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There must be an easier way. This is one of those projects that never gets better. I had built a EIR with a crazy Sitka Bear claw top about 2 years ago and was not happy with the amber tint I applied to the top. Too dark and looked lousey so I decided to remove the neck and bridge and re-do it. Well from sanding too much I actually sanded through the thin purfling I had used on the soundboard so I then ended up routing off all the bindings and redoing them. Well that came out well but in the process made a little gouge on the top near the neck. Sooooo I inlaied a sliver of spruce to fix that. Next I decided to strip all the finish as I needed to do a little work leveling the bindings to get them absoutly flush to the sides. I just spent the last 3 hours with lacquer thinner and a razor blade getting the old lacquer finish removed. What a pain in the neck. Found myself wishing I had started another project and living with the ugly amber.

I hate redoing stuff - seems like it takes twice as long as it does to make a new one.

Thanks for letting me vent. Sure felt good to me

   Hi Rich
   I use acetone and a scraper. That way I don't have to worry as much about chemical reactions later , There are some good strippers out there. Zip Strip is my favorite if I need to use one.
    WHen you are finished to a through clean up and use Nathptha mineral sprites and alcohol before applying any finish
john

Thanks John - Looks like I took the same approach, I did use Acetone - my error posting that I used lacquer. Hands feel broken from the scraping. Thanks for the tip regarding prep before finish.

I've used jasco quite a bit. It's the only stripper I've ever used, but it sure
does work on lacquer, and fast. With a plastic puddy knife, I stripped a
neck to a clean wood surface in no time. Maybe twenty minutes. That's
probably generous.

I've become an excellent stripper with lots of experience!
Seriously, keeping the stripper off plastic binding is part of the challenge.
Nelson

well i finished this puppy tonight and after a good bit of grueling work with scrapers and acetone i am pleased with the end result. this gave me a good appreciation of how much lacquer builds. will shoot some pictures for the weekend.