old parlor guitar with finish in top cracks

[Joel Poage]

Hello all-
First off I want to thank you all for making all this great information available to the rest of us yahoos out here-thanks Frank for all your hard work.
I recently came across an old (1910-1930???) no name parlor size guitar that has had some seriously questionable work done recently. The guy I bought it from got it on ebay, and whoever he got it from definitely had the "slap a coat of paint and some new tires on her" attitude. The first question I have is about several cracks in the soundboard-in addition to years of dirt,etc that are worked into them, whoever did the work refinished the top without fixing the cracks so now there is finish in there too. I'm not certain what the finish is-satin finish that dissolves in alcohol-but i'm wondering what my best bet in terms of type of glue to use in this situation. I plan on cleating them as well, but not sure what,if anything will stick in the cracks. I know about the option of splinting, but being a novice the idea of taking a blade to 100 year old tone wood turns my stomach. I've got several other questions, but I'll wait until I can post some pictures to save a long winded explanation.

thanks, Joel

[ron stanovich]

sorry to here of the poor work done by others. now Q1 does the original finish dessolve below the new finish when you use alcohol. Q2 how tight are the cracks can you clean them out so they can be repaired/glued. Protect the sides and back so the finish isnt damaged while you repair the top I sometimes use an old t-shirt inside the box to protect and catch drips and such. good luck