NortonDevon

I figured this is probably one of the more qualified groups to go to for this.

I might be stripping the paint off of my guitar and I know there are a few different ways one can do this.

In you opinions, what is the safest way to strip the paint off of a guitar?

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Ibanez RG7321

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Wisthekiller

Chemical. Heat guns may burn the wood (and if it's plywood or something similar, the glue may come undone if you're not careful). Sanding is also great but tends to take forever. I just tried all three methods to strip one guitar.

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NortonDevon

Is the only reason you put chemical over sanding the factor of time?

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Guitars
LTD EC-1000 vb
Ibanez RG7321

Amp/Modeler
Line 6 POD HD500

Headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-M50

Wisthekiller

Pretty much.

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oneblackened

I'd use chemical. Sanding is a royal pain in the ass on thicker finishes. Problem is sometimes you have to use industrial strength strippers because guitar finishes are super tough and super thick, especially on lower end guitars.

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earthwormjim

Sanding runs the risk of ruining contours and rounded edges unless you are careful. After several hours of sanding, its hard to be careful...

There is no such risk when using chemicals or a heatgun. Plus sanding is extremely wasteful. You're going to go through quite a few sheets of sandpaper to completely strip a guitar.


I prefer heatguns, they're the fastest method. If you accidentally burn the wood, it'll be sanded off later when you're prepping for paint anyway.

Wisthekiller

Notice my other danger on heatguns: if the wood is glued on top of instead of side by side (like on plywood), in thin areas it may melt the glue or cause the thinner wood to bubble up.

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earthwormjim

I'm sorry but you would have to purposely try to melt the glue to have this happen.

Wisthekiller

Or have a way-too-hot gun. I did it on accident.

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Viban

chemical is the easiest way to strip things, when I want to strip something I give it some alcohol they're covering comes right off .

Personally though I prefer to sand, chemical would be my second choice.

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