I made a banty out of my old 3 pc bamboo, and just put a grip and reel seat on another piece of rod and stuck the mid section into it just so I could try it out, and loved the feel of it. Problem is I want to refinish it now, and put new guides on it, and starting with removing the old varnish - can I just sand it off, scrape it off, or use something like Citri-stripper? I think I will just have to live with the old tip-top, but might try to heat it - is that a good idea? If there is a discussion on this somewhere that I have missed, can you point me at that? Is there an easier way to get off the old guides than just picking at the thread with a razor blade? I am anxious to get to the fun part, but have to rein myself in so I won't ruin the blank.