Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

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Val66c
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Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by Val66c » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:14 pm

Hi. I've got a sunburst mij jazzmaster and I was wondering if its possible to take the poly off without losing the sunburst. Has anyone done this?

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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by mezcalhead » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:34 am

The entire finish is poly .. if you take the poly off you'll be left with bare wood.
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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by Aug » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:03 am

Val66c wrote: Hi. I've got a sunburst mij jazzmaster and I was wondering if its possible to take the poly off without losing the sunburst. Has anyone done this?
why would you ever concider doing this?

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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by mynameisjonas » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:09 am

maybe because poly finishes are very thick, and are said to "strangle" the wood, causing less resonance than it would have with no finish, or a nitro finish...?

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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by Soiouz » Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:34 am

I have done this to my MIJ Jaguar and it is a hell of a job... There's almost half an inch of stuff over the wood. And, as others have said, you will loose the sunburst..


As for the tone, I've seen no difference.

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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by ohm-men » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:34 am

You got a point there. There is no real differance in tone. I got a stripped and a non stripped MIJ JM, both sound pretty simelar.
I play a few non finished guitars as well (Thinline Tele and the JazzStröm) The tele is oiled, while the JazStröm has it's finish removed.
The real differance imo is the body wood used, ALder sound different from Ash or Basswood. Each wood has it's own tone.
And even one Alder guitar can sound very differant from an other Alder guitar, even the same make.

So, as far as the tone goes, stripping ain't worth it. I would not do it again. (unless the finish is really bad or non original)
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benecol
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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by benecol » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:44 am

Those of you CRAZY FOOLS who've stripped a poly finish off, what did you use? A heat gun, or chemicals, dynamite? I'm refinishing my tele, and would appreciate the benfits of your experiences.

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Val66c
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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by Val66c » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:29 pm

I ended up sanding mine back and gave it a white acrylic lacquer paint job. Looks great!

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Re: Stripping poly finish from mij jazzy?

Post by TheMilford » Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:24 pm

I used a heat gun... I sanded the body down with 80-grit first to rough it up.

I used a heat gun and scraper. Going quickly as the finished would crackle... not staying in one area too long.

be mindful not to burn the wood... It was EASY and only took a few hours.

Now I need to finish sand and prep it.  I might try to use my step-father's spray booth
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