Refinishing guitar top only

[gnarlwinslow]

I have an RG8 glossy black. My plan was to refinish this guitar from the start and adding a veneer top, possibly walnut or spalted maple. I'm wondering if anyone has tried sanding down just the guitar top only. This is my plan and then to do a black edged natural burst. I would like to try this but wonder if anyone has ever gone this route with leaving the back and sides of the guitar intact. I've seen a few tutorials if it being done on some acoustics. Just curious of some solid body results.

 

[AwDeOh]

It's do-able, the only thing is that you'll probably want to do a white binding around the body.. it might look a little weird going from gloss black into stained burst veneer unless you get the black burst to meld in with the sides perfectly. Sanding the top down isn't much of a hassle, just mask up everything, and don't forget the fretboard end.

Have you thought about stripping it back entirely, and doing a stain/tung oil finish?

 

[Necromagnon]

Imo, you'll have problems with round edge. To make a really smooth and clear transition between side and top, because of those rounded edges, will be hard. I've tried to put a veneer on a cheap RR to refinish it, and even just straight chamfer are hard to get continous...

 

[lettsbasses]

It is very hard to remove modern finishes. They dont respond well to nitromors etc and can take a lifetime to sand/scrape off. They really are not designed for this kind of aftermarket work. Poly is hard as nails. Also you will never blend in any newly painted areas with the old finish. Nitro is fantastic though and any new coats of laquer will melt into the existing finish. So if the finish is polyurethane, I wouldn't bother. If it's nitrocellulose go for it. My advice though is always the same, sell the guitar and buy one that you like in the first place.

 

[gnarlwinslow]

I've stripped down an Ibanez basswood RG before. It does take forever but I knew that going into it. My RG that I stripped already I stained and poly'ed. It looks great for being basswood but I've been told that I got super lucky with how the body looked. I'm not against doing the whole body again but I was thinking if I was able to skip the back, it could look cool and be less hassle. We'll see though. I was just hoping someone on here has tried it.

 

[KhzDonut]

If it were me, I'd just sand the back and sides enough to allow another coat of pain to adhere, but I wouldn't strip it all. And I agree that doing a small black burst to blend everything together would be a good idea. Then re-clear the whole thing.

Over time the finish will shrink slightly, and you'll probably notice the top shrinks differently than the back, and you'll probably see a line between where the old basecoat and new paint is. It largely depends on what you plan on refinishing it with, but I think no matter what you use there's a good chance of this happening.

 

[Brohoodofsteel75]

You could just get another guitar?

Look into wood grain vinyl. Put a sheet on the top or try to get it over the whole thing.