Refinishing a Squier Strat to Lake Placid Blue

[mywhitenoise]

I picked up a Squier Strat Mini for $30, I figured for that price I would try refinishing it a shot and then give the guitar to my niece for Christmas.

Since it's polyurethane, do I only need to sand down the top coat (since getting it to bare wood may be an intense amount of work), will I still need to prime the guitar? Once primed, I assume just give the guitar 2 - 3 coats of LPB while laying the guitar flat.

The next step is where I'm the most unclear on, should I sand down the paint (I've read that this isn't advised with metallics), or should I go straight to a clear coat? When I do apply the clear coat, do I sand that as well for the final step?

I'm planning on purchasing the paint from reranch, unless you guys have any suggestions for cheaper paint. Do I only need the LPB aerosol, and Nitrocellulose Clear Coat Aerosol, or are there any other products I should consider adding to my order? Thanks for any help!

[PixMix]

I would do what you said: wet sand with 600 grit sand paper until all areas look matte/dull. I would even skip primer and go lacquer directly. Over black you might need a few extra coats of LPB, over pink or red one you'd cover easier. You will not run into any issues as far as adhesion of lacquer to poly goes once you wet sand.

Other than sand paper (800 through 2500) and polishing compound of sorts, that's all you need; a can of LPB and a couple of cans of clear coat. MinWax gloss lacquer (red label) works great and it's less expensive than Reranch. I don't know of other sources of LPB.

[mywhitenoise]

Guitar came out decent, but there is one major scuff on the front of the body that I'm not sure how to repair. I can't tell if I sanded too far through the clear coat, or if it needs a little more sanding.

[HNB]

Looks to me like you hit the color coat. More clear would work.

[mywhitenoise]

Looks to me like you hit the color coat. More clear would work.

Thanks! So Just cover up the rest of the body, and hit that spot (and a little bit of it's surrounding) with a few coats of clear, cure, and then sand again?

[HNB]

Yeah you can do that. I have trouble blending patches though. You might have better luck. I tend to shoot more coats over the whole thing vs spot blending, but you can always try to spot paint first.