To paint or not to paint

[Steve Bettesworth]

Merry Christmas to all. I am in somewhat of a quandary. I am currently restoring a mid-19th century German guitar. Good straight neck, most of the body is in good nick, some nibbling to edges, a few cracks and splits but nothing drastic. The bridge is a pig and the braces are loose, again nothing to worry about. The thing which has me confused is the painted neck. Over the years the neck has been painted with a lack gloss paint which looks foul. My initial idea was to strip off the paint and stain wit rose wood or mahogany then finish with tru oil. Or should I repaint with back paint?Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Steve

[Steve Bettesworth]

Thanks to all. I think that the neck is maple or something similar it certainly is a pale colour. It was never my intention to do anything with the neck as this looks aged and cool and nothing I could do would be of benefit. The head and the head are so badly painted that I wanted to improve the look. What I’m now thinking of doing is to strip back the paint of the head and fret board and either ebonize and tru oil them or spay with a matt black then finish with tru oil. Thank you once again to everyone who replied and if you have a better solution please let me know.  Steve