Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey all,
I am getting close to starting a french polish on #1. I did an egg white pore fill, and am wondering if I need to do any sort of shellac seal coat before moving on to the actual polishing.

I notice on milburnguitars.com where he talks about french polishing that he does 2-3 seal coats before polishing, but that's because he does the pumice pore filling after the seal coats, and he needs the seal coats for that. Since I did egg white on bare wood, the pores are already filled without having had any shellac on yet.

If I did do a seal coat or two, I suppose I would need to sand that before polishing right?

Some people put on a couple of brushed coats as a base. I haven't done that for a number of years, so it isn't compulsory. Seal the inlays first though.
Both methods work. Just observe the pores after you have some finish on the wood. The unfilled pores usually show more under a finish, although it is quite possible to fill them with the shellac itself.

Like Michael said, there are different reasons to do a sealing before regular polishing, such as sealing a rosewood binding, inlay or trim, with either a brush or Q-tip to protect staining spruce or lighter colored wood. Another is to 'flood' the wood with shellac using either a brush or spray, or even a big fat pad, call that 'sealing', saving the effort doing the same thing with your little pad when you begin polishing.

There are many strategies, all of them valid, depending on staining, pore filling, and even type of woods used. A separate 'sealing' my work in your favor.

_________________
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

A spit coat of shellac, or a seal coat, if you prefer, might help in getting an even build in your finish. If you start without it, you may get splotchy results. It depends on your skills as a French polisher.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

spit coat then! I have no skills.

We all have skills Matt, some of us just find them before others!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

If you see any of mine laying around let me know..

Another question about shellac...... why do people use the shellac flakes rather than just the stuff in a can for french polishing? I have some Zinsser 3 pound cut pre mixed shellac. Its clear, but you can buy other colors... is it not good to use for some reason? Is it just better control over your shellac to buy flakes?

_________________
http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Thanks much Stephen, very helpful. I need to use that website more, the super long list of links usually scares me heh.

If you use shellac from a can, be sure it is labled " dewaxed".