Do I have to remove the bridge before refinishing?

[sjaguar13]

I got an acoustic guitar that was already sanded and ready for paint, but there bridge is still attached. I read, at some acoustic guitar site, that the bridge and neck are removed for refinishing. I don't have any plans on removing the neck, but should I see about removing the bridge? If I heat it up to get it off, how do I put it back on? Should I just tape it and paint? I thought about painting the bridge, too, but all the acoustics I looked at never had the bridge painted.

[mdw3332]

I don't have a lot of experience with accoustics, but I would look into a couple of things. Are you going to "paint" the guitar or finish it with a clear coat? Painting will rob you of a great deal of the tone. Whatever you do, I would remove the bridge, but tape off the shape and don't finish under it - the glue won't adhere as well to a finish.

You might want to post this in the accoustic forum also.

Good luck.