How do I get paint off my guitar case?


hunter1801
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hunter1801
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01/02/2010 10:42 pm
I bought a used guitar and the case has stuff painted on it. Former owners band and stuff like that. What's the best way to remove the paint, without removing the black of the guitar case?
# 1
Razbo
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Razbo
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01/02/2010 10:56 pm
I took some paint spots off an old guitar with paint thinner. Didn't hurt the finish at all. Not sure what that would do to a case, though. Maybe try some in an obscure spot.
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
# 2
hunter1801
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hunter1801
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01/03/2010 3:07 am
I tried nail polish remover on one part and the black did look faded after. I'm guessing paint thinner will do even more damage.
# 3
Infinite-T
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Infinite-T
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01/03/2010 8:21 am
Well, in highschool I used to do a lot of painting/restoring on old sportcars.

Much of the interiors were vinyls and plastics much like most guitar cases. One thing that might work is take a mildly abrasive pot scrubber spounge, get it wet and lightly scuff away the paint. Depending in the type of paint they used it might work, might not.

However, if it doesnt work, or scrubbing it scuffs it all to hell, maybe go the the other route. Get some special vinyl paint or vinyl/leather dye and repaint/dye the whole thing. Special made paints like that work pretty good on vinyl car seats and interiors, prolly vinyl covered guitar cases as well. They are flexible and wont peal off. You can probably buy it at some auto part shops or specialty paint stores.

If you paint it, take your time to do a nice neat job. Be carefull of overspray and drips. Finish it off with some satin clearcoat and it should look good as new and be pretty durable. I have done many trophy winning interiors that same way back in the day. It works great for covering up bad stains or discolorations.

If you use vinyl/leather dye, its a little easier to apply because it works like shoe pollish. But using that you would most definatly want to get all that paint off first, because it doesnt cover like paint will. It will likely take several coats and buff it with clear shoe wax. This method might look a little better but will be a lot more work. You definitly would need to get all the crap off the case to a good clean even surface.
# 4
shrekfingers
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shrekfingers
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01/03/2010 12:45 pm
two things I would recommend to try.. lighter fluid, also called painters naphtha ( in a well ventilated area and NO SMOKING or open flames around) the second would be the use 4 everything WD-40, you would be amazed what that will take off. I would try it in a less conspicuous place and see if it harms or discolors it first before doing a large area
# 5
hunter1801
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hunter1801
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01/03/2010 9:57 pm
WD-40 didn't do anything at all. Acetone worked, but also left the black looking faded. The problem is that since the guitar case has texture, paint is inside the little grooves, so I really have to scrub to get in there, and scrubbing makes the top of the grooves take more damage. Since I'm dealing with paint on paint, I can't pick which color comes of and my case is going to get faded if I try to remove anything.
# 6
JeffS65
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JeffS65
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01/03/2010 10:49 pm
http://www.krudkutter.com/graffitiremover.asp
# 7
compart1
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compart1
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01/04/2010 11:02 am
I'd go with a new paint job.. take a look at Krylon Fusion.. I found it at Walmart.. don't forget to pick up some masking tape and an exacto knife..
# 8
Bluestoad
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Bluestoad
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01/05/2010 3:58 am
Try our company called Color Glo International 1-800-333-8523 ask for Mandy or Amy. Tell them your problem, where you live and see if we have someone in your area. They can take care of your problem and not damage the case at all. I know --I've done a few repairs on guitar cases and amps. I own one of the franchises and we can work wonders. Be careful of going with other companies and dyes because a lot of them use paint products but they call them dyes. If they contain lacquer (sp) they are a paint - no lacquer then they are a dye. We use water based dyes because that way you don't have cracking and peeling. Our company is highly recommended and very reputable. If you call tell'em Charlie in Florida told you to call em.
# 9
Bluestoad
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Bluestoad
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01/05/2010 4:05 am
Oops. I didn't mean to sound like I was advertising or anything. Just trying to help out. Hope my reply didn't break any rules for the forum. If I did sorry and I'll try and be more careful how I reply.
# 10
frankht
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frankht
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01/05/2010 4:26 am
Hmmmmm...... I'm thinking dynamite would get rid of that pesky paint
# 11

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