Refinishing the double bound Squier

I'm thinking about refinishing a Squier Classic Vibe Custom. It is double bound sunburst, but I would love it to be double bound shell pink. Is there anything that I need to know about protecting the binding? I imagine I'll need a heat gun to get the finish off. If anyone has any advice about refinishing bound guitars, please let me know.
I looked through 13 pages on this forum before deciding to post. If this has been discussed to death please point me to an old post.
Thank you,
Paul Baribeau

significant challenges to doing a refin. Chemical strippers (some) can melt or deform the bindings and obviously heat from a heat gun will to. Just stay off the bindings with both and resort to scrapers and sanders. Honestly for my own guitars I usually dont strip the poly to bare wood. I clean them with naptha and lightly buff the gloss away with green scotchbrite pads. That leaves a very well sealed and flat surface for your opaque color. Get yourself some 1/4 inch 3-M Striping Tape from your local auto paint store and carefully mask the bindings right before you color. Dont worry with attempting to mask the top of the bindings, just the sides. The top is easier to scrape after color than to mask. Pull it off after the color is dry and scrape the small leaks along with the top edges. I use the tool shown below to scrape bindings. The glass is made from microscope slides and the razor sharp edge of the glass is a perfect scraper. I break the slide in two pieces first so I have a sharp tip. The unbroken slides (as shown in photo) have rounded corners that are hard to control. After scraping your on to the clear coats........ sounds so easy!
Good luck on your project,
Rob
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/rhomco/BindingScraper006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/rhomco/BindingScraper002.jpg

Man, that sounds like a ton of work and no guarantees that you wouldn't screw up the binding. My guess is that if you use a heat gun to remove the finish, the bindings would lift too.

Might I suggest ordering a body finished and bound, or at least unfinished and routed for bindings and do your own? I don't think you'd have much trouble selling the original body to offset the costs.

Tom

Thanks for the help. I've been trying to come up with a budget for a new guitar. Buying the parts adds up pretty fast. I might just go for the buff idea. I want a guitar I can really not worry about while touring.
I like that scraper tool you've created. This forum has the best problem solving skills on the internet. I'm always impressed.
Rob, Do have any example pictures or posts by any chance? Everyone loves pictures.