Can You Remove a Poly Finish

[indysmith]

I hate the thick glossy finish on my beautiful dyed flamed maple-topped Ibanez. I guess it's a Polyester or Polyurethane finish - its eurgh, and probably choking the sound a bit too. i'd really like a finish that's safe for the guitar, but feels just like wood, and doesn't show finger-marks and tiny scratches so easily.
Is there anyone you know of, or even anyone on the forum that can get this done for me (feline?)
What do other people think of thick, glossy finishes? why do nearly all guitar companies apply them? it can't be cheap to do, and it's not nice to look at, feel, or even easy to maintain.
I'd be very grateful to anybody who can help me sort out this PROBLEM.
Thanks!
IndySmith

UPDATE:
a) This needs to be done without damaging the wood, or the dyed finish on it.
b) How much would it cost to get this done?

[Davey]

its just a matter of sanding the clear coat down to a nice thin satin finish

i for one like a nice looking semi think glossy finish.. if it's choking out the tone, it was a pretty dead piece of wood in the 1st place

[indysmith]

So i can just sand her down? what kind of grade paper should i be looking at? i'm not sure i'm too confident just sanding at a £1000+ guitar... i guess i could take it to anyone that knows about the finishing of woods. antiques shop down the road might be able to sort me out.

[Davey]

umm.. ask someone who knows LOL

zerb (from another board) who i bought the charvl off of, sanded the clear coat off the neck to a nice satin finish .. started with grade 400 sand paper or less.. i dont remember and worked up to 1200?? sorry, i dont recall the exact numbers.. finished it off with 0000 steel wool to give it that smooth feel ... and i need to get me some cos i want to polish the frets at the next restring =/

[indysmith]

haha alright man thanks for your help

[jt]

:D Sanding the finish back can be a very messey job, not sure what grade of paper to use.
And i agree that the gloss look can be very overpowering. It makes the wood look like plastic.

 :D  8)

[FELINEGUITARS]

This can be a tricky process
I would recommend using a hot air gun on a poly finish - especiallly on an Ibanez
Heat the finish till it just starts to want to blister and then use a palette knife - or a blunt chisel and pry beteween the finish and the wood- I also use a cabinet scr@per
If you are very lucky you can get he paint to de-laminate and come off in chunks/strips or ribbon like stripes
Go careful with the heatgun as you want to get the paint off without charring the wood or setting light to it
There needs to be a lot of care taken dso that the chisel or whatever doesnt cut into the wood as well.

You can then clean it all up with silicon carbide paper the light grey one
I would use grits 180/240/320/400
Go down thru wet and dry (used dry) 600/1200 and 0000 gauge wire wool
An oil finish is a good choice - we did this for Tim's explorer

However you may wish to use a coat of cllulose sanding sealer first - just wipe it on with a rag- to seal the wood grain

None of this task is dead simple - take care and take time
Step away from it if getting fed up with the process and come back in a better mood and do a bit more

Hope this helps

Jonathan

[_tom_]

I was talking to Indy about this and he says he doesnt want to remove the colour, just the cr@ppy thick gloss I think. Seems like using a heat gun would take off the colour aswell, unless the actual wood is died?

[Steve-Mr Pig 2U]

Very informative post Johnathon. The wood is stained, So am I right in assuming that the colour would be unaffected once the laquer is removed?

[FELINEGUITARS]

I fear that the colour will come off with the lacquer
Almost impossible not to lose some or all of the colour
Sad fact of life

[Davey]

if he just sands the clear coat down and is carefull enough, i dont think he'll take the color off. especialy if it's a stained wood

[FELINEGUITARS]

if he just sands the clear coat down and is carefull enough, i dont think he'll take the color off. especialy if it's a stained wood

I hear what you say Davey - but it is SOO hard not to rub through to bare wood. I'll be interested in how he gets on

[indysmith]

Thanks a load guys! I'm going to have to think quite carefully about what i do here. I'm also going to have to plan it carefully - usually everything i do DIY-wise is pretty spontanious and not exactly careful. this is obviously something i don't want to get wrong. i really like the colour of the wood, so i'm not so sure about heat-gunning it. however i can see that this is probably the most sensible way to go about getting rid of the finish. Sanding at it sounds tricky to get right aswell though! I'm not usually much of a practical guy with tools - its not my thing. I'm a racing driver, not a pit mechanic. i just know i'm going to end up doing something i'll regret.

Alternatively i could probably save up for a bit and get another body made. probably taking it a bit too far. however the hate i have for glossy finishes is quite intense...

I'll keep you updated
Thanks Again

[Davey]

however the hate i have for glossy finishes is quite intense...

must be something like me and black guitars lol

[R/2e]

Like Jonathan, and as I've mentioned on another post, I'd be worried about sanding down. One sand through and you're b*ggered, you can never get it right without stripping entirely and starting again (DON'T ask how I know that.....!). As to the colour, it depends where the dye is, in the lacquer, partially or completely, or on the wood as to what the effect of sanding would be. Don't know about Ibanez, I've never refinished a translucent one, but Patrick Eggle for example has the dye throughout the lacquer and are therefore very difficult to repair finish damage, as you sand down a little, it changes colour and what was a good match is no longer.

Having said all that, properly stripping a guitar and respraying requires knowledge and equipment so it would probably be worth giving the sanding a try. Just take a great deal of care and be prepared to bite the bullet if it goes wrong.