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Ibanez tmb30 - coating removal

C

Crobybass

Oct 26, 2022
65
82
#1
Hi!

I saw a clip on Youtube where a guy used a heating-gun thingy to remove the plastic coating on a electric guitar and it seemed to work pretty well! Does anyone know if this would be possible with a Ibanez tmb30 bass? Hows the plastic coating on that one? Thick and hard to get off or pretty thin and easy?
 
#4
Bent77 said:
I've never stripped one of those, but the coating on a Squier is thicker than you think.
Decide how into stripping this you really are, because if you heat it and it goes wrong, you'll be sanding

Lots of good stuff in the Luthiers Corner, as well as this https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ratt
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Yeah seems like a pretty big job haha

Matt Liebenau said:
What’s the end goal for stripping the finish? A different opaque color? Some type of natural or dyed color.
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I thought about just have a wooden finish and maybe taint it darker...but I might skip this idea haha....i just think all black feels so boring
 
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#5
Using a heat-gun will remove a thick or hard to remove finish but one needs to follow some rules. First off, you need to do it outside or if inside with good ventilation & a respirator as the process is toxic. Handling the gun (proximity to the body) needs control as you can easily scorch the wood. (if wanting to do a trans-finish as a result) The scraper used needs rounded edges so as not to gouge the wood while removing the finish. How the scraper is healed is also critical to only do what's needed. A well-used/worn long wooden handle scraper a few inches wide works best. Well worn because it won't be prone to gouging the wood. Wearing heavy leather gloves is also recommended as the area gets hot. The scraper should be angled nearly flat removing the finish once the heat-gun softens the finish. You will be removing most of the finish - the remaining residue will be removed with strippers and/or steel-wool/sanding. CA strippers are worthless but can help soften minimal residue which steel-wool will remove.

Patience and finesse will save having a lot of filling of nicks & gouges after the finish is removed. Some finishes have a tough undercoat of a sealer which needs to also be removed if wanting a bare-wood trans finish. Otherwise it can be left acting as a base for an opaque finish. Also, once stripped you may find mis-matched wood which wouldn't look great if finishing in a stained/clear-coated finish.

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After the finish is burned off -
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If doing an opaque finish - no need to get all the staining out by sanding
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#6
Crobybass said:
I thought about just have a wooden finish and maybe taint it darker.
Click to expand...
You also run into the risk that because the body is going to be painted at the factory that the body is made of random pieces. I've seen guitars stripped to find the wood underneath is ugly AF, and some where it's beautiful. You throw the dice and take your chances...
 
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#7
crazycloud said:
You also run into the risk that because the body is going to be painted at the factory that the body is made of random pieces. I've seen guitars stripped to find the wood underneath is ugly AF, and some where it's beautiful. You throw the dice and take your chances...
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^^^This.^^^ I wouldn't risk it. That's a ton of work regardless, and if you end up discovering that all you've done is remove lipstick from a pig... :laugh:
 
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#8
Crobybass said:
Yeah seems like a pretty big job haha


I thought about just have a wooden finish and maybe taint it darker...but I might skip this idea haha....i just think all black feels so boring
Click to expand...


If a version of a natural finish is what you’re after read what JIO wrote above. Once the clear, that’s probably actually a candy or tinted clear, is all off the seal coats that are underneath can be quite difficult to completely remove especially if it’s an open grain wood like ash or mahogany. The sealer is down in the grain. If you don’t get all the sealer off the body won’t take a dye evenly, it will be blotchy. A good option however would be to get down to the seal coat then spray a different tinted clear over that. That’s not meant to discourage you from trying, just go in with realistic expectations so you don’t end up with a half done project and no bass.
 
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#14
As others have said, it's a process that seems simple until you start. The wood underneath can be pieces of various width and color that prevents a stained or natural finish. My opinion, for what it's worth, is be prepared to paint if the look of the wood in the body would not look good in it's natural state.

All 3 of my partsbasses involved new paint, two by my kids and one I had done at an auto shop. Getting the body prepared for a good paint base is not for the faint of heart. And paint covers "ugly" wood. I've never used the heat gun method, just sanded through the clear and whatever was on there enough to have a good base to paint on.

Best of luck on whatever you do.
 
#16
@JIO and @Matt Liebenau provided some good answers for ya !

The main thing is to figure out EXACTLY what you’re hoping to achieve, and then research BEFORE even starting. Then if you still want to go through with it, take your time and be patient. It’s going to look ton worse before it starts looking better again.

However, it can pay off BIG TIME in some cases.heres a Gibson bass I got that had been poorly sprayed with a rattle can. When I stripped it back to wood, I couldn’t figure why anyone would ever spray this (poorly) with a solid color. The end result of stripping the finish was WELL worth the effort.

Here are before and after pics ….

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#17
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#18
Dark Horse said:
@JIO and @Matt Liebenau provided some good answers for ya !

The main thing is to figure out EXACTLY what you’re hoping to achieve, and then research BEFORE even starting. Then if you still want to go through with it, take your time and be patient. It’s going to look ton worse before it starts looking better again.

However, it can pay off BIG TIME in some cases.heres a Gibson bass I got that had been poorly sprayed with a rattle can. When I stripped it back to wood, I couldn’t figure why anyone would ever spray this (poorly) with a solid color. The end result of stripping the finish was WELL worth the effort.

Here are before and after pics ….

View attachment 7474776View attachment 7474777View attachment 7474778View attachment 7474779
Click to expand...
Really nice :thumbsup:
 
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#19
Just finished this process on a 2013 Fender Blacktop Jazz. See my NBD for more if you like.
It took 6 to 7 hours of heat gun work and sanding. The clear poly coat came off in small hard shards. The black layer underneath was thin, but it disguised a fairly thick layer of sanding sealer. That was a pain to get off. A good card scraper helped and then sanding. I’m still stiff and sore and my right hand occasionally locked into a claw.
This was done on Wednesday and then I oiled it with four coats spaced approximately 60 to 70 minutes apart, By Thursday morning I buffed and waxed the Tru-Oil finish.
So I probably have 12 hours total with tear down and rebuild added.
Would I do it again? NO! I’m not sure what gods are smiling on these people on YouTube peeling one giant layer off at a time…totally a PIA. Was it worth it? Sure, I love the result.
 

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