Stripping/Staining My Jag

[smile_man]

I want it to look like this.



Tutz. It's a 2004(ish?) so I don't really care about the resale value. I've never liked the sunburst, but the guitar was like $550 so I didn't have much of an option.

[leastwise]

That is a gorgeous guitar, sir.

Godspeed. I never liked sunburst, either.

[smile_man]

That is a gorgeous guitar, sir.

Godspeed. I never liked sunburst, either.

That's not my guitar above, but I hope mine will end up looking like it.

Godspeed as in You! Back Emperor!?

[leastwise]

That's not my guitar above, but I hope mine will end up looking like it.

Godspeed as in You! Back Emperor!?

Naw, just wishing you good luck on your endeavor to create an awesome-looking guitar!

Godspeed. {Middle English god speid, from the phrase God spede you. (God prosper you.)}

[Nychthemeron]

Godspeed You! Smiling Man

Fuck yeah jags.

(i am so tired and am two hours in a 7 hour rehearsal, whoops)

[fever606]

Having just refinished a Jag, all I can say is...

Do it! It will be awesome!

[one bad monkey]

Without knowing what kind of finish is on it, I can safely say it'll probably be a pain in the butt to completely strip. I've stripped a couple, and the front and back are never an issue as much as the sides are. I did it all the "hard way" with a power sander, dust mask (definitely use one of these) and patience. You can check online to see if other people have used paint strippers, and that'll work faster but requires a little more knowledge of that process.

After that, enjoy sanding it down to a fine, smooth finish. Expect a lot of time on this process.

As for staining, I've used (on the basses I finished as well as furniture I've built) that stain that has a poly finish in it. Call me lazy, but I like the "all in one" thing. That stuff you just brush on and allow to dry. What I normally do is rub it in by hand, and then sand it with 0000 steel wool to pull the edges off the finish and dull it up a little. Then, I'll rub in another coat, rinse and repeat. It gives it that nice aged look that brings out the grain nicely.

Good luck!

[Achtane]

Yeah, I used a heat gun + scraper to strip the finish of my Jaguar Bass and it is a pain in the ass. The body has a lot of contours and they can be tricky when using a scraper. I was very cautious with the gun so mine took longer than it should have, I think, and in some areas I ended up with little spots of the finish still intact. I used 80-grit sandpaper to get rid of these.

Supposedly if you are skilled you can get rid of the poly and sealer underneath all while using the gun/scraper technique, but as for myself I spent weeks sanding the sealer -- that stuff is bombproof. In total, because I was being overly cautious as it was my first time, I probably used 30 hours ridding the body of the fucking sealer. The sides were terrible. I found that there was a lot more on the back than the front. Do not be afraid to use rough sandpaper to get the majority of it off, move up to a finer grit and it'll clean up just fine. If you're using something like 320 on the sealer you may as well be rubbing it with a dry cloth. I definitely have to +1 the dust mask, get a real respirator mask (like $20) because you're going to need it when spraying anyway. I almost have a fondness for the oddly sweet, most likely harmful smell of warm sealer now...

Anyway, the main thing is that you really need to get the body in great shape, even more so when it's not gonna be a solid color. It sucks and at times you might lose the drive, but if you cut the preparation process short you will hate yourself if something goes wrong. Sanding is the WORST. I'm pretty sure they make you sand things in North Korean death camps. I thought I would spray an alcohol-based dye on after sealing it, so I hit it with a thick coat of sealer and then discovered that I have zero confidence in my ability with a sprayer. So now I'm sanding away sealer ALL OVER AGAIN YAYYYY

Currently I'm about to use Transtint water-based dye to stain mine, I didn't know there was stain with poly in it...that sounds like a real help.
Check out reranch.com if you haven't already. Their forum members are super helpful. I got a 3-page PM from this guy giving me tips on the entire process.

edit: The process has taken my lazy self TEN MONTHS. I had a few setbacks and at one point I was fucking done and put the sanded body, parts and some accessories up for sale. Luckily nobody bought it because I would have instantly and forever regretted that. I have, however, learned a lot in this ordeal.

It just struck me that you might have done all this before.

[fever606]

I used Klean-Strip Strip-X. Comes in a quart tin, so I poured a bit into a little metal cup to make application easier. Basically, you just brush the stuff on, let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then come back and scrape the paint off. I have a couple plastic putty scrapers (1" and 3") that are perfect for this. Where the paint was light, a single application will take it right off, but heavier areas will require multiple passes. I think I had to go over the front 4 times (the last 3 were just spot applications) and the back 3.



It goes without saying, but you must do this in a well ventilated area, and wear a mask and gloves. After your get it all stripped, a couple passes with finer and finer sand paper will get you where you need to be.

[DarkAxel]

That is a gorgeous guitar, sir.

Godspeed. I never liked sunburst, either.

yeeah, screw sunburst... this looks awesome!