Kona K2

[guitarsjb]

A friend of mine dropped this off earlier...said she thought I could do something with it. Guess it was dirt cheap at a pawn shop. Well, it definitely needs SOMETHING done with it . It's in rough shape, but not a total loss.

I figure this is the guitar where I get to learn a few things. Heck, I can't screw it up any worse, and if I do I'm not out anything. It needs the truss rod adjusted, the frets have some pretty good wear, probably going to have to crown/level them, the output jack is running loose in the body somewhere, not sure if the electronics work, pretty doubtful. The person who it belonged too wanted to make sure no one would steal it, so they carved their last name on the FRONT of it (Smith)!

Aside from that, it's in pretty ok shape. I mean, no cracks in the body, actually sounds pretty good unplugged, no major dings/dents, all of the binding is in good shape. Could be a nice player. I like the shape of the neck, very RR like and the body is thin.

First off, the pics, then I have a couple of questions:











First question. Do I need to let the tension off the strings before I adjust the truss rod?

2nd. Any ideas on how to get that name out and still make it look good? Or am I going to have to completely refin it?

Thanks in advance.

[straycat]

No just tweak the truss rod it should be fine.You could wet sand a bit to see if any it comes out just do it lightly the finish might be pretty thin.
Use 2000 grit then 1000 grit wet/dry paper.Use mineral spirits to wet the paper.It wont sink into the wood.
Good luck Jeri.