refinished Michael Kelly Firefly

[Steve VandeWater]

These are before and after pics of my latest refinish job. This 2003 Michael Kelly Firefly (Korean) was my first f-style mandolin. The thick and very glossy finish coat was extremely hard and practically bulletproof. I could find no chemical stripper that would even begin to touch it, so I sanded it off by hand. Very tedious work. Therefore, I only stripped the top to allow it to vibrate, and just sanded some of the finish off the sides and back to dull them down a bit.
I then had to re-fit the bridge and I also re-worked the nut for lower action, using Rob Meldrum's free guide. Thanks again, Rob!
It definitely sounds better, and looks a lot different too (better, in my opinion) After my recent Washburn M6SW Jethro Burns and Eastman 515 refinishes, I'm fresh out of mandos to work on...for now. We'll see what comes down the pike when MAS next rears its ugly head.
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[Dave Greenspoon]

Looks great. Would love to see what you did with the Washburn. Mine is an early 2000's and has some beautiful wood underneath that polyurethane!

[Steve VandeWater]

Thanks Dave. The refinished washburn thread with pics is on page 2

[Bill Snyder]

Looks great. Would love to see what you did with the Washburn. Mine is an early 2000's and has some beautiful wood underneath that polyurethane!

I doubt that it is polyurethane. When people refer to a factory instrument having a poly finish they are normally talking about a UV catalyzed polyester finish.