The cost of stripping a poly finish

[jgs61]

^ Looks good!

I've decided not to do it myself. I'd like to give it a try, but a '66 JM is not the guitar I want to start my refinnishing skills on. I'll wait until I find some cheap strat to experiment with. After the new year, I'll just fork over the cash and let a pro do it. I want it done right since this guitar is kind of special to me... I've had it the longest. I think I might also get some new pups and a mint green guard. I'll keep the tort around though, it's pretty nice.

[mynameisjonas]

Takes an hour with a heat gun and a scraper, sure beats the heck out of trying to sand that crap off

i think this depends on the finish. it certainly didn't take me an hour to remove the finish from my CIJ jazzmaster. the color coat came right off, but then there was the transparent sealer coat... it was impossible to remove without scorching the wood, even when the wood underneath was completly black, the finish was still extremely hard to scrape off. so i put the heat gun down before i made some irrepairable damage and started sanding. all in all i'd say it took me about 10 hours (breaks not included) to get all of the finish off.

[finboy]

it looks like maui blue, i'd leave it...