Removing stain from binding

[GlennW]

I Googled around for stain remover and searched "stain" here, but didn't find what I was looking for.

I have a project bass coming and it's been stripped and stained - poor job from what I could see.

What a good product or method to remove stain from binding and the wood too?

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by GlennW

I Googled around for stain remover and searched "stain" here, but didn't find what I was looking for.

I have a project bass coming and it's been stripped and stained - poor job from what I could see.

What a good product or method to remove stain from binding and the wood too?

Probably careful scraping for the binding. There aren't many things that the plastic will absorb, so a light scraping should clean it up.

As for the wood, if the bare wood was stained, I doubt you'll ever get it all out, since it soaks into the wood. Plus, the wood would probably have to be bleached if it's to be refinished natural.

[GlennW]

Thanks. I was hoping to avoid scraping, but that would be better than melting it with a chemical.

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by GlennW

Thanks. I was hoping to avoid scraping, but that would be better than melting it with a chemical.

Exactly. It really doesn't take very long at all to scrape it with a razor blade and it'll look like new.

By the way, what kind of bass?

[Rattman]

Hey... just had this thought: how about some super-fine steel wool with just a touch of a marginally abrasive material such as toothpaste or some thick carnuba wax?

Nice, slow, little circles until you see some lessening of the stain perhaps?

[GlennW]

It's a Harmony H22. It's sort of a mess - just the neck and body, original pickup hole enlarged, extra pickup hole, extra knob hole. I'm thinking about painting the body with some leftover paint and just clearcoating the neck and maybe some black Krylon on the face of the headstock.

I might try a rubbing compound or something. I'm afraid I'd screw it up (more) by scraping.

[GlennW]

Turtle Wax rubbing compound and a sock is working pretty good. The binding has very many scratches and nicks which are hard to remove the stain from. Denatured alcohol works pretty good too, after the rubbing compound. I might try a little buffing wheel for a drill with compound and see how that works on the low spots. I spent a few minutes with a rag and lacquer thinner trying to remove the stain on the back of the neck - it helped a lot, but didn't get it all.