French Polishing an Old Parlor

[Ceabeceabe]

Got an old beater parlor from the 40s that I am slowly working on. This the first guitar I am working on, so all of this is new for me.

Next up is to do something to make the neck playability smoother. I need to either file or clip the frets, as they are sticking out due to neck shrinkage.

I also need to smooth out the back and sides of the neck to limit the splinter possibilities.

So I was going to take some fine grit sandpaper to the neck.

Then I got to thinking, what about sanding down the entire guitar and putting on some French Polish.

The guitar top and sides does have a nice burst. So I am wondering about just sanding the neck and cleaning everything else with a damp soapy rag to save the burst. Then French Polish.

Will I end up with a mess because the French Polish will not bind with the dirt that I wasn't able to get out by my soaping method?

Is there something I should be using besides a French Polish?

Thanks !

[mirwa]

French polish is good, but can also be a tricky medium to apply well.

It also comes down to what you have that you can use to apply the coating.

If you are sanding the neck smooth, oil works nicely, I like poly-urethanes even ones like minwax which you can buy from hardware stores, simply rub it in and then steel wool afterwards, do that for 4-5 coats and you can achieve a really nice smooth satin finish.

In the ideal world you would respray it.

Steve

[Kitchen Guitars]

We need pix to make a proper diagnosis. If it is laminated sanding it is out. Solid wood I like your idea but use google wisely! If it needs to be done it has been and is on google!

[Ceabeceabe]

Thanks for the great suggestions

Here are some pics



[IMG]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u424/ceabee/ceabee/143377B4-CCEC-4189-8461-0731192918DF_zpsviqfr3jc.jpg[/IMG]

[redir]

That looks to me like someone already refinished it. The burst looks very amateurish, like done with rattle can paint or something. Not that you can't get a good finish with rattle can but that doesn't look factory to me even on a cheap guitar.

If I were you though, unless you just want to have the experience in refinishing, I'd leave that one alone. It might not even give you a good learning experience but rather a frustrating one.