many awful bursts (I just don't like their alternative colour bursts) but I can hardly look at their colored guitars. I swore I'd never buy another Godin because of the epoxied necks, but I miss having a cedar top cherry back guitar sometimes.
It got me thinking, has anyone here sanded off a top? Is it possible or does the stain absorb too deep? |
#2
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Well, if we're talking about the lovely bilirubin-colored "vintage toner" that gives so many guitars that fine jaundiced look these days, it doesn't seem to run terribly deep in the ones that I've encountered.
But there is one critical mission parameter. Check to see what the finish is. If it's nitrocellulose lacquer, you might get away with it, as long as you don't thin the top too much in the process. If, on the other hand, the guitar's finish is polyurethane, rather have someone smash your big toe with a four-pound engineer's hammer. You'll enjoy it far more than trying to sand off poly, plus you won't go bankrupt from buying sandpaper. |
#3
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#4
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I do a fair amount of woodworking, but not on guitars. The idea that you might sand off paint/stain to full removal without making the top thinner is one I find ludicrous. But maybe you'll like the guitar with a thinner top? I'm not much of a gambler, but do let us know if you take this route.
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#5
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It definitely is possible to remove a nitrocellulose lacquer sunburst and refinish natural. I have seen a few vintage J45s done that way. But there’s no way it doesn’t thin the top, at least slightly. That’s a big reason refinish kills vintage guitar value. And there are examples of tops that eventually fell apart after multiple refinishes, suggesting that at least some thickness is coming off with each one.
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#6
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#7
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https://artandlutherieguitars.com/pr...-bourbon-burst
These are the type of bursts I don't like, these guitars can be had pretty cheap, the reason I'm thinking this is I believe these are all short scale as opposed to all of the other Godin dreads with full scale, the one Seagull dread with short scale doesn't have a cedar top. Just meandering. |
#8
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#9
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You'll definitely make the top thinner. But you could probably get away with it if you're careful.
On a factory assembly line, they're not slowing things down while somebody carefully thins and tap tunes the top. And they don't want a lot of complaints about bellying and such. So you'd probably have room to run. But I'd bet that those guitars are finished in polyurethane. I did it once. Never again. Never. That burst is not bad. You could just live with it. Compare it to one of Breedlove's Canary In a Yellow Submarine Natural bursts. It's absolutely beautiful compared to one of those. And Western Red Cedar is only slightly harder than warm butter. Lots of potential for headaches once you start sanding away at it. If it still bothers you and you like projects, go over to Amazon and buy Don Teeter's books, Volumes 1 & 2. Read them, then go to LMII, StewMac. Allied Lutherie, or one of the many places that sell guitar wood, and replace the top. You can improve the bracing, get rid of the mystery material bridge plate, all sorts of improvements. And replacing a top is much more tolerable than trying to sand polyurethane. |
#10
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This is not going to be something that you can sit down and accomplish in an afternoon. You're looking at hours and hours of sanding to get through the finish and down to bare wood. Also you'll need to at least remove the bridge and pickguard to make it look halfway decent and I have no idea how you'll be able to get in tight around where the fingerboard meets the top. It might make a good winter project if you're somewhere that gets snowed in for 4 or 5 months.
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#11
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You can pop the fingerboard off with a putty knife, a towel, and a clothes iron.
But don't get caught. In my experience, if you get caught using the iron and towels or anything else that falls under the purview of the distaff side for lutherie purposes, you may be subjected to lengthy lectures about the error of your ways. |
#12
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I can understand someone wanting to change the finish on the top of a guitar, is that person aware of how difficult it is to put a finish BACK ON that guitar? Do you have the proper tools to remove and replace the bridge and finger board? Do you have the gear and the right type of polyurethane to refinish the top? Do you have a dust free spraying booth to apply the finish? Are you opening up a big can of worms?
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#13
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Respectfully OP I offer this suggestion.
Write your idea on paper. Burn that paper. Sift through the ashes to make sure nothing remains. Find one of the many Godin family of guitars with a natural top. Purchase that guitar. Play it in good health for many years.
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#14
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Not an expert on refinishing guitars, but I've done dozens of non-guitar DIY refinishing projects. I'd say the answer to your question is "it depends" on the "stain" used. Some coloration sits on top of the wood, e.g., some polys are tinted while others (true stains types) penetrate the wood so the color goes deeper. If you experiment on one with penetrated color you'll have to go deeper to remove it.
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#15
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