Guitar refinishing help

My youngest boy got a new Ibanez 5 string bass for Christmas. He'd like to use his 1st bass as a learning tool. It is an inexpensive 4 string by Silvertone. I see it as a great opportunity for him to learn. He is wanting to change the color and add graphics to the body. Whats the best direction to go? He asked me my opinion and off the top of my head, it seemed like scuff sanding with 220 and then shooting it with laquer was my strategy of choice. But thats based on me growing up in my grandpops autobody shop decades ago, and doing similar things on projects with him. But again thats more than 3 decades ago and finishes have come a long way since then. My boy was trying to find ways to take it down to bare wood and that seemed like a waste of time to me. I was also unsure if sanding too much in 1 spot by accident on the face of the guitar might cause problems with tone, playability, etc. going forward.

I thought I would ask the experts before giving him any advice or direction.

Thanks for any help,

Mike

I can't speak to what finish to use since he wants to add graphics but I can tell you that taking it down to bare wood will not impact tone or playability in any way.

You can just add more color and graphics to any solid body instrument without fear of affecting the tone, IMO. Most of the tone comes from the pickups and amplifier. I would scuff it up before applying a new finish since you don't know what the existing finish is. What I would do is apply a bunch of very light coats and start the graphics.

Taking it down to wood, or at least to the sealer, is the right way to do it. That guitar almost certainly has a heavy, polyurethane finish on it. Spraying over it with good results is a miserable undertaking. Here's some info on peeling off that finish.

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online...ar_finish.html

I've used chemical strippers, but they make a awful mess. Just go very easy with the heat...it's not a race. The goal is to get a clean release without melting anything or scorching the wood. Then prep as usual, and go through your finish schedule.

John, I would agree if this was a quality instrument but, it's a silvertone and it will still be a silvertone when he's done regardless of the approach. If he's willing to strip the finish off, then it might turn out better.

Whatever you're going to do, the surface underneath has to be able to accept it. John's suggestion is a good one in that you can put almost anything on it after taking it down. But if you scuff it and shoot it with lacquer, do you know that will work? The lacquer could react negatively to the existing finish or it could all just peel off. You have to know what finish there is on the bass before you know what to apply over it. Maybe you want to consider dewaxed shellac instead of lacquer as the top coat. It pretty much goes with anything.

It's my experience that most imports have a "polyester resin " finish that is incompatable with everything except polyester resin or super glue. The only way I know to remove this stuff is by sanding it off. This finish is basically a derivative of fibreglass resin and is not available in the U.S. due to EPA regulations. Paint and finisher removers have no effect so anything applied over an existing finish will not affect it and also will probably not adhere for long. Also if you "Scuff it up" no amount of buffing will restore the gloss.

I refinished one Guitar with my son. We stripped it. I laminated some curly maple on top. dyed the maple and sprayed the rest. I would strip it rather than scuffing. John offers sound advice.

Thanks all for the feedback. I think we are going to heat strip it. Not looking forward to the toxic jelly mess of strpper. The great news is he is ready to trade in his X-box time to learn new things. This makes me happy - I finally get one of my kids out in the shop with me.

I'll post some progress and follow-up as we move the project along.

Thanks again,
Mike