Stripping A Squier Body

erratic_assassin

The question first: how practical would it be to strip an old Chinese Squier Strat body back to bare wood, without using any power tools?

... and now the context.   I posted a thread on this 'ere forum before Christmas asking for suggestions for shaping a blank headstock for a partscaster I was working on. I was initially reluctant to work on it myself because I live in a third floor flat and had concerns about ventilation and noise if the job required power tools, but I managed to cut and shape the headstock just using a coping saw and sanding blocks, then finish it using linseed oil and Feed 'N' Wax. It's turned out pretty well! (And if I ever get some image hosting sorted out, I might post a few pics. ) 

However... now that I've got the neck done, I'm very tempted to have a bash at stripping the body, which is from a 1996 Chinese Squier strat and looks like it's three-piece alder. It's currently finished in a three-colour sunburst and there's some nice grain showing through the transparent portion of the finish, which makes me think it might look rather fetching if I were to strip it back to bare wood and give it the same linseed oil finish as the neck.

The problem is, of course, that if I start stripping it by hand and get fed up halfway through, or can't make a decent job of removing the current finish, there's a very good chance I'll muck up what's turning out to be a rather nice guitar. The same concerns about ventilation and noise apply.

Any thoughts? Any gotchas I need to consider?

gretschthumper

I’d have a go at some finish under the scratchplate to get an idea of the thickness and how difficult it might be to remove … that way you can always back out before too much damage is done. I’d guess being a Squier it’ll be a thick poly finish, and might be hard to remove - modern paint strippers don’t have much effect on poly, using a heat gun might be an alternative.

Kalimna

A few years ago, I stripped the finish from an old Silver Series Squier. It is doable, but takes time. And a lot of sanding. However, it's possible that the body had been refinished previously as there were several dents that had been filled in (the dents being made by what looked like a Phillips screwdriver) and covered in solid black.
You might find a heat gun useful, but away from the glue joins of the 3 pieces of alder.

paulnb57

You will lose the will to live if you try to just hand sand Squier Poly off….it may be worth sticking with it as is

drofluf

I’d use a hot air gun; it’s quiet and you’d be fine with a window open. I removed the finish from a Baja in about 20 minutes with one and a scraper. Once the poly get warm it lifts off very easily. 

Funkfingers

erratic_assassin said:

… it's three-piece alder. It's currently finished in a three-colour sunburst and there's some nice grain showing through the transparent portion of the finish …

Is it broken? Why are you trying to fix it?

victorludorum

I had a '90s Squier body (not Chinese though) that had a nice thin finish, so you might be lucky. As others have said, have a go under the scratchplate and see how thick it is.

rexter

There was another thread about stripping a modern finish (urethane/poly/2k) recently with a lot of good advice on it.

Main negative point being: it's very hard to do it and keep the wood pristine/undamaged, especially on your first attempt.

Can of course be done with heat guns and lots of sanding/scraping etc as people have suggested, but it's realistic to expect that if it's anyone's first time doing it, they should expect some gouges, dings, scorch marks etc so a natural wood finish is always going to be very challenging - opposed to a new opaque paint job that is prepped with filler, primer, flatting, repriming etc on and on. 

WezV

The main question is what exactly are you trying to achieve. 

As above, a natural finish may be more work to get right.  It will also involve some mess at some point to do properly, but once stripped there are low VOC options which will work

If you wanted a solid colour unfortunately there isn't many standard guitar finishes you can do over the paint that won't be messy or high VOC.  But there are alternatives.  Milk paint will work on a keyed surface with some additives to help it bond.  Posca pens work well for artwork, stickers and wraps are an option  etc.

BillDL

@erratic_assassin.   There's a reason I keep thinking about and then putting off stripping and refinishing this Pepto-Bismol shaded bass with a hard wipe-on finish like oil.  It has the same type of rock hard "poly" finish as a Squier and I have no idea whether the wood under it has had imperfections that have been filled with opaque wood filler or whether it has a primer that would still need to be sanded through even if I could strip it with a heat gun without digging into the wood with a scraper.  If I do get around to refinishing it I think I will just sand to key it for a primer then do a spray can refinish, because removing all the finish is more hassle than it's worth and with the potential to look worse than a giant marshmallow.

I guess you aren't a fan of 3-colour sunburst on your guitar, but I think you need to have a Plan B if it does end up gouged by a scraper or with filled knots under the dark areas of the sunburst.  If it does have areas of filler they can be hard or impossible to disguise with dye / stain.  If you plan on an oiled finish you have to make absolutely sure every bit of the finish is removed.  If there was a clear sanding sealer on the body it can be hard to see until you try and oil it and the oil doesn't soak into areas still with sanding sealer on them.

erratic_assassin

In response to queries about motivation: there's nothing much wrong with the current finish, bar a few chips and dings that you'd expect on a body of that age, and I'm not trying to fix anything as such. I was just curious about the feasibility of stripping the finish because the entire project has turned out to be a bit more of a learning experience than I was expecting - I just wanted to use up some spare parts and practice my soldering! - so what's one more thing?

 But, based on the above replies, I think I'll just leave the finish as is; stripping the body sounds like it's probably a step too far for me at this point. Sticking some Tonerider noiseless pickups on it is rather more within the realms of possibility, though...

erratic_assassin

Side note: I have an Epi Les Paul of a similar vintage (1997) which has a "special edition" solid sparkle finish on the top, over a three-piece body with some very noticeable knots in the rear. I suspect the finish is just a way to camouflage or distract from the fact that the factory was using up leftover chunks of low-grade/less pretty wood.  Maybe the finish on the Squier is hiding similar cosmetic issues!

menamestom

I stripped my USA Standard body, then painted it in exactly the same colour.  

I decided it needed to be nitro, wouldn't bother now but it was years ago. 

What I learned:-

- You can get the poly finishes off, heat is by far the best method.

- Strats are harder than Teles, things get harder round curves.

- The wood underneath a 90's USA Fender is not worth unearthing.  I think mine was a 7 piece with a veneer.  Quality wise 2026 Harley Bentons > Fender USA.  I would be surprised if the 90's Chinese Squier was in actual fact 3 pieces of fine timber.  

- Veneers are thin and can be damaged easily.  

- Whatever tool marks / burns / dings / scrapes you do will need sanding out or filling.  Sounds obvious but that's more work than the stripping.

-You could sell the squire body and get a better body from guitar build, which would save you work, be better quality and almost ready to finish.

ICBM

erratic_assassin said:

Any gotchas I need to consider?

Yes - the wood will be soft fibrous rubbish, whatever it looks like through a nice hard gloss finish. Not necessarily bad as a wood to make a solidbody guitar from, that's a different thing.

Finishing a good maple neck in oil and wax is a good option, finishing the body the same way isn't. Don't.

(Sounds like you've got there already from your most recent post!)

hollywoodrox

I’ve done it with a vintage modified bass. I used a friends Heat gun & one of those sharp paint scrapers that come to a point . You have to be careful not to burn it though  although I found the dark burned bits do sand out .

its good to get the big bits of thick poly off  but still required a lot of hand sanding . Sadly I never finished the project