I have skinned a quilt...it wasn't fun..took quite some time and patience but in the end I was happy......hope I never do it again though!

I’d have to really love the quilt top to do all that work. Some things have seen better days and meant to be retired in my opinion. If it was an heirloom I would think differently.

I had an experience that was similar to some extent. I struggled and made a quilt top and dove in to free motion quilting being quite sure I knew what I was doing. When I finished, I flipped the quilt over and found tucks, eyelashes and generally a mess. Lessons learned. So, after much contemplation, methodically picked out all of the quilting and started over. From that point on this has been my favorite quilt that I use frequently. After spending so much time with the piece, how could I not hold it close when I need some quilt comfort.

You said the "front is in excellent condition." Do you love it, or really like it? I would use that as your guide. It doesn't sound like it's heavily quilted. I personally love to do things that may salvage something 'old". I've had people tell me they think doing so is a waste of time, but I get such a sense of personal satisfaction from fixing something. You have to be the judge!

Barbie, I may be embarking on the same thing. I made a quilt last year that I love but did a terrible job machine quilting it. I can't stand looking at it!
But my skills are improving so I may take out the quilting and redo it.
I think I'll tackle it while we binge watch one of the Netflix series we're watching.

I know I won't enjoy it the way it looks now but the top came out really nice and it was a challenge for me.

I really do like the quilt. It was the second one I made. I will dive in and take the plunge of tearing out the stitch to save the top.