[traynor_garnet]

I've been reading a few threads about guys peeling off the poly coating on their Agile guitars so I took out the sand paper and had at it.

Man, this stuff is THICK. I takes forever with 100 grit sandpaper just to get down to the wood. In the pic you can see where I have hit wood, where some of the poly is gone, and where it still remains in its entirety.

I'm hoping the guitar becomes more resonant and lively once I get all this crap off. As it is, the guitar sounds amazing thanks to SD 59s and a complete RS Guitarworks electronics package.

 

[Guest]

I know what you mean. I did not enjoy
sanding the MIM strat I'm workin' on.
After the back was done, I used a heat
gun on the rest with a scrapper. Found
it to be much easier. Gotta be careful
you don't nick the wood.

 

[elcabong]

May I know why you guys do that? Do you do it on the back only? Sure looks like a drastic operation !

 

[Milkman]

If it's that thick and you're taking it down to the wood anyway, wouldn't a chemical stripper be more efficient?

That's what you do with fine furnature. It can be done gently and man does it save a lot of elbow grease!

 

[LaRSin]

I'm sorry I think it's shame to mess with a beatiful instrument, unless it 's a mess .

 

[bRian]

From all the posts I've read on the net with regards to removing a poly finish; there is no easy way. The harshest strippers are messy and slow. If I was to do one I'd use stripper on the edges and this on the top and bottom.

I made my living learning to master these puppies.

 

[dwagar]

what kind of wood is the body made out of? If it's fairly soft, you might want poly on there.

 

[shoretyus]

try this

http://www.woodzone.com/articles/scrapers/index.htm

 

[esp_dsp]

keep at her and post if its any better

 

[traynor_garnet]

keep at her and post if its any better

Ok, the guitar is completely stripped of the poly. Wow, what a difference! The guitar has way more upper mids, resonance, and attack. Maybe not day and night when you first play, but it is totally real and you start to appreciate it the more you play.

You really wouldn't believe how thick this stuff is until you peel it off. I gave up on sanding and switched to a heat gun; much more efficient.

Try it out if you are wondering

TG

 

[bRian]

You really wouldn't believe how thick this stuff is until you peel it off.

I've seen some finishes on Fender Standards as thick as a dime. There is absolutely no need for any finish to be that thick UNLESS it's put on to bury sins.

 

[Guest]

May I know why you guys do that? Do you do it on the back only? Sure looks like a drastic operation !

Hey Bubulouee..I'll do the thinnin' around here.....

Here's why I did

It's hard to tell but the guy put a belt sander
to it before painting it this faux grain finish.

Here's how she's looking so far

I bought this only because it has texas specials
and I always wanted an Oly white strat.
BTW any of you strat guys know the
reason for the holes in the body and
neck pocket? I figure for a micro switch.
The one in the neck pocket can't be for
a micro tilt.....it's too central.......right?

 

[elcabong]

Hi Laristotle, now I can understand why. It is either to change color or put something lighter than poly.

What product type have you used tp paint it back OW?

I was also dreaming of an OW Strat with a rosewood neck a long time ago (Jeff Beck Wired era). I ordered one from the States and got it vintage white, maple neck and black pick guard. I hated it for years until I sold it.

 

[Lowtones]

I also don't understand why they put it on so thick. I put on a coating about as thick as a piece of paper. I then wet sand with 2000 grit to make everything even. Then I buff with two different buffing compounds. It comes out looking like glass and about an 1/8 of an inch thick but it is really very thin. I've actually wet sanded through the finish with the 2000 grit a couple of times. Anyway your strat is looking good.:banana:

 

[traynor_garnet]

I also don't understand why they put it on so thick.

I think it simply cuts costs. It is a lot less time consuming to basically dip the guitar in a vat of poly then apply it carefully, sand it, buff it etc etc. I'll post some pics of my guitar later, but it made quite a difference in sound.

TG

 

[fraser]

BTW any of you strat guys know the
reason for the holes in the body and
neck pocket? I figure for a micro switch.
The one in the neck pocket can't be for
a micro tilt.....it's too central.......right

i could be wrong, but i believe those are tooling holes, used to align the body as it is bieng shaped

 

[Guest]

What product type have you used to paint it back OW?

I used 4 cans of off the shelf Krylon from the hardware store.
As Lowtones mentions, I wet sanded between every 3
coats ( 1 can). Never empty the can, you don't want it to
spit near the end. I was intending to clear coat it, but I think
I'll investigate your buffing idea.

Tooling holes makes sense fraser. Tnx for the info.

 

[Falcatarius]

I loathe poly with a burning passion. I find it deadens the tone of any guitar and I hate the fact that the instrument won't age with you. (i like my guitars to build character over time)

I'm using an SRV sig strat that has a poly layer as thick as clotted cream. I would NEVER consider trying to remove it and messing up the gorgeous sunburst on it. But lately i've considered switching out the body with one of the "thin-skin nitro finish" hot-rod strat bodies. Not only would it let her age, but it would keep the original body in great condition so if i wanted to sell her I could just make the swap and have a mint SRV strat again.

My only question is, does anyone know if these "thin-skin" nitro strat bodies by Fender really are ONLY nitro? I know that with the 52' tele reissue the claimed it was nitro when in reality it was a thin coat of nitro and the usual load of poly underneath. I don't want to switch the body if it won't make a difference.

Cheers
-Falcatarius

 

[DaleH]

Those holes are to hold the body and line everything up when the machine cuts it out..

 

[traynor_garnet]

Ok, here are some pics. The guitar has way more attack, resonance, and upper mids than it did before. I still need to sand and take all the hardware completely off and stain. Actually, I kinda looks cool as is but I should get something on to help protect the wood. It was hard to capture how thick the polly actually is. I kept a piece of if and took some photos but they didn't turn out too great.

TG