Dismantled Squier Mustang. Realized poplar isn’t that great for staining because of the random blotchiness even when using conditioner. Not alder. Will revert to solid water based acrylic paint. Ordered some from Amazon.

Sanding with orbital sander does take a ton of time. Might use the scraper and heatgun method, since It’s going to be solid color paint I’m not worried about excess toolmarks from scraper. Not sure thought I think I can just scrap off top coat of poly and paint and then use sanding sealer and level sand then add color and clear coat. That should work.