maple veneer refinish?

monami · 10-31-2009, 07:13 PM

i have a cherry sunburst les paul copy it has a flame maple veneer. can i sand it down and refinish it or will the stain be soaked through the veneer? i was hoping to make it a plain top with tru oil. anyone have a flame maple tru oiled les paul pic?
i ask this question as when i refinished my sg i was going to keep the wine stain it had and refinish it but the stain was odd it did not go into the wood it came off with very little work!

SG Lou · 11-01-2009, 05:16 AM

All depends. If Gibson used tinited lacquers ( which I think they do ) as opposed to stain you might have a good chance of stripping it clean.
One word of warning though, the veneer's used are not very thick at all and there is always the chance of sand through. You gotta be careful when sanding.

monami · 11-01-2009, 07:18 AM

yeah i know, they are about 1mm! it's not on a gibson it's a "vintage av1" an lp copy. the top is poly, the rest i do not know.

Vintage Advance AV1H (GAK)

BrianGT · 11-01-2009, 11:30 AM

Just a few words of caution!
I had a Tokai LP with a veneer top and I wanted to do the same....basically remove the poly and the overblown veneer and sand it down to a natural finish.
The finish was really stubborn to get through so out of frustration I used a heat gun........and within 30 seconds I had a veneer stripped top!
It peeled off like an orange skin and left a pretty ugly 3 piece top with some serious cracks that the veneer had sealed.
It virtually destroyed the guitar.....you just don't know what's under there!
Think twice!

captain amazing · 11-01-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianGT

Just a few words of caution!
I had a Tokai LP with a veneer top and I wanted to do the same....basically remove the poly and the overblown veneer and sand it down to a natural finish.
The finish was really stubborn to get through so out of frustration I used a heat gun........and within 30 seconds I had a veneer stripped top!
It peeled off like an orange skin and left a pretty ugly 3 piece top with some serious cracks that the veneer had sealed.
It virtually destroyed the guitar.....you just don't know what's under there!
Think twice!

i second this, poly is a BITCH to get through!

zeppelin101 · 11-01-2009, 08:08 PM

Poly is made to withstand years of abuse. Be careful when doing this

10-31-2009, 07:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
monami Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 231 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	maple veneer refinish? i have a cherry sunburst les paul copy it has a flame maple veneer. can i sand it down and refinish it or will the stain be soaked through the veneer? i was hoping to make it a plain top with tru oil. anyone have a flame maple tru oiled les paul pic? i ask this question as when i refinished my sg i was going to keep the wine stain it had and refinish it but the stain was odd it did not go into the wood it came off with very little work! __________________ http://creation.com/refuting-evolution-index

11-01-2009, 05:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
SG Lou Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Fords NJ Posts: 562 Thanks: 9 Thanked 50 Times in 9 Posts	Re: maple veneer refinish? All depends. If Gibson used tinited lacquers ( which I think they do ) as opposed to stain you might have a good chance of stripping it clean. One word of warning though, the veneer's used are not very thick at all and there is always the chance of sand through. You gotta be careful when sanding. __________________ "It's all Iommi's fault. I blame him entirely" A.L.S. Sux, Lets rid the world of this dreaded disease St. Moritz Guitars http://www.freewebs.com/stmoritzguitars/ stmoritzguitars@hotmail.com

11-01-2009, 07:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
monami Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 231 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: maple veneer refinish? yeah i know, they are about 1mm! it's not on a gibson it's a "vintage av1" an lp copy. the top is poly, the rest i do not know. Vintage Advance AV1H (GAK) __________________ http://creation.com/refuting-evolution-index

11-01-2009, 11:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
BrianGT Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North East Scotland Posts: 143 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: maple veneer refinish? Just a few words of caution! I had a Tokai LP with a veneer top and I wanted to do the same....basically remove the poly and the overblown veneer and sand it down to a natural finish. The finish was really stubborn to get through so out of frustration I used a heat gun........and within 30 seconds I had a veneer stripped top! It peeled off like an orange skin and left a pretty ugly 3 piece top with some serious cracks that the veneer had sealed. It virtually destroyed the guitar.....you just don't know what's under there! Think twice!

11-01-2009, 08:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
zeppelin101 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cleveland OH Posts: 1,055 Thanks: 4 Thanked 9 Times in 4 Posts	Re: maple veneer refinish? Poly is made to withstand years of abuse. Be careful when doing this __________________ My vocation is more in composition really than anything else - building up harmonies using the guitar, orchestrating the guitar like an army, a guitar army. Jimmy Page

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