Bass Customisation Project - Help appreciated

jsniper

Ok, so I've been toying with stripping down my Ibanez bass for quite some time to A) see the guitar without paint because if it looks good I'm gonna keep it like that and apply some nice lacquer type stuff and B) if i'm not overly keen i'd like to use some of my random crappy old comics to make a new covering.


Basically, I need advice on the best way to strip a guitar down without access to stuff like heat guns. Also, what would be the best way to recover it with the comics when it is stripped?

I hope you guys can help me out with some info!

Cheers


EDIT - I'll be adding pictures as I go on.

KungFuPro

I've done a few guitars by sanding off the finish, I usually start with 60/80 grit with an electric sander (handheld belt sanders are great for this) to take off the majority of the paint and use a drill with a sanding drum/flap wheel for the curved parts. When all the paint and sanding sealer has gone, I sand it by hand with 120 grit, then 240, 400 until all the scratch marks have gone. You could go even further up to 800-1000 wet & dry but I've usually had enough of sanding by then

Here's an old blog of mine which has a few pictures of a guitar and bass that I've stripped, both times I finished the body with shellac.
Bad Chop Suey!

Have you heard of Decoupage? I think that would be the best way to cover it in comics, it looks pretty good too.

jsniper

Awesome. Ill have to see if i can get a sander otherwise ill be doing it by hand!

I have heard of decoupage though, no idea what it is so ill have a look into it!

KungFuPro

Decoupage is just a fancy word for gluing bits of paper over something, a bit like wall-papering . I think the trick is to water down the glue and saturate the paper in it so it moulds around the object.

An electrical sander is a must for removing the old finish, I used to use a cheap 140w orbital sander, it worked fine, just took a while, a 900w belt sander gets the job done a lot quicker though! A drill with a sanding disc attachment works well too but it can be difficult to get an flat finish (good for sides though).

It doesn't take much to remove the colour coat on most newer guitars (pre-90's are usually thicker), it's the sanding sealer underneath that takes a lot of hard work to shift (sand sealer is just more clear lacquer). If you don't like the look of the wood I'd just start covering over the sand sealer.

If you do go with a lacquer type finish I would recommend shellac, you can buy it pre-made or buy the flakes and make your own with meths. You can apply it with a brush or a rag and it really makes the grain pop, French Polishers use it, here's a few pics of a Stagg X400 alder body I recently stripped & finished with shellac.

jsniper

Wow cheers for that. I'll see if my flatmate has one going spare then. Otherwise ill look to invest in a cheap one.


Do you reckon it would be possible to use something like shellac over the comics? I love the finish of the shellac type stuff. It really pops so both would be great!

jsniper

Ok, so my girlfriends mum has come to the rescue and lent me a sander! Now to just get the right sandpaper for it and get rocking!

KungFuPro

Yeah, shellac or any type of varnish should work over comics, I think decoupaging alone will give it a decent overcoat and then you could always varnish/shellac over it to give it a glassy look, good luck with your project!

Forgot to say, decent sandpaper makes the job a lot easier, I usually use Aluminium Oxide paper, wilkos have 10 pack assorted packs which are good quality, this is the stuff I use with my old 140w orbital sander.
Wilko Aluminium Oxide Sheet Assorted x 10 | Sandpaper & Blocks | | Preparation from Wilkinson Plus

jsniper

Nice one, cheers for the advice. I'll keep this thread updated with my progress I reckon.

jsniper

I now have the issue of not really knowing the best way to take my electrics out as I don't want to have to re-solder anything but its looking like I may have too!

Christian 71

I really recommend learning to solder it's not difficult and you can pick up a soldering iron reasonably cheaply. Once you can solder you can change pickups, install active circuits etc, opens up a lot of options.

If you really want to work around soldering you can get the mini screw connectors from maplin, forgotten what they are called but you stick a wire in at each end and the screw clamps it in place creating a circuit. It works as I tried it when I was swapping around pickups one time to see which worked best with what.

Poly is the best and easiest to work with for guitars as you can buy it in spray cans. Like all guitar sprays they are explosive (especially nitro) and toxic. If you go to Home bargains they have cheap shelf greenhouses which willl work as a cheap spray tent. If you have access to a spray gun then nitro will get the best finish as you can build up layers so it's much more forgiving. I doubt shellac would work unless it's direct onto wood, there are some DIY guitar forums who will know.