botched nitrocellulose finish on body, neck--how to proceed?

[()smoke()]

long story, but i gave someone the benefit of trust whom i shouldn't have trusted, and he left a swamp ash jazz body with only an attempt at a sunburst on the top, no color on the back, really bad finish...and the neck is burned through on edges, chipped in several places, and the ebony fretless board that was supposed to be epoxied looks like it was epoxied lightly, but not all the way to the edges, there is a 3/32" strip down both edges that has a different sheen than the middle part of the board.

how should i proceed to remove the lacquer? or is it better to hand it over to a certified professional to sand level and recoat with a solid color?

what about the fretboard? i assume someone experienced and equipped with proper radius sanding blocks should level it out?

thanks for any help...bums me out, and i'm not sure if i'll even get any of my money returned without going the legal route

[64jazz]

Beautiful thing about nitro: sand lightly and re-spray to your heart's content.

[calebbarton]

Originally Posted by 64jazz

Beautiful thing about nitro: sand lightly and re-spray to your heart's content.

Yeah, just remember to let it dry first . Also, steel wool works great for smoothing out imperfections.

[()smoke()]

well, maybe at least if i'm out the money, i can use these for my first go at spraying nitro from a rattle can...can't afford to pay someone else unless i can recoup at least some of what i paid for this mistake

it's the solvents in the lacquer when spraying that are most harmful, correct? ie, if i use a respirator when sanding, do i need to take any more precaution with the dust than i would sanding other finishes?

thanks again

[mikeyswood]

No appreciable concern chemically within the dust.

Make sure you are using organic filters in your respirator when spraying.

[Stumbo]

I suggest you ask JohnK_10 about your situation.

[johnk_10]

well for the body to look decent, it's going to have to be completely stripped and redone.

personally, i'd do the same thing with the back of the neck and the face of the headstock. as far as the epoxied fingerboard goes, a few more coats of epoxy, then sanded smooth and buffed should yield good results.

[()smoke()]

thank you very much for the advice. do I mechanically strip the body, or use a solvent? need to sand to bare wood, right?

[johnk_10]

i'd use a stripper on it, then sand it.