# Removing Wood sealer



## davidgotmilk (Jan 13, 2014)

Hello! I have a mahogany bodied Ibanez RG,and I recently stripped off the paint using the heat gun method, but the sealant was left behind. What is the best method to removing the wood sealant, it's quite thick so sanding it would quite a task, and I tried the heat gun, but it started to burn the wood. Any suggestions?

I did the back first (Haven't touched the front) just to test out how it would work.

ALSO, I am probably going to stain it when I get it down to the bare wood. Do I need to use grain filler before I apply the stain. If it helps I will be using Minwax stain.

Here is a picture.


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## SeditiousDissent (Jan 13, 2014)

I would go with a regular old paint stripper.

Klean-Strip 18-oz. Stripper-ESR72 at The Home Depot

It will take off a large amount of the sealer, but you won't be able to get around the sanding, so you will need to get some low/mid grit paper too. This stuff gets messy and can give you a nasty chemical burn, so wear gloves!


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## davidgotmilk (Jan 13, 2014)

Thank you! I will try that, that wouldn't damage the wood in any way would it?


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## Daf57 (Jan 14, 2014)

It shouldn't damage the wood. 

I refinished an RGA7 last year, I feel your pain! 
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...tions/236277-refinished-rga7.html#post3535624

I tried several strippers and they were no match for the Ibanez sealer - I ended up sanding the entire body by hand. It's a tough project for sure but the rewards will be well worth the effort if you put in the time and do it up right! 

Good luck!!


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## rikomaru (Jan 14, 2014)

^ditto.....there seems to be no way around it. Perhaps a belt sander? It could actually be a legit option with flat bodies. 

I've yet to find a chem stripper that will best those sealants. Since the heat gun is already burning your wood, it seems that sanding is your only option.

Sanding by hand is a pretty thorough workout for sure, so try to enjoy it somehow. It feels sooooooooooooooooooo great when you reach bare wood though.


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## davidgotmilk (Jan 14, 2014)

Well, I did try the chemical stripper, and while it did work on the paint (quite well actually) it was no match for the sealer, it's tough as hell. Anyways, I pulled out my belt sander, and after 10 minutes, I barely got anywhere, So therefore, I went back inside, had a nice cup of soup, to calm down, and I went outside, and started on the front, this time I used a sharper scraper, and I took my time, it took about 30 minutes, but let me tell you, patience, a sharp scraper, and food in your belly made a difference, also lowering the temp on the heat gun helped I think, anyway here's a picture of the front, I had to do NO sanding what so ever to remove the sealer, I was able to easily scrape it away, although I am going to do some sanding to flat it all out tomorrow! *edit and also do the same to the sides


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## jarnozz (Jan 15, 2014)

Ibanez guitars are HELL to strip. even their headstocks. it's like they put some kind of plastic on it... I striped with a paintgun and used my drill and some sanding pads for it to tackle the sealer. it ate it. at 4000 rpm I finished the entire guitar in 20 minutes. without sanding the wood with it. I also had a very light piece of mahony. stain is a must for me


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