Removing thick lacquer from old neck.

[Northwards]

Hi

I’ve got an pretty 70’s Tele copy with a thick lacquered neck and fretboard. Not too comfortable.

Q:

1. Would anyone dare use a heat-gun and possibly peel the coating off with some luck, before sanding it down? (benefits for work efficiency..)

2. How do I go about the fretboard between the frets?

3. And lastly, is it really necessary to apply new lacquer? I see this could be a bit of a challenge on the fretboard.

Thanks for any good advice

 

[mfguitar]

Probably not Lacquer, more than likely polyester finish, especially if it has a "Thick" look. Provided we are talking about the factory finish. Have you considered leveling the finish and attempting to polish out. . If it were mine I would take an area like the back of the peghead, scrape with a razor blade or scraper if you have one to flatten and then work through the grits of sandpaper to see if has possibilities.
It will take some time

The heat gun would be asking for trouble in my opinion. If it does not work you will have a mess.

 

[Asmith]

how about just sanding the back of the neck so its a satin finish instead of what I assume is gloss.

 

[RodeoTex]

If it is some sort of poly then you're best off to remove the frets before proceeding with stripping it.
Long story short: probably buy a new neck or just live with it.

 

[Dacious]

Often these can be chipped of if hard. 70's Fenders they would flake off easily. Try an inconspicuous spot like the heel of the neck join first. I agree though - if it's on hard, wet-and dry the back to satin.

 

[SamIV]

I had an old MIM Strat that the finish started flaking off the finger board. I scraped the remaining with a razor blade between the frets and removed the thick coating. Sanded the back starting with 80 grit. Came off pretty easy. Not so much the finger board. That took a while. Left the front of the headstock alone. It had the Fender logo and serial number. But it is a darker tent than the rest now. Need to remedy that one day, but don’t know how.

I did add a few coats of wipe on poly to the back of the neck. The feel of the neck is much improved.

 

[Northwards]

Thank you all so much for the tips. I’m a complete newbie with any of these things so I need an IKEA instruction before doing anything haha..

This is an old Ibanez and there’s definitely a thick lacquer look on it’s neck. It’s a short scale and I think it’s real cool cause I can move fast for uptempo songs and struggle less with those wide barre chords. But it definitely needs that coating removed. I’m really not too fussed about doing the headstock and make it all look uniform. I like that completely no-brand logo they’ve stuck on there too.

So basically my best bet is to start with coarse sandpaper and work myself down then. The biggest challenge is avoiding messing up the frets in the process. But I see there is hope for the fretboard which is my biggest concern.

 

[GuitarJonz]

A while ago, Don Mare wrote about removing most of the poly finish from a tele fretboard, using a standard razor blade at a 90 degree angle. Just wiping the blade back and forth slowly takes off the finish, till you get it down to where you want. Time consuming? Yes, but low tech and easily controllable, if you go slow.

 

[Northwards]

Often these can be chipped of if hard. 70's Fenders they would flake off easily. Try an inconspicuous spot like the heel of the neck join first. I agree though - if it's on hard, wet-and dry the back to satin.

It seems pretty hard (like it’s new really). Could you maybe elaborate on this “wet-and dry back to satin” procedure a bit more in detail please.

And, did you chip off the brittle lacquer by banging it with a smooth wooden stick to crack it up or something?

If that worked it would be awesome.

 

[bender66]

What are you trying to accomplish?
Do you want it to be less sticky?
Different color?

I've done the razor thing. It took a few days just on the fretboard.

Even if you sand it all back you still have some kind of sealer under it.

Do you have pics?

 

[EsquireOK]

If it is actually lacquer, then it's easy as pie to remove. Mild strippers and solvents will do it.

I myself would not use a heat gun to strip finish from a neck - only a body that was going to be refinished in an opaque finish.

If it's polyurethane, a combination of rough abrasion (i.e. sanding) to give the finish some tooth, and then heavy duty chemical stripping with methylene chloride stripper (may take repeated applications) will be the most effective at removing the finish with no risk of reshaping the wood, IME. Just make sure to keep the stripper off of any plastic parts and glue joints. Chemically stripping poly is slow going, but it *does* work.

You can also just spend the (well worth it, IMO) $150 to have MJT strip it for you.

 

[Northwards]

A while ago, Don Mare wrote about removing most of the poly finish from a tele fretboard, using a standard razor blade at a 90 degree angle. Just wiping the blade back and forth slowly takes off the finish, till you get it down to where you want. Time consuming? Yes, but low tech and easily controllable, if you go slow.

Good to know! This seems like an fool proof option- if I manage to stay patient though..

 

[Northwards]

What are you trying to accomplish?
Do you want it to be less sticky?
Different color?

I've done the razor thing. It took a few days just on the fretboard.

Even if you sand it all back you still have some kind of sealer under it.

Do you have pics?

Less sticky- smoother to play. Colour ain’t that important on the neck. It’s a pretty vintage white body.

As you can see it’s very shiny.

 

[bender66]

View attachment 565642 View attachment 565644 View attachment 565643

Less sticky- smoother to play. Colour ain’t that important on the neck. It’s a pretty vintage white body.

As you can see it’s very shiny.

Just take a grey 3M scouring pad to it & knock back the finish on the back of the neck only. Don't go screwing that neck up. I do it on all my necks, as do many others.

 

[Northwards]

Just take a grey 3M scouring pad to it & knock back the finish on the back of the neck only. Don't go screwing that neck up. I do it on all my necks, as do many others.

Is that a particular grade 3M? I may have to get something similar in another brand over here.

And I may just do a bit of easy sanding paper on the fretboard, just to get the high gloss off.

 

[bender66]

Is that a particular grade 3M? I may have to get something similar in another brand over here.

And I may just do a bit of easy sanding paper on the fretboard, just to get the high gloss off.

Yes, there are a variety of brands. You can use micro mesh, scouring pads, whatever as long as it's not to coarse.

I dont recommend doing it to the fretboard. Why? It serves no purpose. Just the back where your hand runs up & down the neck is what I do.

 

[Dacious]

I doubt if that neck is maple. I think it's Kauri - a type of Agathis. That is not a problem - it's a very good wood for necks and bodies. Not quite as hard as maple. Lots of Asian build instruments use it.

 

[Asmith]

It seems pretty hard (like it’s new really). Could you maybe elaborate on this “wet-and dry back to satin” procedure a bit more in detail please.

And, did you chip off the brittle lacquer by banging it with a smooth wooden stick to crack it up or something?

If that worked it would be awesome.

you don't need to remove the laquer or have a thin laquer for a certain feel it just needs scuffing with very fine wet and dry sand paper, micro mesh or a scotchbrite pad. You can only feel the surface of the finish so why should it matter how much finish there is.

 

[D_W_PGH]

There's a product in a can at home depot that just says 'Stripper ' on it. It'll remove just about anything, even the spanning on a plane .

Otherwise, I'd scrape with a card scraper .

 

[warrent]

Less sticky- smoother to play. Colour ain’t that important on the neck. It’s a pretty vintage white body.

As you can see it’s very shiny.

I see you are in Norway, so go to your local auto parts store and go to the paint section. Get some wet/ dry sand paper in various grits 600, 800, 1000 and sand the back of the neck first until it feels less sticky to you. If the grades of sand paper are different, you are looking for the grades to polish the clear coat not to remove the finish. You can use water mixed with a little dish soap as a lubricant for the sand paper or naptha (lighter fluid). Remove the neck from the guitar before you start.
You can do the fret board if you want, but be careful not to sand the frets.

Stripping the neck properly and refinishing it properly is going to be a lot of work with minimal returns.