I own a MIM standard, 2009, Arctic White. I've been looking to refinish it in white nitro so it'll age down the road with the added effect of better tone. Does anyone know if the poly stock finish on my MIM is white poly, or just a clear poly coat over some white paint? It would affect the nitro finish I bought

That being said, any pointers on refinishing in nitro? Or some basic idea of how to do it? I can't find any white nitro bodies on ebay so that option is out and I have to do it myself, a refinish costing upwards of 200 bucks. I was planning on getting the Olympic white nitro finish from ReRanch - should I buy more than one?

Thanks a lot guys

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[08 MIM Standard Arctic White] > [Danelectro Fish n Chips EQ > Radial Texas Bones OD > Tonerider British Distortion > Electroharmonix Russian Big Muff Pi > Vox V847 Wah] > FM65R

Could probably use automotive paint stripper, but I'd be concerned about
the joinery and making sure I got the stripper clean off using a scraper.
Laquer thinner and acetone are the strongest chemicals for finish stripping.
Then wash residue with diluted soap and water.
I would then be inclined to proceed to sand with 220 grit and higher sandpaper. I tend to like automotive sandpaper over wood sandpaper.

A cold chisel, and a 3 lb. maul? A loofa? Leeches maybe? Depends on how many pints are under one's belt!

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I believe in Christianity as i believe that the sun has risen. not only because i see it, but because by it, i see everything else. C.S. Lewis

I heard somewhere that a heat gun is the best method and you can just just peel the poly off using that. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.

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[08 MIM Standard Arctic White] > [Danelectro Fish n Chips EQ > Radial Texas Bones OD > Tonerider British Distortion > Electroharmonix Russian Big Muff Pi > Vox V847 Wah] > FM65R

I stripped my MIM strat, tried a couple of different chemical strippers and they didn't work at all on the poly. So I bought a heat gun and tried that and had the whole thing stripped in about an hour.

'Zactly. A decorator's heat gun is the way to go.

The trick is to do all the fiddly bits like cavities and the edges first, so that the paint still on the flat surfaces protects them from scorching while you are at the details. Then the paint across the front and back comes off last of all, very quickly and easily. Just keep that gun moving and you won't get burns.

HOWEVER. If the point of the exercise is to get the yellowing of a nitro finish why bother stripping the guitar at all? It is not the white pigment that yellows but the cellulose binder.

So, given that the polyester on that MIM has long since cured and become chemically inert, why not just shoot a few clear coats of nitro over the top of it? We've been told often enough that the Highway One guitars amongst others have their nitro sprayed over a polyester undercoat: there are no chemical/bonding reasons not to do this.

I don't actually know whether this white MIM will have a clearcoat on top of the white or not, and it doesn't really matter. I'd sand it all over carefully with P320 paper in order to create a "tooth" for the new lacquer, but not taking significant amount of the white coat off. Then I'd wipe it down very thoroughly with first naphtha and then denatured spirits to degrease the surface - during that and from that point on it should only be handled with rubber gloves to avoid contamination.

Then shoot five or six very thin coats of clear nitro. Leave for a month to cure. Finally level with wet-and-dry paper used wet with a little detergent in a bowl of water, which helps the sanding process. Proceed from P600 through P1000, P1500 and ideally P2000 paper (if you can get it), thoroughly wiping down the body between each stage and changing the water each time. Last of all, buff to a high gloss with metal polish or automotive swirl remover. Job done.

Now your body will yellow and crack just the way you want.

Personally, I think the entire project is bizarre: I want a finish to stay on, not fall apart. But each to his own...!

Good luck - C

i've been thinking about this lately as well , my black strat is starting to turn a milky gray colour , but then i might just keep my eyes open for a nitro finished body on the bay, i fancy a sunburst i just need to find one thats cheap

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