I have an alder J body (it may be Ash - I'll know tomorrow). I want to sand the paint down to the natural wood. I think natural looks good with a black p/g and fretboard blocks.

My question - after I sand it down, what is recommended as a clear coat?

Sorry if this is a silly question - I'm just diving into luthier work on some old instruments. So if I screw things up it won't be the end of the world. But - hopefully I won't screw things up!

I appreciate the advice!

Hi Harlon, I'm a luthier and tech, goin' on 35 years now. I've sanded and stripped more bodies than I'd like to think about. EVERY single one of them results in the same reaction on my part. I always say to myself - 'did I really want to do this, now that I know what a pain in the ass it is?' If you absolutely MUST do it, start with a chemical stripper, and follow the directions. Otherwise, you'll need a lot of sandpaper, and way too much effort. The chemical remover will at least get the heavy stuff off. Wear gloves, it'll irritate your skin. When you reach the sanding stages, use a dust mask as well...after a lot of time doing this, I know it is pretty hazardous to breathe the wood dust/sandpaper oxide residues. If the body you have now has a solid color finish on it, you might find a less than attractive multi-piece body of weird grain lurking underneath. I've seen that... under Fender solids. Guitar factories will on occasion, use their uglier pieces to laminate for use under solid colors. I have also encountered the incredibly difficult to remove sealer- which cannot be removed with a chemical stripper, on Fender bodies starting around '71. It can only be sanded off with extremely coarse sandpaper. It might be epoxy, but whatever it is, it's pretty serious stuff...my sympathy if you have one of those. If after all this, you do get it down to natural, you need a sanding sealer, otherwise, the new finish will be absorbed into the grain, and look cheesy and amatuerish. Sealer can be bought in aerosol form at www.stewmac.com They probably have suitable topcoat material as well. You need to sand between coats, to get a flat surface to finish on. I'd avoid enamels and urethanes, they take forever to dry, and attract lots of dust. Lacquer works great, and dries pretty quick between coats. I'd do a Google search to find some further info on this topic. Good luck, Dave.