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I recently purchased a Parker PDF 70 (one of the low-end guitars Parker produced towards te end of the company's life). I wanted to strip it down to the mahogany body so I could clear coat it and install chrome hardware.

I got as far as stripping the paint but discovered that the body is sealed in carbon fiber, as well (yes, I know Parkers are famous for this but I didn't realize that this later, entry-level model had it as well).

There HAS to be a way to safely remove this carbon fiber and get to the wood underneath. Any clever ideas how I could do that?

Live with it. Trying to remove it will basically destroy the wood fibers underneath.

Do NOT try to sand or grind it off. Carbon fiber dust is harmful to your sinuses and lungs. At the aircraft plants where I worked, if you were using a grinder on carbon fiber the rule was to flood the part with water to prevent the dust and chips going airborne. It will ruin electronics and other machinery.

They fired a guy who grabbed a sander to work a small patch and then blew it off with an airgun. Took a whole day to clean the shop (the dust doesn't settle very fast).

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

What Chris said and I'll add Ken likely used ep*xy to laminate it to the body so it's bloody on there to stay.

PS: I had a fly deluxe in Italian Plum and loved it. Never, never sell guitars you will always regret it, I regret selling my Fly. It also weighed 3.75 lbs and was a dream to play.

That’s funny, I had a Parker Fly deluxe for a few years and really liked it too. I sold it to buy a HD-28. Wish I still had the Parker.


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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Me too my Parker was a great sounding and playing instrument and the acoustic tones from the pup were killer too. Ken Parker is also one of the most innovative Luthiers ever.

Glad to hear it, as water is what I use to contain the dust when working with carbon or shell.

I'd just make a new duplicate body before trying to remove all the paint and carbon from the old one. The wood underneath may not be good looking anyway.