Originally Posted by: lilleyen
Would this be a shellac finish or lacquer or varnish?
Does anyone know? Is there a way to test the finish and find out?
Appreciate all/any help I can get here.

It's likely to be a shellac finish, but that's just a best guess from a lot of reading.

Stewart Macdonald has supplies for refinishing guitars and some video tutorials.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies.html

It's probably going to be challenging to say the least. I think the guitar will look "spotty" unless you do a total refinish, so maybe some Tung Oil would suffice. Just dab a couple of coats on any bare spots of wood to protect it.