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Yes I know another damage and finish question but no matter how much searching I did I could not find an answer to this.
The photo shows the pick damage to the top. It is pretty extensive and the wood damage is pretty deep.
Then, to make things fun, the person who had it before me put some sort of poly (wipe on probably) over the original lacquer in just the area of the damage. Instrument is a 98 Weber Octave Mando...
Questions..
How do I remove the poly without further damaging the wood?
Will I be able to remove it down in the troughs of wood damage?
Will the underlying lacquer come off at the same time or will I need to do something with that also?
How do I, or should I, fill in the wood damage to make it level again?
Any special prep for respraying lacquer after stripping the poly?
Thank you for any suggestions.
Dave

My very limited experience is that chemical stripper removes lacquer very easily (and usually down to bare wood) but it is harder to remove some of the modern finishes. I've tried chemical stripper on bridge repairs where finish was not removed at the factory - sometimes nothing but scraping will get that stuff off.

Where there is lacquer still under the poly retarder and elbow grease will work. the retarder will soften the lacquer underneath and the poly will lift. Where it is on bare wood will be a different story. And that will depend on exactly what they used.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thanks Brian. I guess I will just experiment. Any suggestions for a transparent filler for the damage that won't stain the bare spruce or should I just leave the damage, seal it appropriately and call it "experienced"?

The UV cured clear filler will do that. Never tried any of the clear filler from SM or crystalac so I do not know how they would look.

If finished over and not filled this area will be miserable to buff. Sand through is very likely on the high spots and any surface texture will remain in the valleys.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/