Cleaning Out the Cavities

[brycycle]

Paul,

when you refin a guitar or bass, do you remove all traces of the previous finish from the cavities?

if so, how do you go about this? are you able to retain the factory writing in the control cavity?

thanks and merry christmas.

[jingle_jangle]

I view this as part of the history, and only remove it at owner's request. If possible, I'll use a piece of tape the same size as the factory tape to leave the writing visible. In some refins, the writing is already covered with paint. Then I'm not so picky.

In the case of some transparent finishes, when the factory masking is not in evidence, I'll let the lettering show through the new finish.

[brycycle]

I view this as part of the history, and only remove it at owner's request. If possible, I'll use a piece of tape the same size as the factory tape to leave the writing visible. In some refins, the writing is already covered with paint. Then I'm not so picky.

In the case of some transparent finishes, when the factory masking is not in evidence, I'll let the lettering show through the new finish.

in the case of the '72 i'm having refinned, the cavities are JG and i'm having it painted Walnut - how would you proceed in that case? ideally i'd like to retain the lettering, but also remove the presence of the previous finish.

thanks-

[jingle_jangle]

In this type of situation, the old finish hould be removed from the cavity very carefully using a small stick-on sanding disc in a Foredon grinder. A Dremel, even with a speed control, spins too fast and has nowhere near enough torque to spin a 1" or 2" disc without stalling. When removing the finish from the cavity, grind around the area of the writing that shows. The writing that is buried beneath the old JG is hidden anyway and generally unsalvageable.

Then I cut a piece of masking tape to the exact size of the original, and apply it in the same spot as the original piece, and then proceed with color. I remove it before the clearcoat.

[brycycle]

great - thanks, Paul.