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PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 6:50 am 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 6:08 pm
Posts: 218
First name: Gregor
Last Name: Crothers
State: Ontario
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
johnparchem wrote:
I really appreciate the members comments above where it is emphasized that you need to feel what is happening; add shellac, pumice and alcohol as needed.

I think the Millburn brothers, who wrote a truly wonderful guide for french polishing, led people wrong with their very strong statement of getting rid of the shellac bottle while executing a pumice fill. On my first guitar I worked many hours with almost no results when I tried to pumice filled following their pumice fill description; I then watched Louis Fernandez DVD French Polishing for Guitarmakers and pore filled the entire guitar in less than an hour. Louis Fernandez method violated every admonishment put forth in the Millburn description such as more shellac and pounce bags for direct application of pumice when needed. The finish on that guitar still looks good 8 years later with no pumice showing in the pores.

I am sure the statements about not using shellac once you start with pumice was a counter to a tendency of people using too much.
I am sure the Milburn method worked for them, although I heard they may have switched to epoxy, But a strong statement like they made had to depend on the right amount of shellac left on the guitar when applying the spit-coat. If there is not enough shellac to bind the fill inexperienced finishers are left wondering if somehow their technique with the pad is wrong. In that case the only way to go forward is to add more shellac.


Thanks John for pointing this out, I was starting to think i was a bit crazy.
When I did my first FP, i created a pdf of the Milburn procedure and it basically became my bible; was also recommended to me.
I wouldnt say I had a hard time, but I certainly did a lot of experimenting while doing.

Since many are using epoxy these days and having mostly great experiences, I just figure I would try that out next.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:59 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2010 6:48 pm
Posts: 221
Location: Toronto Canada
First name: David
Last Name: Wren
City: Toronto
State: ON
Zip/Postal Code: M4C 4X5
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I agree with everyone's suggestions that the right proportions (usually learned by experience) of alchohol, shellac and pumice will eventually give good results ... too much shellac will allow the fill to shrink back unacceptably ... too little shellac doesn't clear the pumice and leaves white specs.

To give yourself a slight bit of leeway ... a trick I learned from Sergei de Jonge ... is to colour your fill pumice with an appropriate tempera paint powder. This is not a substitute for clearing the pumice correctly, just a way of solving that last 1 percent of the problem.

I've only personally French Polished the last 50 or 60 of my guitars, but when I come across a problem with shellac, Sergei is the gent to ask.


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