Few things define a guitarist like the look of his or her instrument. You won't always have the chance to buy a guitar with your perfect paint scheme or design on it, and may need to rework the artwork to give it the personality you desire. To do so, you will first need to strip the manufacturer's paint from the body of the guitar. You can strip paint off a guitar in a number of ways. Using chemical paint stripper is one easy and cost-effective method.
Instructions
1. Gather the chemical stripper, paint brush, scraper, bowl and newspaper or cardboard. Have your latex gloves and protective goggles handy to ensure safety while working with chemicals.
2. Lay down the newspaper or cardboard to protect the floor from potential chemical damage. Place the body of the guitar on the covering. It does not matter which side you start with.
3. Pour the paint stripper in the small bowl. Dip the paintbrush into the bowl and apply paint stripper to the body of the guitar. Be sure to follow the grain of the wood from one end of the guitar to the other since going side to side or back and forth can cause damage to the wood. Allow paint stripper to settle into the wood for 15-20 minutes.
4. Once the stripper has had time to work, use the plastic scraper to remove the paint from the guitar body. Again, be sure to work only in the direction of the grain so that you don't damage the body. You may need to reapply and scrape the body multiple times to remove all of the paint. Repeat for the other side of the guitar, and also the length of the guitar. Change your newspaper or cardboard each time you turn the guitar to prevent paint or stripper from getting on the areas that are already finished.
