Removing lacquer from neck

[John McDonald]

Any suggestions on the best way to remove the lacquer from this neck? I was hoping to use some kind of solvent that would work like a paint stripper as the idea of sanding it all off is not too appealing.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

I would scrape it of with a razor blade or (yes) a scraper. It's fast and less messy than using a stripper. The back of the neck will go quickest because it is convex. The heel and peghead will take some time. Depending on your technique, you might finish it off with 320 sandpaper and steel wool.

Practiced individuals can scrape to final surface, no sanding or anything necessary.

 

Joshua

[John McDonald]

Thanks for the response Joshua. I tried using a fresh razor blade but it was very slow and really wanted to dig into the neck. When you mention using a scraper, do you mean a cabinet scraper? Thanks...

[John McDonald]

 Duh...I just figured out to use the razor blade like a cabinet scraper and it is working great. I won't tell you the other way I was using it;) I should be able to get this done with this method and the Jasco. Thanks again.

[Frank Ford]

I use regular Jasco paint remover, or an equivalent.  Gotta be certain to keep it off any plastic, or adjacent surfaces.

[John McDonald]

Thanks Frank. I think I have some of that kicking around in my paint supplies. Nasty stuff..but glad to know it works on lacquer.

[John McDonald]

The Jasco and razor blade combination worked great. Thanks so much for the quick replies.

[Ned Knepp]

In my case, stripper is a formula for disaster. I can't keep it off of stuff I really don't want it to touch. It's like a constitutional thing with me. It GOING to happen. Like Joshua, I use a scraper. I always keep a good supply of razor blades and use them a lot but I also use the blade from a paint scraper. 

 It's one of the straight carbon steel blades used on paint scrapers but I discarded the handle it was screwed to. In frustration, one day, I picked out a short piece of scarp pine and made a handle that would allow me to use it more like a cabinet scraper. It's crude and it looks stupid but it actually works really well.  

  The handle is just an old piece of 3/4 inch thick pine that I cut a slot in the edge of to fit the blade then whittled down the sharp edges to make it easier to handle and to get the corners out of the way. At the time, I was just trying to make a quick way to be able to get the blade into the space I needed to clean. The slot I cut was too wide so I used a couple of thin wedges to hold the blade in place rather than trying to rig a handle with screws. Turns out that the wedges work just fine holding the blade in place and make it very easy to flip it over to the other edge when the first one dulls.  It also allows much more of the blade to be exposed. It's perfect for the sort of scraping you are wanting to do, in fact, over the last couple of months, I've used it to remove the finish from two guitar necks.  Given the crude nature of this tool, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I've been using it in this form for a bit over a year and a half now and it's still one of my "laying on the bench, go to, tools".  I know it's ridiculous looking but it works just fine as it is

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

I really like that kind of tool, made for a "quick one shot work"... and that finally always stay on the bench, used every week!

[John]

I often use feeler gauges for this kind of thing, you just sharpen them like a scraper and they're small enough to get into tight spots

[Steve Williams]

Great tip, thanks

steve

[Mark Pollock]

Shim stock would work too - some 10/1000 stock would sharpen like a scraper and would bend nicely around the curve of the neck. In fact, I think you guys just solved my scraping dilemma.

[Paul Verticchio]

Mark,

I think it was you who posted a while back about using thin shim stock for scrapers.  Based on that post, I've been using .002 through .007 converted feeler gauges as scrapers and it's made my bench-life much easier as well as more efficient and accurate.

Although it's not timely, please accept this post as my sincere "THANKS MAN" for sharing the idea.

Paul (-: