On the GD topic of wood.

Spyke

I was finally sparked on to strip the Epi in the aim of refinishing it.

I stripped it down for the most part the night I received it to clean, restring and setup my new toy. This was just a basic strip of bridge, saddle, pups etc. However the other night I did it properly, everything from the earth wire to the ferules.

Upon separating the neck from the body I was quite horrified to see what looked like plywood layers in the unpainted section of the neck pocket. "Could this be? Could my beloved Epiphone actually be made from the same stuff that lines boat decks?" *Gasp!*"

Now I'm not one to dive into the vast wormhole of tone woods and the like and I couldn't tell the difference between Oak and Meranti if my life depended on it. So would the more knowledgeable be able to shed some layman light on my guitar? Is it really that crap?

AlanRatcliffe

Probably laminates, not ply (vertical laminae rather than horizontal). Five to seven laminae. Add one for the maple cap if it has one (which Epi is it anyway?), if it's a flame top you could count the veneer as another.

So... how did you think they keep them so much cheaper than the US Gibsons?

Spyke

Ok, laminates make sense. Rough guesstimate pegs it at 7 layers (I'll inspect closer and report back).

Alan, it's an Epiphone Special I - full red. Now I know that it's a bottom rung Epiphone as is, so i'm not pretending it's a Gibson and very seldom refer to it as such, albeit endorsed / designed / licensed by them. It's an Epi, full stop.

It's nothing special but it's special to me.

Question two (if you don't object): I'm as clueless as to finishes, nitro, poly, the lot. But I sanded a small section and it seems as if there's only a base and clear - possibly a primer too. It had that hot plastic smell once sanded.
What finish is this most likely to be and would you suggest a full paint stripper approach or can this just be sanded down?

Gearhead

Post pics!
Sounds like you're well on your way to upgrade the body of your beloved axe.

Methinks the axe now wants to know whether you really love her. And, with and/or without the makeover? Thank heavens axes are not women; there would not be one right answer there.

Never mind the finish; just replace the whole body.

MikeM

+1 on replacing the body ?

Will probably make it into a much better instrument ?

Heath

i had a gibson explorer that was exactly the same , i was shocked when i saw it .....

Spyke

Hahaha! There's not much wrong with it at the moment - just needs it's makeup touched up. It's quite light and not uncomfortable to play, and with the budget electrics, I doubt there'd be much of an improvement.

Thought about replacing the body but in a way it seemed sacrilege. Stopped making them a while ago... Mines a '97 Indo version.

AlanRatcliffe

What finish is this most likely to be and would you suggest a full paint stripper approach or can this just be sanded down?

It's almost certainly polyester which is a bit of a cow to remove - almost completely inert, so it basically laughs at strippers.

If I were you I might just finish over the top of it. Much easier (especially as it's your first finish) and the poly will give you a nice flat base to finish over. Not the best option tonally, but an easy refin.

If you do want to strip, then a heat gun is the best option, just being careful not to overheat the wood (which may burn the wood and possibly soften the glue in the laminates, making them split apart). Otherwise chipping off with a blade (I do this, but its time consuming and you run the risk of gouging the wood).

Spyke

Thanks for the tips Alan.

Think I'll flat it and use it as a base coat. There's a few spots on it where it has chipped that I'll fill in with some spot putty.

Now the neck is painted too. My POA was to mask off the fretboard and front of the headstock (which is already black) and use the existing paint as a base. How would the fretboard bonding handle the heatgun?