how do I strip the finish off this old 365?

[Sir Ricardo]

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I just got this project; its a 1965 O.S. 365

The prior owner refinished the Mapleglo with spraypaint. 2 coats of black, 2 coats of glossy.

As you can see in the photos, the entire guitar is coated with this, including the body binding. The only areas not painted black are the fretboard and neck binding.

So, my task is to get the paint off of it while somehow not damaging the body binding.

I don't know what it would look like when finished; maybe a trans-black? In any case, right now, it looks non-pro.

Any thoughts on how to proceed?

Words of advice?

Words of warning? ("yeah I tried that and I ended up with sawdust"...etc....any comments welcomed!)

thanks much -

Richard
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[jingle_jangle]

Best way--sand and use a sanding block on all except the most tight-radiused surfaces. You must get the flat surfaces flat, and keep all edges crisp. Pay attention to flatness and proper radii. Neck should be done without a block, and finished off with medium and fine sanding sponges. Blends are tough and depend on "feel" so the character of the shapes is not altered.

Start with #100 and a hard rubber block on flat surfaces only, to strip the paint; be aware of how much material you're removing. Move on to #150 and do all surfaces, but continue to leave edges and tight radii alone. Now onto #320. Do all surfaces to remove #150 scratches, and any edges and tight radii that still show paint.

You should remove the binding if any trace of black shows in cracks between binding and body or neck wood. Frets MUST be removed before sanding the fretboard. When you do the board, use a radiused block to keep it true.

If this step is done badly, you may seriously compromise the value of the guitar, so take your time and take care!

[collin]

I would be very careful near any surface edges with sandpaper to the point where it may be safer to use a professional grade rubbing compound (or even slightly less abbrasive polishing compound), and heaps of elbow grease to rub the refinish off.

Who knows -- you may have a great mapleglo finish underneath there, so it could even be worthwhile taking your time and possibly saving the original finish? It is CV, so it's pretty durable compared to the refin paint type.


Good luck! Looks like a great project, did you recently score it?

[Sir Ricardo]

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Paul, thanks for the info and quick reply. I'll give this a shot.

A question; is the #320 used to get the paint off the body binding? I'm assuming the answer is "yes" based on the way you wrote the directions, but I thought I'd make sure.

thanks a lot

Richard

[Sir Ricardo]

I would be very careful near any surface edges with sandpaper to the point where it may be safer to use a professional grade rubbing compound (or even slightly less abbrasive polishing compound), and heaps of elbow grease to rub the refinish off.

Who knows -- you may have a great mapleglo finish underneath there, so it could even be worthwhile taking your time and possibly saving the original finish? It is CV, so it's pretty durable compared to the refin paint type.


Good luck! Looks like a great project, did you recently score it?

Yes, Collin, I just got it.....thanks for your ideas.....so you are suggesting using rubbing compound / polishing compound + sanding block? I definitely understand the concept of not accidentally "rounding" off the edges of the guitar, which is why a sanding block is useful, I guess; it would keep things planar, and allow force to be applied uniformly.

So do I understand your recommendation? Compound + block?

thanks -

Richard

[ken_j]

... When you do the board, use a radiused block to keep it true.

If this step is done badly, you may seriously compromise the value of the guitar, so take your time and take care!

The only thing I would add to this is to measure the radius to get the proper radiused block. The earlier Ricks were 7.25" and the later ones are 10" I am not sure of the time line of each but I believe a '65 has a 7.25".

[jingle_jangle]

I'm not sure of the timeline either, but I've done a '69 OS 365, and its radius was the same as earlier models--a cool and narrow 6"!

[ken_j]

That's small! I have heard of some early Fenders having as small as a 5" radius.

[godber]

I did something similar to my 1968 MG 330. Approach carefully!

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=403736

[jingle_jangle]

You did a heck of a job, Mark...

Point to remember: the guitar was originally finished in MG--just conversion varnish over well-prepped maple. The varnish remained in great shape--no checking or oxidation, so it cleaned and buffed beautifully. The monkey who brushed over it, used an alkyd varnish-stain, and judging from the wrinkles in the varnish-stain, may not even have scuffed the CV. At any rate, T-cut and polishing compound would bring the gloss back.

What's under Richard's spray can finish is at this point unknown. Last old JG Rick I did had tons of bondo underneath. If the spray can contained enamel and the original finish is intact, it would be easy to strip with a rag and some lacquer thinner, followed by a buff-out. If the wood underneath is a patchwork of wood, varnish, bondo, etc., as many old guitars and basses are, there's another problem to deal with. Which is why I just skipped to the sandpaper. If you're going to stop at the conversion varnish, though, there are other methods, one of which I outline above.

[collin]

I would be very careful near any surface edges with sandpaper to the point where it may be safer to use a professional grade rubbing compound (or even slightly less abbrasive polishing compound), and heaps of elbow grease to rub the refinish off.

Who knows -- you may have a great mapleglo finish underneath there, so it could even be worthwhile taking your time and possibly saving the original finish? It is CV, so it's pretty durable compared to the refin paint type.

Good luck! Looks like a great project, did you recently score it?

Yes, Collin, I just got it.....thanks for your ideas.....so you are suggesting using rubbing compound / polishing compound + sanding block? I definitely understand the concept of not accidentally "rounding" off the edges of the guitar, which is why a sanding block is useful, I guess; it would keep things planar, and allow force to be applied uniformly.

So do I understand your recommendation? Compound + block?

thanks -

Richard

Yep, compound (T-cut is great stuff if you can get it in your area) or even laquer thinner as Paul states. Block for the flat areas, then follow by hand when the spray paint gets thin. Take your time until you see what it looks like underneath.

I would do everything possible to try and preserve the original finish in any state. To my tastes, even a bad original finish is preferable to a good refinish. If you do go near sandpaper, I'd suggest using only fine 1000+ grit wet/dry paper, at least until you see the condition of any paint underneath.

[collin]

... When you do the board, use a radiused block to keep it true.

If this step is done badly, you may seriously compromise the value of the guitar, so take your time and take care!

The only thing I would add to this is to measure the radius to get the proper radiused block. The earlier Ricks were 7.25" and the later ones are 10" I am not sure of the time line of each but I believe a '65 has a 7.25".

Richard---I see no indication that you have any reason to strip or refinish the fretboard. Just tape it off through the whole excavation process and leave it be!

[godber]

Sound advice from Paul and Collin.

My preference was to keep the original CV Mapleglo and the fact that it was very figured was a big bonus - you never know what you may find under there. I was lucky because I had small areas of finish where it showed the CV intact and this encouraged me to investigate the possibilities. Take your time and take it very gently with the materials suggested. Good luck and report progress, we all love resto threads.

[jingle_jangle]

To clarify my original response, to me "stripping" a finish means removing it--down to the raw wood. Hence my sandpaper recommendation!

Had you specified removing the black to see what was underneath, you would have received a different response.

Incidentally, judging from the output jack detail photo, those edges have already been rounded quite a bit...

[Sir Ricardo]

Incidentally, judging from the output jack detail photo, those edges have already been rounded quite a bit...

Update: the prior owner just told me "The original finish was sanded down to the wood prior to the paint job, the finish was in pretty tough shape at the time."

Aha. So the "rounding" has been indulged in by the prior owner, and the MG finish is long gone. Too bad, because after seeing Mark's miraculous before / after photos, I got excited about uncovering some beautiful MG. Alas, not in the cards.

So I guess it's sanding block + abrasive + elbow grease + care.