fixing sealer cracks? washburn body re-finish

[Leonardo Silva]

I have a bit of cracking in this washburn body that needs refinish.

should I just sand it to bare wood or I should try to save the sealer by, I don't know, saving those cracks...

anyway, I know how to fix nitro finishes, but not polyurethane finish, maybe this one is a poliester finish (??)

oh cmon, I'm not that into different kind of finish, that's why I bought this D:, to learn.



as an extra, I will need to sand of the sealer over the quilted maple veneer X_X, is this possible or the likelihood of screwing up that is too much (sand the veneer off) to try so I can stain the veneer?




I'm planning on staining the veneer and using tinted laquer to the sides like a sunburst, so I want to ask if I can save the sealer or I should sand it to bare wood to make the refinish.

[Michael Lewis]

If you sand through the finish into wood you will have to sand off all of the finish or it will have uneven appearance. Fortunately you are dealing with a very figured wood which tends to hide some unevenness. If you can leave the 'sealer' intact you can use tinted lacquer over that, much like it is now.

How thick is the veneer? If you sand through that you might as well paint it all a solid color. Have you tried a chemical paint remover ?

[Leonardo Silva]

I tried ta chemical paint remover, the finish didn't even flinched, with a scrapper I was able to get to the sealer, but the veneer is paper thin, I just can't get to the wood without sanding the veneer off (THAT thin is it) currently I have 2 places where I sanded the veneer off, but I kinda did that on purpose to know how thin is the veneer, after all it's gonna have a black sunburst.

and I guess I will use some tinted laquer in order to leave a similar look to this, but clearer to appreciate the quilted, the original dark green is too strong and too thick of a finish IMO

[Michael Lewis]

Very careful work and lots of patience are what you will need. If the finish is catalyzed you can only use mechanical means or possibly heat from a heat gun to remove it. You may end with a solid color.