How To Remove Paint From A Guitar

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The Guitar Infinite Team is a hodgepodge of guitar aficionados that can't stop playing, talking, writing, and thinking nearly all things guitar. Their collective expertise is equally vast and diverse equally their experience, backgrounds, and favorite food choices.

1 of the biggest limitations, when you're purchasing a low budget electric guitar, is that there is isn't a large selection of colour choices for these instruments which is why in this occasion we take decided to let you know how to paint a guitar in the correct manner and what to ready beforehand.

If you happen to exist looking for a specific custom guitar color or you're just looking to refinish a guitar, it's actually pretty simple to larn how to refinish and repaint a guitar yourself!

Before you lot get into refinishing your instrument, know that refinishing and repainting a guitar is much more difficult than refinishing any other forest object, as a large amount of attempt and attention has to be paid in order to reach a smooth, sleek, factory appearance.

When starting out this project, make certain that you lot're prepared to accept your time, every bit painting guitars and finishing their guitar torso in the proper manner is a lengthy process that can accept weeks to accomplish.

Brand sure that y'all don't rush when doing this job, as you may feel like there's a pressure being put on you to finish the job upwards quickly so that you can get back to playing your instrument.

Here'due south what you're going to need to go into your repainting project:

Guitar
Orbital sander
Sanding paper or sanding sponge
Fine grit, medium, and coarse sandpaper
Vacuum cleaner
Cloths
Mineral spirits
White Primer
Spray cans or paint
Spray gun (if you decide to utilize spray cans)
Clear color coats
Ultra-fine sandpaper pads
Dust mask and eyeglasses
Wire cutters
Screwdriver
Allen wrenches
Soldering iron and solder
Masking tape

If you are doing your own paint job, make sure that you follow some simple guidelines that nosotros list in this article and that you don't rust, as your rush task and mistakes will show through in your last results!

How to Repaint or Restain, or Refinish a Guitar

one. Begin to disassemble your guitar

You're going to desire to offset the process of repainting your guitar by showtime disassembling the instrument.

Yous can kickoff this process past removing the strings of your guitar, only by clipping the strings away with a pair of wire clippers or string clippers.

There is no way that you can repaint a guitar with this strings on, which means that when you're finished painting your guitar, you're more than than likely going to need to re-adjust your truss rod once you put the guitar dorsum together.

2. Take the neck off of your guitar

Subsequently removing the guitar strings from the instrument, you're going to next piece of work on removing the neck of the instrument.

Guitar necks that bolt on are actually pretty easy to remove, as all you lot take to do is unscrew the bolts that are on the back of the neck joint and gently wiggle the neck free.

Notwithstanding, if you happen to accept a neck that'due south glued on, glued necks aren't meant to exist removed, so you'll just have to leave the instrument'southward neck solitary and repaint it to friction match the rest of the torso.

3. Remove the hardware from your guitar

In one case you lot've removed the cervix of the guitar, you'll work on removing all of the hardware on the guitar. Y'all can utilise a screwdriver or an Allen wrench to remove the bridge, knobs, strap buttons, pickguard, pickups, and the output jack.

There are some guitar models where the output jack and knobs are wired to the pickups through holes that are in between each cavity, then y'all're but going to need to cutting the wires in order to remove each piece of hardware.

However, you lot should ensure that you lot know how the wires are wired so that you tin put everything back together correctly.

4. Consider Removing your Guitar Span Studs

The bridge studs are what you're going to piece of work on after removing some the rest of your hardware. Some instruments don't have any bridge studs, but the bridge of the guitar can merely be unscrewed from the body of your instrument.

Sometimes, it can exist hard to remove bridge studs because they're hammered into the wood of the guitar.

If y'all're really desperate to remove the span studs, y'all can heat the wood upward with a soldering iron so that the wood heats upwards and when the studs start to cool down, they will contract and get easier to remove. The downfall to practise this is that when y'all use pliers to remove the bridge studs, you can scar the finish of the studs and actually end upwardly ruining their appearance.

5. Organize your hardware

Now that everything is removed from your instrument, you should set all the hardware and fasteners aside in plastic baggies and label the baggies.

Refinishing your instrument can take you lot a couple of weeks (or even a few months), so you're really going to desire to make sure that you take each bolt and screw labeled, as this will help to prevent any confusion when you're going and reassembling your guitar.

6. Remove the Old Guitar Finish past Sanding

Since all of your hardware is at present off of your musical instrument, yous're going to start to work on sanding the existing end on the guitar. When sanding the existing finish on the guitar, you have 2 options on how you lot can get about on this process.

You tin decide to either sand abroad the finish completely, or you can rough up the finish that'south already on the guitar to put on a fresh coat of paint that's going to stick to the instrument.

When repainting your guitar and you've decided to get with a stain, a translucent paint, or going back to the original finish that'southward darker than the color of pigment that you lot're going with, you're going to completely remove the finish that's already on the instrument. If you're only going to use a solid paint on your instrument, and so you lot're only going to demand to rough up the surface of your musical instrument.

Keep in listen that a lot of guitar builders agree that a thick coat of paint or finish will tonally diminish your musical instrument.

7. Employ an orbital sander

Next, accept an orbital sander (I recommend this Porter Cable Random Orbital Sander w/dust vac port) to remove virtually of the terminate. You tin fit an orbital sander with some coarse grit sandpaper and work it over the entire body of your instrument, using circular and smooth strokes.

Though yous may be extremely tempted, don't use paint stripper; non only is this an extremely toxic and messy process, just most paint strippers too don't take the capabilities to remove the rock hard polyurethane that a lot of guitar manufacturers use.

Recommended Guitar Sander

Porter Cable 20v Orbital Sander | Amazon

I personally recommend this sander as it's easy to manuever and comes standard with a dust vac port for efficient dust removal for fragile sanding projects such as this.

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03/09/2022 x:33 am GMT

eight. Have manus sandpaper to arrive fine crevices

After using your sander, if you've noticed that there is yet finish on your instrument, you can use sandpaper to remove the residual of the finish.

Curved areas on your guitar are going to exist difficult for your sander to attain, so using coarse grit sandpaper or a coarse dust sanding sponge can be used to remove the stop in these hard-to-reach places.

Recommended Hand Sander:Can use Almost (in the 200-400 dust range), only I specifically recommend this 4-pack, starting with the 220 grit and working your way down.

9. Go out your finer sandpaper

Once you've finished using the sandpaper, you're going to work on smoothing the guitar's body. Y'all can use a fine grain of sandpaper of to smooth out the wood on the guitar.

You're going to want to work over the unabridged body of the guitar with a medium grit sandpaper (120 dust) and go back over over again with the entire body and utilise an even effectively dust of newspaper (220 dust).

10. Vacuum up your mess

Now that y'all're all washed working on removing the finish of the guitar and smoothing the body downwardly, you're going to need to remove all of the dust on the guitar.

A vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment volition remove almost of the dust that came from your sanding.

In club to remove additional grit using a can of compressed air to spray the dust away or you can wipe abroad the grit with a moistened material that's been dampened with water.

eleven. Utilise a grain filler

Unless you are purposefully going for the unfinished and distressed look, yous are going to want to apply grain filler to your guitar's body when you're working on mahogany or other porous wood.

A grain filler is another term for putty or a filler to brand your guitar'southward surface even for when you commencement painting.

If you decide to get with a filler, choose an oil-based or a water-based fill that will lucifer the cease or paint that you're using.

Recommendation: Stick to a WATER based grain filler like this one as it's less mess and dries faster.

Recommended Guitar Grain Filler

ColorTone Powdered Grain Filler | Amazon

Yous can get past with whatsoever water based wood filler, but the folks at ColorTone created a grain filler specifically for guitars which I highly recommend! Notation: yous tin can likewise find different color variations (e.g. mahogany) if you prefer a detail finish.

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03/09/2022 08:43 am GMT

12. Apply mineral spirits

One time you are all finished applying a grain filler, apply mineral spirits to remove all of the oils that are on acme of your guitar'due south body. After you've applied the mineral spirits, don't touch your guitar!

Wait for the mineral spirits to dry before yous touch because otherwise, the oils from your fingers will ruin your new end.

xiii. Get your Guitar Prepare for Repainting

Before you lot begin to apply your new paint or cease the job, y'all should place your musical instrument inside of a large box that is sitting on top of a type of portable tabular array (like a TV tray).

The opening of the box that you've chosen should be laid on its side and then that when you're painting your guitar, all of the paint is contained within the box, while also allowing the guitar to slide in and out of the box with ease.

Likewise ensure when you lot're getting your expanse prepare for painting your musical instrument that you're doing so in a room that's nice an open, that way you don't have to worry most your furniture getting accidentally painted.

xiv. Figure out what paint (or stain) you want to use

Now comes the fun part!

Yous should pick out the stain or the paint that you want to use. If you plan on painting your guitar with a solid colour, notice yourself a pigment that's durable, such as a paint with nitrocellulose or polyurethane.

Nitrocellulose is the best decision for y'all to brand and can be found at car role stores or online, merely the biggest downside to this paint is that takes a long while to dry. If you're looking for a stained finished, you lot're going to want to use a water based stain, likewise as a nitrocellulose or polyurethane articulate glaze.

Or you could cull to use an oil-based stain with oil-based finishes. You can also use spray on finishes, as this will foreclose whatsoever possibilities of brush marks existence left on your final effect.

Recommendation:ColorTone too offers a great custom created guitar lacquer production hither, which is now my go-to vs trying to mix and friction match various general laquers.

fifteen. Apply primer

Before going in and adding your new finish or paint to your guitar, you should add a few coats of primer to your instrument that matches the blazon of paint that you are going to use on your instrument.

Use ii to three sparse coats rather than ane thick coat of primer, every bit this will ensure that the primer will dry properly and that it won't drip.

16. Before you outset painting

When yous're working on applying your new terminate, be sure that you lot're painting in a dust complimentary environment. Painting outside is a bad thought because bugs are naturally fatigued to the odor of your pigment and will go themselves stuck in the wet paint.

This will cause your finish to expect lumpy, bumpy, and poorly crafted! When you're painting in the indoors, brand sure that y'all use a quality air mask and goggles in order to protect yourself confronting the harmful vapors from the paint or terminate.

17. Start Painting your Guitar

If yous've decided that you're going to apply a spray paint, make certain that you're applying thin layers of paint and allowing each thin coat to dry completely before applying another coat of paint.

Before applying your articulate coat of paint, you should let your colored coat of paint to completely dry for one calendar week before the clear glaze.

Recommendation:I also highly recommend going with ColorTone waterbase finish gloss / tiptop coat here.

eighteen. Offset using your stain

On the other side, if you programme on using a stain, you're going to demand to moisture the body of your guitar to make adding the stain to your torso easier, while also helping to avert blemishes.

Yous're going to need to apply the stain on the guitar via the instructions that the manufacturer provides and yous'll need to apply as many coats of stain until y'all've achieved your desired await.

Recommendation: A great liquid stain for guitars is the ColorTone liquid stain available here.

19. Apply a clear coat

One time your stain or your paint has dried for a week, yous should apply a articulate coat to your instrument.

A nitrocellulose clear coat is highly recommended (like this one). Make certain that when you're applying your coats of articulate coat that yous practise utilize the coat every bit thin as you possibly tin can, applying the second layer later the first layer has dried, and then on.

You lot may even need upwardly to add up to a dozen coats to get a factory terminate. If you happen to choose a nitrocellulose or a polyurethane finish, y'all should wait betwixt three to 4 calendar week for the pigment to completely harden. However, if you happen to use an oil-based finish, you're merely going to demand to wait a few days for everything to harden.

20. Polish the cease

Don't dry sand the smooth (use a wet sanding technique)! When you're sanding the smooth, brand sure that you are doing moisture sand on the hardened finish starting with a fine grit (400) and to a more rough dust (2000). Your grit process should go from 400 dust, 600 grit, 800 dust, grand grit, 1200 dust, 1500 dust, and 2000 grit. Hither'due south a good multi-pack of sandpaper dust here.

Don't skip over or miss any scratches, swirls, or tiny pits in the finish or otherwise; they volition be impossible to leave.

Likewise, ensure that you don't sand through the clear color coat and into the colour, so be extremely conscientious when yous're sanding nearly the edges that fashion you don't sand into the paint.

21. Reassemble your Guitar

At present that all of the paint is dried and you've sanded everything down screw or bolt your guitar's hardware dorsum together.

If you had to snip any wires to accept apart your guitar, you lot're going to have to solder the wires dorsum together. This would be a swell fourth dimension to replace whatsoever cheap factory components with college quality ones.

This is also the fourth dimension where y'all can supervene upon your old pickguard with something new! Once y'all have your instrument assembled once again, y'all can make clean and shine your guitar with your typical guitar polish. Then string information technology, tune information technology, and play!

The Final Castor: Repainting a Guitar

If you happen to decide that you lot're going to remove whatever old paint with paint stripped, but be extremely cautious when doing so! Use a quality paint respirator and make sure to do this exterior, as pigment stripper is toxic and carcinogenic, so using your paint stripped exterior volition be much safer for your personal health.

As well, always make sure that you wear heart goggles and a dust mask when yous're sanding! Exist careful, be patient, and proficient luck on epainting your guitar!

(Images courtesy of Wikipages)

FAQs About Guitar Repainting

How long does information technology accept to repaint a guitar?

Repainting a guitar might have from 3 days to ii weeks, depending on the method of painting that y'all choose and the conditions conditions. Laquer takes about 48 hours to dry, whereas spray paint takes 30 minutes to i hours to dry.

How much does it cost to repaint a guitar?

This is too up to the selection of colour and method, but for starters, you will demand effectually $250 bucks to DIY at dwelling, although nosotros e'er advise yous to trust professionals with your beloved instrument.

Does refinishing a guitar affect its value?

Unfortunately aye. Refinishing a guitar tin decrease its value for one-half of the price on the collector's market, no thing how great the finish is.

Acme Picks for Guitar Care

Instrument Work Mat & Neck Back up | Guitar Centre

A piece of work mat is an easy mode to upgrade your guitar's cleanup and repair process. The cervix support helps keep your guitar prophylactic and secure while yous're doing repairs or maintenance.

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Dunlop Formula 65 Guitar Tech Kit | Guitar Center

This Dunlop kit includes a Formula 65 Guitar Polish and Cleaner (2 oz.), Fretboard 65 Ultimate Lemon Oil (2 oz.), Ultraglide 65 String Cleaner and Conditioner (2 oz.), a peg winder and 2 polish cloths.

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Nosotros may receive compensation from the companies whose products we review. Nosotros merely recommend products that we believe in and test.

Fender Factory Microfiber Cloth | Guitar Middle

Make sure to keep your Guitar clean later on each use with this genuine Fender Manufactory Microfiber Cloth, lint-costless and nitrocellulose safe.

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Nosotros may receive compensation from the companies whose products we review. We merely recommend products that we believe in and test.

Source: https://guitarspace.org/guitar-maintenance/how-to-properly-repaint-your-guitar/

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