Thanks Keyser Soze,
That lack of info held me back from posting earlier.
Seeing the picture, looks like you are making some progress.
Is it a Fender?
On the right it looks like bare wood.....lightly toasted?
Looks like you could start scraping it off, but I think it's going to come down to elbow grease.
Or, yea, call it a relic and put it on e-bay for $600.00.
James