Refinishing a poly guitar in nitrocellulose

[JamieJ]

I have a Mexican strat that I love how it plays (I also love the Olympic white) but I feel it’s missing something. I’ve tried new pick ups. I am wondering if the finish would change the feel/sound do the guitar significantly.

Anyone refinished a poly body in nitrocellulose? Is it not worth the effort? Should I just build a new parts caster?

 

[Nostradoomus]

have you taken it in for a proper set up? sometimes that's all it takes

 

[JamieJ]

No I haven’t. Good call.

 

[kristopher]

A set up would help for sure.

I have stripped the poly off a Mexican strat. It doesn’t take too long with a heat gun and a putty knife. But then you have to sand the glue that held the poly on. And that took a while. Perhaps an hour or more with a palm sander.
When you think it’s all off, run some water over the body. And you’ll see the spots that you’ve missed.
I then “stained” the body with India ink. It’s the only true black that will stain wood. And it looks fantastic.
Then I sealed all that with Tru-oil. 5 coats or so. It feels great, looks great. And the guitar tone brightened up. Yes It was noticeable.
And if I recall correctly, the poly weighed about a pound and a half. No joke.
So yes, the tone will change. The strat will be lighter. But it takes days. And I had the tools and the outdoor work space. You don’t want to breathe in the glue dust. And when sealing with either Tru-oil or Nitro, it has to cure in a warm dry climate.

 

[kristopher]

Also, when I had the guitar all apart, I shielded the body cavity. And a little while later, I upgraded the bridge and pickups.
It’s a great guitar that was my main squeeze for years. But I don’t play it much now.
It was a great project. I’m glad I did it. And it didn’t cost much more then my time.

 

[JamieJ]

The neck on this guitar feels really resonant but the body feels dead so I was hoping this would correct that issue. It’s interesting to hear about the weight and tone changing so I’m hopeful this would be the case with this guitar as well. I’ll get it set up then do some research about refinishing and then wait until some warmer weather comes around.

 

[zgrav]

The neck on this guitar feels really resonant but the body feels dead so I was hoping this would correct that issue. It’s interesting to hear about the weight and tone changing so I’m hopeful this would be the case with this guitar as well. I’ll get it set up then do some research about refinishing and then wait until some warmer weather comes around.

sounds like an interesting project. keep us posted and pic'd with photos of your progress.

 

[benny_profane]

The neck on this guitar feels really resonant but the body feels dead so I was hoping this would correct that issue. It’s interesting to hear about the weight and tone changing so I’m hopeful this would be the case with this guitar as well. I’ll get it set up then do some research about refinishing and then wait until some warmer weather comes around.

If you like the neck, it may be easier to buy a new nitro body rather than stripping and refinishing the current poly one.

 

[zgrav]

If you like the neck, it may be easier to buy a new nitro body rather than stripping and refinishing the current poly one.

agreed it might be easier, but maybe doing the project to find out is the goal. it is one of those "to each his own" kind of things.

 

[JamieJ]

It’s a great idea @benny_profane - seems like you can pick up a body for £139 so probably would only cost £150-160 with paint. At least if I don’t like it I can just revert to the original and nothing has been damaged.

@zgrav - you a right that this project would be that if the guitar sounded and felt amazing after putting this work in, it would always remain a special guitar.

 

[spi]

I think removing the finish would be a pain and not worth the effort. Also, I'm skeptical it would improve the tone or feel.

 

[Feral Feline]

I removed the Blotchy purple stain from the top of my project tightwad Tele. If the purple had been even, I would've left well enough alone. Apart from the blotchiness, it was a great finish with a THICK clear-coat over it. The back and sides were orange, I didn't dig the diluted areas, so off it came...

I really liked that purple on orange, but...

Lots more sanding ...

Then a bit of torching the edges and some plant-based stain... below montage courtesy Harry Klippton:

Note the orange on the edges of the body . Original pics from above posted here.



There's a LOT of satisfaction in changing the finish of a guitar. If it isn't a keeper, or you're not doing it for the love of DIY and gaining experience... then yeah, it's a lot of work. Better to find the right buyer for an ugly paint job than to refin and try to recoup costs (time/money/effort).

Do whatcha gotta do, Jamie.