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I have fallen into the restoring and repair of a 50 year old guitar. Just another challenge for me besides the excitement and completion of my 1st. new build a few weeks ago. By the way...#1 sound is opening up nicely and sounds superb.
RESTORATION PROJECT:
Routing off the old (trashed top) was easy. Removing the worn fingerboard was a learning process. I spent 4 hrs. scraping and sanding and filling minor cracks in the back. It seemed to take forever to get through the original finish down to bare wood and I was afraid I was going to end up with paper thin material after final sanding. The back just MIGHT look good enough to save. NOT SURE! Would it be wise to hit the back with a thin coat of shellac or sealer at this point to see and get a good idea what the back might look like with a finish? I hate to spend the time putting new binding on all sides/top and back and find out at finish time the crack repairson the back look awful and I need to replace the back too.
The sides are in really good shape with a couple pretty deep scratches and I am DREADING scraping and sanding the sides. Anyone got a method for removing old finish (I assume lacquer) and prep for new finish?....or is scraping and sanding the best way to get there?.
Kent Bailey

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Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

Kent,

If the finish softens when you put acetone or lacquer thinner on it then it is probably nitro. If not then it could be some sort of early poly finish. I just use a gel-type stripper that you can get at any paint supply or hardware. With a poly finish it sometimes helps to rough up the finish with 60 to 80 grit, this seems to help the stripper soften the base coats. If you want to save the binding, then just mask and scrape the binding after, if not then it doesn't really matter. I would be careful sanding the sides, as they could be laminated, if you don't know it's best to keep the sanding to a minimum.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to shellac the back to see what it looks like under finish. If your going to finish in nitro the shellac will serve as a sealer.

Cal

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Thanks Cal.
I'll try a spot on the old removed top and see if it loosens with acetone or lacquer thinner. I already removed the binding and will be putting new all the way around. I can see the side edge and it isn't a laminate.
Kent

_________________
Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

I have also used the gel type stripper on nitro. I masked off the bindings and then applied the stripper to one section at a time. As soon as the finish started to loosen I scraped it off with a paint scraper. Once you get under the finish and it starts to lift you can peel it right off by hand. Went over the bindings with a hand scraper after everything dried out. Minimal sanding and scraping as everything was already pretty thin and I was afraid of cracking the plates. I only did the back and the color matched the sides pretty well when it was refinished.