Stripping paint

[ciudadmarron]

Hope this is the right place....

There's an undercoat of red on my bass and an overcoat of black. I don't mind this in fact i actually quite like the effect, but i want to heighten the effect a little in places.

Does anyone have any recommendations for stripping the overcoat of black off in some places and leaving the red intact?

I have a feeling that there may well be the original black underneath the red, i.e., it was originally black, someone painted it red first and then black again.

[62bass]

It's hard to tell what paint is on there and if a stripper will even remove it. To do what you want I don't think a stripper is the best way to go even if one would work, since it's unlikely to be selective about colour. Without looking at the bass I'd say you might have some success with careful sanding with fine sandpaper-about 400 grit, and stopping before you cut through what you want to leave.

At least, if you bugger the job it won't look much worse than what you describe it looks like now and then you can sand the whole mess off and refinish it the right way.

A 78 Fender P I stripped to bare wood turned out to be a nice looking northern ash body, so I gave it a oil/varnish finish which has aged nicely since I applied it 10 years ago and looks better than ever. The original colour was white and there was also a coat of bright red under that nad then a polyester clear sealer on the wood. Impossible to strip with chemicals. I used a heat gun and wood scraper and lots of sandpaper. That bass has ben my main bass for countless gigs and sounds excellent with all the other work I did to it like a pickup upgrade and different bridge. But it weighs a ton and kills my back and shoulder so I only play it sitting now.

I've never been into the whole vintage thing myself. I just want a bass that sounds good, plays easily and looks acceptable.

[ciudadmarron]

Originally Posted by 62bass

It's hard to tell what paint is on there and if a stripper will even remove it. To do what you want I don't think a stripper is the best way to go even if one would work, since it's unlikely to be selective about colour. Without looking at the bass I'd say you might have some success with careful sanding with fine sandpaper-about 400 grit, and stopping before you cut through what you want to leave.

At least, if you bugger the job it won't look much worse than what you describe it looks like now and then you can sand the whole mess off and refinish it the right way.

A 78 Fender P I stripped to bare wood turned out to be a nice looking northern ash body, so I gave it a oil/varnish finish which has aged nicely since I applied it 10 years ago and looks better than ever. The original colour was white and there was also a coat of bright red under that nad then a polyester clear sealer on the wood. Impossible to strip with chemicals. I used a heat gun and wood scraper and lots of sandpaper. That bass has ben my main bass for countless gigs and sounds excellent with all the other work I did to it like a pickup upgrade and different bridge. But it weighs a ton and kills my back and shoulder so I only play it sitting now.

I've never been into the whole vintage thing myself. I just want a bass that sounds good, plays easily and looks acceptable.

Thanks for the advice. I want the same things out of a bass as well generally - I just think if I do it right this could look quite striking.

I'll give the sandpaper a go and see what happens!

If anybody else has any ideas as to how I could get some more fine control in getting rid of the top coat in places i'd appreciate it.

[OmegaZ27]

What bass do you have? I've tried stripping my Squier, and it didn't do a thing. I did what 62bass said and just used a heat gun/scraper/sandpaper. That's the only way you're gonna be able to do it with most basses (not all, just most.)