How to strip and refinish an Epiphone - Joe Bonamassa Firebird Refurb (Part 1) 

Thanks Tony. That's exactly what we were shooting for.

Upload some videos of that guitar, we want to see and hear your axe.

How did you remove the finish without damaging the binding?

@NathanSink heat gun and a scraper. Nice and slow. Its a killer job but worth it in the end. Just take your time.

At least 1mm Karl. Horrendous stuff to get off.

Gotta love Spillers. A Cardiff gem.

Glad you liked it. Yes the FB is rosewood.

Well, it's a proper multi-laminate through neck construction so pretty much vintage spec.

Sanding makes a hell of a mess: the finish turns into a static electrically charged powder that gets everywhere! The finish will also gunk up the sandpaper so it doesn’t last long. The powder is toxic so you should use a respirator in a well ventilated area if you choose to sand. I refinished a beige Peavey T-15 a million years ago and I used a chemical stripper (outside) because my Dad didn’t have a heat gun (they were expensive, $10 Harbor Freight heat guns were a ways off). Peeling back the thick paint, I could see a huge knot on the arm comfort carve, and I knew why it was painted. 😂

What William said plus the fact that sanding doesn't really work with these finishes. You can go at them with 60 grit on an orbital sander for ages and nothing really shifts. I In my experience it's actually quicker to do it with using heat gun and scraper method.

Because I couldn't find one that works on the base/sealer coat.

@@tonetwinstv2863 Turned out beautifully Sir :) Thank You for letting us look over your shoulder! Best Regards and Best Wishes!

You may indeed...

Hi Kevin. These days it's hard to find strippers that can actually remove finishes like these. The old stuff used to contain some really nasty chemicals and I guess they weakened the stripping power when they removed them. I've tried some industrial grade stuff on Epiphones and they have no effect.

@@tonetwinstv2863Agreed. You used to be able to get aircraft grade paint stripper that worked, but it was still a pain. I haven’t found anything that works on Epiphone tank armor finish since they quit making that stuff.

Erm... it's a through neck construction. Not quite sure how that would work.

@@tonetwinstv2863 ….looks like I would have made a cricket bat with my approach! I forgot about that neck-through construction. It looks beautiful. Great refin!Must be his favorite guitar. They just get better after the wood learns to be a guitar. I had a custom Nick Lucas made and it’s taken 8 year’s to begin to shine. Good bones, but it didn’t know what it was yet? Any tips on a ceruse finish ash where I brushed out the grain so that the finish undulates for the contrast? 12 light coats of nitro on top but a bit confused on how to wet sand? Do I just sand the plain of the face and leave the grain fill alone? Maybe it would make it contrast even more…. Might look strange though? I’ve seen the Collings dog hair finish but it’s flat and uniform. I’m going to leave it out in one of our -25 below nights and hit it carefully with a heat gun to check the nitro. Black dye with silver gilt cream in the grain. Cream pickguard to give it a tuxedo appearance with a just hint of orange in the dyed flame maple yellow neck. A very dressed up guitar….my first tele and completely untraditional except in function. Have any tips on a sanding an uneven finish? I guess I may be lazy but I don’t want to burn through the finish on the margins of the ceruse and plain. Careful as you go I suppose?

Sad but true...

Totally get where you're coming from and respect your aesthetic preference - if not your cynical closing statement. The owner's reasons for doing this include getting the sunburst finish he would have wanted in the first place if they hadn't all been sold out, preferring the look and feel of a nitro finished guitar to a poly coated one and making the guitar about half a pound lighter. In addition, the neck is now almost 3mm narrower, so it feels more comfortable to play. As for the money side of things, the cost of the work added to the purchase cost comes to slightly less than current second hand asking prices on Reverb. Our guess is that if he decided to sell it with all the upgraded parts, he'd probably make a decent profit.

Corksniffer detected. I doubt that is green wood.

But then there wouldn't be a video

It's called content.