Stripped my Strat neck

[stonevibe]

So I finally got around to stripping the finish on a battered Fender American Series Strat I picked up recently.

I hate that finish and so wanted to get shot of it ASAP. This is the second one I have done. This time I purchased a cabinet scraper and did the whole neck in about 20 minutes flat!!

Just finishing it all of this afternoon with a bit of steel wool and some tung oil.






















So a new addition to my Bare Back Club and another battered Strat for me to play the hell out of.

[djwilbanks]

sweet, what did you use to get the finish off exactly?

[stonevibe]

I used a Cabinet Scraper it is the metal thing which is a silver oblong about 4"x2", made out of steel. You scrape it gently along the neck following the grain of the wood, it makes it easy to remove all the poly finish in a matter of minutes.

Then I finished it off with steel wool 0000 grade with a bit of tung oil.

job done!

[Dino]

Nice!
I'd suggest taking the neck off the guitar next time.
Tung Oil can damage your finish should you accidently get it on there.
It would also prevent the pickups from picking up any steel wool particles.
And it would also make for a more thorough job.

That would be me preference anyway.
I'm just say'n.

[stonevibe]

Nah, pickups were covered in masking tape.

Did you not see the huge gouges on the back of that Strat? I couldn't care less about the finish on it. Lol

I still see your point though! I probably will take the neck off so I can scrape all the poly out off where the neck sits in the pocket. You get better contact that way.

[coldsteal2]

The only way to go, i use lemon oil on my
old strat neck, i did the same with my bass
neck

[Paul]

Originally Posted by stonevibe

I used a Cabinet Scraper it is the metal thing which is a silver oblong about 4"x2", made out of steel. You scrape it gently along the neck following the grain of the wood, it makes it easy to remove all the poly finish in a matter of minutes.

Then I finished it off with steel wool 0000 grade with a bit of tung oil.

job done!

a scraper's a bit more than that, its very hard tool steel with a micro hook along the cutting g edge that is created by working it with a burnishing tool and their very good for removing thin carvings off wood and its better to cut wood than to sand it, sanding wood cuts into the grain and opens it up, cutting the grain with the scraper (which cuts along the top of the grain) leaves the grain intact and smoother.

great job by the way.

[stonevibe]

I love it when you get all technical Paul...

Me I'm a luddite i.e. 'metal thing' & 'silver oblong' is about the height of sophisticated language for me when it comes to tools. Lol

[Paul]

Originally Posted by stonevibe

I love it when you get all technical Paul...

Me I'm a luddite i.e. 'metal thing' & 'silver oblong' is about the height of sophisticated language for me when it comes to tools. Lol

lol all good, but you did the right thing using a scraper, it leaves a smoother and harder surface which you will hopefully enjoy

sanding the neck makes it feel softer because there are tiny little bits of wood fibres that have been cut up by the sandpaper and these are not good, they catch dirt, dust and leave the wood open to moisture.

so yeh good job and i was happy to see you scraped the entire neck not just a patch in the middle which i'v seen before.

[coldsteal2]

you can also use a striper but have to be careful
not to get it on the front

[stonevibe]

This poor old guitar has sustained a lot of damage from its previous owner. So I think I will have to take it all apart and assess the mess.

I polished all the frets up last night with some steel wool as the looked like he had been surfing tarmac with them!!

She is always going to be fugly because she has gouges and cracked finish all over the place, that and some twat soldered the phrase ' follow me' on the top horn on the back of the body.

When my local luthiers have some time I'm going to book her in for a real setup. Until them I'm going to dabble....

[brimay]

that is so wrong.

[Androo]

Nice job done there! What exactly didn't you like from the neck?

[stonevibe]

I cannot stand the finish on the back of the neck.