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I was approached by a local music venue about finishing over the signatures on this Dean guitar. I have finished over signatures before, but never an entire guitar.

The main challenges, as I see it, with this endeavor is prepping the existing finish. Cleaning the existing finish without disturbing the signatures will be time consuming enough, but abraiding/sanding the finish will be cost prohibitive. I have already experimented on a test guitar with satin Minwax Polycrylic and also Mohawk Perfect Blend rattle cans, with good results. Starting with light, misting coats, I am confident I can apply finish without dissolving the signatures.

My current plan would be to clean the surface as best as possible, spray 3 to 4 coats of finish, then a conservative level sanding session, followed by a final satin topcoat.

The big disclaimer here, is that without prep sanding, there is no guarantee that the new finish will hold long term. I have been clear about that with the client and I am not yet committed to the job, nor have I given an estimate for price (payment will likely come in the form of advertisements and concert tickets). I think it's also worth mentioning that the venue's intent is to auction the guitar for fundraising. While I think this guitar is intended to be a show piece, I have to assume the guitar will be handled as a player.

I am looking for input/advice/warnings/hot takes from anybody with experience with this sort of thing. Prepping, alternative finishes to consider, finish schedule, etc., would be much appreciated. Or just stay the hell away from it? Thank you, Looths

Ian