I know I'll probably be shot for this question but here goes!
I recently acquired a vintage Maybell tenor banjo with an unvarnished, probably initially oiled walnut neck. Both the rim and resonator are varnished under which is some decal decoration; the varnish is obviously showing its age though.
Though the rim decal is conservative enough, the beautiful walnut wood of the resonator is covered over with a large decal attempting to present as some kind of heraldry but not particularly attractive and if possible I would love to remove the decal in order to refinish and restore the walnut, perhaps with an oiled finish.
I would be grateful for any advice on this idea, especially to know that if the decal is removable how much sanding down is it likely to require.
As always, any advice is appreciated!
Old decals never bothered me much. Always found them kind of interesting. Have an old 30’s Dobro with a huge decal of a circa 40’s bathing beauty blonde on the back. Made the instrument perfect.
If the decal is not under varnish, you may be able to remove it by placing a damp paper towel over the decal and letting it sit for a few minutes. The decal may slide off, but you also may damage the walnut veneer.
Maybelle banjos are great instruments , but they were not high priced instruments. That walnut veneer may be extremely thin and even using the finest of sandpaper, you may sand through the veneer.
If you have to refinish it, I would start in a very unobtrusive spot and test the veneer thickness.
I would leave the decal alone personally. How often do you actually look at the back of your banjo?
As I outlined first, the decal is under varnish so clearly won't slide off after wetting.
The resonator in question appears to be solid walnut given the consistent grain pattern running on both sides of the back and therefore might be suitable for some light sanding.
How often do I look at the back? Everytime I pick it up!
Still, it might be veneer. It’s a spec.banjo on a budget and solid walnut sounds suspicious to me. Sanding would be out of the question as would steam. Find the correct solvent for varnish. Are you sure it isn’t lacquer?
I have a gross of Walnut veneer I bought long ago thinking of shims, just didn’t work, but it’s available.
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