OK.....after many hours of work, I have something to show for it. I used a progression of sandpaper (150 through 1200 grit) and then some polishing compound and a variable speed buffer and the finish is better than I had hoped. I can still see some of the scratches from the sandpaper, though. The scales cleaned up beautifully with just some soap and water ( and a toothpick around the scrollwork). So, here are some pics for reviews and comments. Don't hold back on your comments 'cause I wanna learn from this. I have a couple of more that I want to work on but I really want to know what areas I need to improve on before I tackle some of them. As always.....thanks to all for the input and advice.