Stripping a Squier P/J bass

[bmurf]

Howdy lads,

I want to strip the finish off my Squier P/J bass, see what the wood is like underneath, and maybe refinish it so it looks all lovely and natural.

Has anyone done this and got some ideas for me? Sanding it down seems like a real trek, and I'd rather use some kind of caustic stripper, but don't know which one to use.

All advice and ideas greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Bmurf

 

[M0ses]

None of those strippers work, IME. If you're gonna strip, best option is to sand. Forever. It sucks.

 

[tangentmusic]

Lots of people have stripped finishes off of bodies. Do a search here for the info.
My concern is after you have put all that time & labor into stripping the Squier, you may not like the woodgrain matching. I've seen Squier VM jazz basses in the natural finish that had terrible matching. I'd hate to see whats under a solid color

 

[joshwilkesbooth]

I sanded down my Squire P/J bass by hand. It took a long time. I did it over the course of a week or two, a little bit here and there.

Wear a mask, gloves, and do it outside. You never know what's in the paint from south of the border.

 

[bmurf]

Ok, sanding it is then... But, so long as i'm real careful and precise etc, do i really need to take the neck off? I reckon it could be done just with the strings and scratchplate off. I'm open to correction on this though....

 

[wshines1892]

I saw someone a while back who used a heat gun and simply peeled off the finish with his fingers. Anyone have a link?

 

[joshwilkesbooth]

I took off the neck. Made it "easier" to get all the paint off.

 

[odin70]

Beware! A stripped Squire does not alway look like a Fodera.

 

[MrChucklebunny]

Saving up for a few weeks and buying an unfinished Mighty Mite body would be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less frustrating... I mean... we are talking like $100.

Seriously, trying to remove that finish is 7000 kinds of horrible and the wood underneath will suck, guaranteed.

 

[HillBillyWannaB]

Saving up for a few weeks and buying an unfinished Mighty Mite body would be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less frustrating... I mean... we are talking like $100.

Seriously, trying to remove that finish is 7000 kinds of horrible and the wood underneath will suck, guaranteed.

^^^That.

 

[Pilgrim]

Heat gun.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Its probably basswood or agathis which would real unattractive. Leave it be or get a nice body from Warmoth unfinished for $165 and finish that in Natty. Peace.