Affinity Tele and the Dreaded Poly Finish

[craigdallen]

Hi folks, first post here. I've been poking around through several threads and haven't come across anything that answered the question I have, which is: can I sand down the thick coat of polyurethane on my Squier Affinity Tele, just to take some of the gloss of of it, without having to strip it all the way down and refinish it? I am not necessarily looking to "relic" this guitar - an obviously much debated topic here - but just to knock down the thick, shiny coat a bit. If I were going to do this, would I wet sand with increasingly fine grades of sandpaper? And would I then need to give it a coat of nitro or could I leave it as is?

Thanks, Craig

[voided3]

My Affinity that I modified actually had a pretty thin finish on it by Squier standards. I found this out when I put a tummy cut in it; it actually seems thinner than the finish on my MIM Standard Strat, but that's just this one guitar. Basically, there won't be any tonal advantage to sanding the finish, especially if you put more finish (nitro) on afterwards, but if you want to make it a matte finish, I would start with 800 grit wet sanding and work your way up through the finer grits.

[Joefaity]

Would 0000 steel wool be best? I would answer, but I have never had the guts to mess with a guitar's finish.

[voided3]

Originally Posted by Joefaity

Would 0000 steel wool be best? I would answer, but I have never had the guts to mess with a guitar's finish.

I used 0000 steel wool on a cheap Ibanez bass once and it leaves a very noticeable "grain" from your sanding patterns, so if you work in only one direction, it'll look fine, but wet sanding in a circular motion gives a more even matte finish (though the directional "grain" can be a cool look, too).

[Stuco]

If you want a matte finish, then get some 0000 steel wool and rub away. That method would take a long time to take any thickness off though. What's wrong with shiny finishes?

[thejerk]

Use a scotch brite scouring pad (like the green part that comes on the back of a green and yellow sponge). Others have done this with great success, some using power tools to help. Google will help!

[61fury]

What a coincidence, my butterscotch Affinity is sitting next to me with a coat of polishing compound on the back. Previously I had been rubbing it with oooo steel wool. The back is safe enough to experiment on. It's a little too matte for my tastes , that's why I' now trying the polishing compound. An experiment only, I'll have to take the thing apart to go further.
BTW, once someone on this forum said that the finish was too shiny, it got under my skin. I once was happy, forums bad.

Results are in, finish was a bit streaky due to uneven rubbing I guess. I applied a coat of car wax and that evened things up a lot, the finish on the back is now a nice satiny semigloss, warmer and more natural than the high gloss. I'm encouraged and most likely will continue when I take the thing apart ( I want to shield the cavities and mess with it a bit) I'd post pics but the ones I took are worthless.