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a couple of weeks ago i realized that i don't have any red guitars and i want one and i have a jagmaster laying around partially disassembled and the longer i have it the more i hate the burst on it so i'm thinking about repainting it something like a dakota red. the only thing is that i'm a total n00b when it comes to any kind of finishing and i'm hoping that i can get a good result from a rattle can of poly.

so the question is, will there be any long term negative results from spraying over the shit-burst, of course after scuffing it?

I would sand off the old finish before applying the new one. Not sure how the paint will stick to the glossy clear coat. Get a chemical peeler and it should come right off.

taylornutt wrote:I would sand off the old finish before applying the new one. Not sure how the paint will stick to the glossy clear coat. Get a chemical peeler and it should come right off.

i've seen people say that if you scuff the paint well, the new paint should adhere well

stratphobic wrote:

taylornutt wrote:I would sand off the old finish before applying the new one. Not sure how the paint will stick to the glossy clear coat. Get a chemical peeler and it should come right off.

i've seen people say that if you scuff the paint well, the new paint should adhere well

It'll undoubtedly come out better if you strip it first, depends on how bothered about how possibly rubbish it comes out, if you're happy for it to look a bit shit do it, it might come out good, but you've got more chance of it being good if you do it properly.

I think it will come out great if you scuff it up and paint on top. The issue is not who it will come out but the fact that you're going to have a finish that is three inches thick.

I know chemical strippers won't begin to touch a MIM Fender. You may get lucky and be able to take it off with them but you're best bet is probably going to be to use a heat gun to loosen the paint and get a pair a screw driver to basically pry the paint off.

taylornutt wrote:Get a chemical peeler and it should come right off.

There speaks a man who has never tried to strip a poly finish. The stuff is bulletproof. Your best best (unless you want to spend ages sanding and scraping away at it - really hard work) is to sand a key onto the poly finish, then spray over the top. I know Aen's done this before and it looked grand.

My tuppence worth: yep just sanding a key in is the easiest option if you can avoid the OCD need to do things from scratch.

That being said I've stripped 3 poly bodies using Nitromors stripper (and they now do a poly stripper) which if left long enough and enough gooped on there works BUT you will ALWAYS have a significant sanding job to do to get it back to wood or sealer coat. It IS a pain no matter what.

In fact half the reason I'm down on projects that involve that kind of effort is I'd rather just save up extra money and buy the right thing off the shelf (damn you Benecol for being the only person knowing the irony in that statement).

To be honest If ever want a guitar in certain colour not obtainable I'll never buy a cheap body in another colour. I'll just go and buy an unfinished aftermarket one and avoid hours and hours of work stripping.... Learnt a lot doing it but the hassle factor stopped being a learning experience long ago

EDIT: not done myself but I've seen very convincing photos of using a heat gun to strip poly off. ceratinly I'd opt for that on my next try if I ever need to

i'd be afraid of using a heat gun because with my luck i'd probably wind up setting the body on fire. i've seen a couple of people get good results with citristrip. anyone know how hard that stuff is to use?

citristrip won't cut it. I've used it several time and it's been really great but when I went strip a MIM poly finish, it just sat on the guitar and didn't even start to phase it.

It's virtually impossible to catch the wood on fire using a heat gun. There will probably be some burn marks left over but it is the way to go if you plan on going to bare wood.

Wear a mask if you do use a heatgun, the fumes are horrible. And be aware that you're operating at a temperature that will cause the wood to singe and the glue, if it's a multi part body, to separate.

Self etching primer.

Billy Mays's "Poly, You're A Pain" stripping lotion.

is it laced with cocaine?