JM body refinish

Discussion of vintage Jazzmasters, Jaguars, Bass VIs, Electric XIIs and any other offset-waist instruments.
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putyournamehere
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JM body refinish

Post by putyournamehere » Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:52 am

Hi,

I‘ve got a mid 70s JM body with a very ugly laquer damage :

https://s12.directupload.net/images/200415/5dfgud29.jpg

I‘m not experienced in laquers and refinishes and wondered if you guys have some advice for me...

To me it looks (and feels) like there‘s a thin layer of clear laquer over a sunburst painted wood. But all laquer refinish videos I watched on YouTube have natural wood under the laquer layers so you have to strip it down completely in order to refinish the body

is there a possibility to just refinish the clear laquer layer? Or am I completely wrong?

I‘m thankful for help and insights!

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terminalvertigo
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Re: JM body refinish

Post by terminalvertigo » Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:16 pm

you might be able to pick it off with a guitar pick or a soft scraper of some point.

does it cause as issue while playing?
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Re: JM body refinish

Post by andy_tchp » Wed Apr 15, 2020 3:06 pm

Mid '70s will be poly finished.

It looks as if the clear is disintegrating and has flaked off in the brighter red section revealing the colour coat underneath.

I can't really see a feasible way of refinishing 'just the clear' that would end up with any kind of positive result - Removing it mechanically will damage the burst and body underneath, removing it chemically will remove the finish indiscriminately.
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Re: JM body refinish

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:17 pm

keep it like that. i'm a sucker for the mid/late 70's jazzmasters.
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Re: JM body refinish

Post by putyournamehere » Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:00 am

terminalvertigo wrote:
Wed Apr 15, 2020 2:16 pm

does it cause as issue while playing?
Not at all. Its more the look that annoys me.

Thanks for all the answers. As I‘ve expected there‘s no easy way out.

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Re: JM body refinish

Post by Highnumbers » Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:56 am

Yeah, that is a poly finish (and a super heavy one, as they were doing in the 70s).

The problem with poly (either polyester or polyurethane) is that they're catalyzed finishes - once applied, they cure to a solid material (basically plastic).

That's starkly different from solvent-based finishes like lacquer, which are never 100% cured, only requiring a reintroduction of some type of solvent (thinner, for example, or even additional layers of solvent paint) to become soft again. With a lacquer finish, you can blow-in some clear coat, which will soften the old clear around it again, and blend together. That won't happen with Poly.

For this particular guitar, you can basically leave it as-is, or strip the entire thing. Basically everything else will show where the new paint meets the old paint, even when spraying clear.

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Re: JM body refinish

Post by mgeek » Thu Apr 16, 2020 2:33 pm

+1 for just leaving it alone

I think it looks cool! Kinda like an exploding galaxy or something. If it's getting worse, ie the top coat is flaking, then perhaps looking into some way of stabilising it would be in order. I've even wicked a little superglue in a couple of times just to stop further chunks escaping (but that was on cheapos, maybe there's a more proper way')

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Re: JM body refinish

Post by Singlebladepickup » Thu Apr 16, 2020 5:22 pm

I'd leave it, but you could try plasti dip or vinyl wrap

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Re: JM body refinish

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:36 pm

Leave it be. Otherwise, If you try to refin back to original you will not have a good outcome. If you hate it you could find a professional to refin the whole thing any color you want. However, this would hit resale. Just really depends on if you can live with it or not.

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Re: JM body refinish

Post by iainmayfield » Fri Apr 17, 2020 5:04 am

it's character!!!

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