How to French Polish - Shellac woodworking finish
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- In this video I am nearing the completion of the Octave Mandolin build and this video cover the French Polishing process.
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I feel a great kinship with patient luthiers who french polish as I've done a few french polishing on my own instruments and it does take practice. I'm so proud and confident and look forward to doing repairs now like a broken neck, new bone nut, violin crack repairs and soon new binding on an old archtop of mine. But the french polishing... I kept getting hazing left over and finally I used some hand rubbed cutting/polishing compound in circles and it game me a mirror. I sanded and polished only with the grain before the final polish. after two or three days of building up, and final rubbing compound, it has a good protective shell now that is as nice as my brand new cordoba classical. And as with other coatings, it shrinks and smooths out as it dries. I have a few videos of my progress and my music on my page. And yes multiple light sources to check contours...
Looks great. Can't wait to see and hear the finished mandolin. Fantastic work as usual.
Thank you kindly! Thanks for watching again. Love to see people coming back to see the different steps of building this instrument.
The wood on the front and back is just gorgeous!
Thanks, they are Master grade categorie and that’s what my customer wanted.. really happy I was able to craft those into such a nice sounding instrument! Thank you so much for watching and your comment
Whaoooo! beautiful shine!
Beautiful work
Thanks Steve.
This was so clear and achievable. THANK YOU! ❤
You're so welcome! Glad you are finding this video useful 👍
Watched this just in time to complete the shellac finish on the dulcimer I was building. Great explanation, it came out great - I literally can see myself in n the finish, and that’s with perhaps half the prep you showed.
Thanks!
trackie1957 you are very welcome! Glad this was helpful to you! Love to hear success stories :)
@@HovingtonInstruments
Update - I’ve used this on several cigar box ukuleles, each better than the last. I had used pre mixed shellac, but used flakes for the latest with far better results. This is so much easier than rumor suggests!
The wood is just stunning . You are like the craftsman of the 1700`s ! Well done !!
Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed the video
Sir, I am an experienced woodworker and play acoustic. Glad to see some one use the traditional method. There are a lot of good UA-cam videos on French polishing, usually dealing with furniture finishing. This is tedious but the finished product is magnificent. I would highly recommend purchasing a book titled Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner. Amazon usually carries these used in the hard copy. We woodworkers consider this as our finishing Bible. There is a full chapter on shellac and "French Polishing". Will convert you into a master finisher. No I get no kickback. Lol! I will caution you, you're guitar playing friends will pester you to death wanting their instruments refinished. Here's wishing you well. Doug
Thanks . Need this book right now !! Always getting a hazy blushing type of finish , after hundreds and hundreds of goes 😂😂😂
Very good. Bless you!
I did French Polish under a master restoration guy. Some of my pieces I worked on were up to 350 years old and worth up to and over $1 million for a chair. A piece I did on my own was placed in the Smithsonian and put in the Smithsonian magazine a couple years later. I see a lot of different things in your technique compared to mine, which I see with everyone that does FP, everyone does it different. Something you might want to try with your pad, instead of cotton cloth on the inside, try using some felt folded over itself into a square about 1/2 to 1 inch thick and then covering it in cotton cloth. When loading it with polish, you open up the pad and pour it into the center of the felt. It hold polish a lot better and more of it so you are not having to stop as often(I needed more as I would be finishing multiple pieces at once). Try using an old dish soap bottle to hold your polish, it is easier to pour a little bit into the pad and keep things neat.
Aliexpress has these awesome little bottles which screw type nozzles which I find to be perfect for shellac dispensing.
Hi, interesting comments, do you you have a website ?
Excellent
A very informative video as always!
Thanks Gerrit
Just love the shine already. Can hardly wait to see it after it has been sanded. Beautiful workmanship as always.
Thank you Tony!
@@HovingtonInstruments. Hello, When you say “alcohol “, do you mean methanol or ethanol ? How pure does it need to be ? Thanks.
@@californiadreamin8423 it is methyl hydrate also called denatured alcohol..
@@HovingtonInstruments Thanks for such a quick reply..
such a beautiful guitar
Thank you Pat
Well done, you earned a new subscriber with that beautiful work. Many thanks
Thanks, welcome aboard 👍
In my opinion, you can't beat a french polish finish. It took me a long time to french polish my lap steel, but it was worth the effort and the sore elbow :-) If you're going to spend money on beautiful wood, it makes sense to give it the royal treatment. Great video and thanks for posting!
Thanks for the feedback, always appreciated! Would love to see your lap steel... feel free to share links to pics or vids..
That was great thank you
It's like spit polishing a boot. It's the same basic technique as far as the circular motion and the slow build up of shoe polish. Very nice video!
Thanks Steve!
you keep coming up with great tips I will be using the Q tip tip thanks
Happy to hear that this will be helpful.. thanks for watching :)
I will be recording my next guitar build and posting it on you tube thanks for the inspiration
You are welcome John. Looking forward to see your build!
I assume that no grain filling is needed? I've never been completely happy with my previous finishes, but I'm very hopeful that - with your help - the guitar I'm working on now (rosewood, mahogany, spruce) will up my game. Thanks!
My most recent attempts have been without oil at all, and they came out well. Maybe we should call it the Québécois Polish, but I can’t afford the maple syrup, either.
En effet, sirop d’érable sa serait une bonne beurré ;)
You are much more patient than I am.
Thanks Marcel... I’ve heard this a few times over the years. :)
thank you for sharing Tomy. i saw the finished piece looked great . question please why did you not make the maple pop with a dye then sand back and put the finish on it ?
Customer wants a blonde finish. No dyes. Customer is always right;)
Thanks for such a great video!
I’m considering French polish on a DIY guitar - I want to have an artist draw on it first - any pros/ cons/ recommendations/ cautions ?
Make sure that the ink or paint are impervious to the alcohol. I signed one of my instruments with a Sharpie and watched with horror as it blurred when the shellac hit it. Try a test piece!
Good work there. I would make a suggestion and a comment. Suggestion, before you start any finish on the instrument take a small artist brush and put 2 or 3 pound cut on the raw wood inside the edges of your F holes. Comment. If you would wipe the wood down with a light coat of boiled linseed oil, let it dry overnight, then start your polishing procedure it will pop the grain and the finsh will be much more dramatic. A light coating of linseed oil won't effect the sound production at all. Try it on a scrap piece of that maple left over from the back and a piece of the spruce you used on the front then compare the difference in the appearance of the finishes. And I would add you don't actually have to let the light coat of linseed oil dry overnight if you don't want to. The alcohol in the shellac polish won't mix with the linseed oil. You just don't want any excess linseed left on the surface. If you do try as an experiment, sand finish the test scraps just like you did the body of the guitar so you get a fair comparison of the difference.
Interesting!!! I will definitely give this a try! Have you ever experienced with other oils like tung oil. Would you think it works the same way?
I don't think tung oil gives the depth to the finish that linseed does. Linseed gives a slight amber color to the wood, nothing dramatic just a warmer look to the finish. I don't know if tung does that or not but somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to recall it doesn't. However, if you are going to experiment try both on the samples. The term for acheving depth to the finish is called, "chatoyance". Linseed oil does that for you for certain.
@@macmcatee611 You might want to try Potassium Permanganate. It works really well on Maple varieties like "Tiger" and "Bird's Eye" Maple. When I went from antiques to new wood finishing, I learned the technique at a high end Shaker reproduction shop. You take the powder and mix it with water then apply a small amount and let dry. Next day you sand it down and apply finish as normal. I don't know how it works on other types of wood, but there is no doubt it really makes the grain on those types of wood look amazing.
I'll give it a shot on the next project I build using figured wood. Many thanks for the tip.
@@robertm4050
@@macmcatee611 You are very welcome. You can definitely find info about it online. I see a lot of people use it as a darkening/aging stain. It does lift the grain of the wood a little so it needs to be sanded after, but don't get too aggressive. You can sand enough to get the discoloration out of the wood, but like I said you don't want to sand too much or you lose the pop in the grain.
Please tell me what kind of red colors I can add to my shellac to varnish my violin. Please refer to many colors because I am living in a small city without access to various materials. By doing so, I may find one of them. And please say your idea about saffron. Thanks.
Just love your work. Can you help me I am looking for an image of that F hole shape you have. The image has to be taken directly over the top to give me a true shape as I love to put it on my Ukulele aim making. Most F holes shapes have narrow top and bottom I like your shape as it has that longer sweep top and bottom Any help much appreciated
Hi , top view is on the blueprints available on my website, here’s a link.
Thanks for your interest
www.hovingtoninstruments.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Cheers
thank you question please . on finishing an instrument can u use tung oil. i have had good luck with it on desk n such ?
You can use oils but it offers no protection, scratch ,dent, etc... at the same time no restrictions either, meaning a lacquer will constrict the vibrations but not the oil. A friend of mine bought a oiled acoustic guitar, she keeps it at home and only at home, great sound.
thank you
Hi, did you sand in between the first 2 coats of 1lb sealer? What grit?
Thanks
No I did not sand in between.. first sanding is usually done between coats 5 or 6 and then just before the last few coats..
I’m currently French polishing my 2nd guitar (my 3rd build) and the last guitar I French polished ended up taking on the imprint of any material that it came into contact with. I chalked it up to bad / cheap shellac flakes.
I purchased nicer shellac, and Now I’m French polishing my 3rd guitar and I’m currently bodying. I can tell this guitar is also going to have a soft finish and imprint like the previous one…any idea what could be causing this? I’ve asked around quite a bit and lots of experienced French polishers seem to be stumped as to why this could be occurring.
What alcohol were you using? I let mine cure for a week or two and it still imprinted, but it later hardened up. I have been using isopropyl.
I know nothing about the French polish other than the name and what I've seen in this video... but I'm always looking for things to do which can differentiate myself from other builders... in your experience how durable is the finish? Is it something that needs to be reapplied sporadically to 'freshen up'? If not, what is the preferred maintenance of the finish?
It is not durable in the way that a lacquer is. Why then... French polish does not restrain the vibration/movement of the soundboard, and in their respect, the backboard and sides which allow the instrument to fully produced sound. When using lacquer it restrain the movement of the instrument which in turns dull the sound. I do use lacquer also, but French polish is far superior for sound. If you or your customer is careful with their instrument it may never need fixing. But if rough with it will not be as durable as lacquer. Hope this helps.. thanks for watching:)
Actually, very high end instruments are finished with shellac via this technique. There are many 400 year old lutes with shellac finish. Antonio Stadavari used a varnish because it was commonly available in his time and area. Save the nitrocellulose spray for solid body electric. Tone wood is a myth on electrics. My 53 Tele has a white pine body. Shellac is an excellent finish especially on the sound board. Use the amber in 1/2 to 1 lb. cuts to get an older Martin patina. You are on the right path and your instrument is looking good. Cheers
hi, did you do 10 coats per day? im confused with the "session" term. how many times per day can i do a full coat on the instrument? and how many coats is enough in order to be able to sand it for high gloss? thanks lot
I usually do 3 coats per session ( per day) the use has a total of 10 coats. Hopefully this makes more sense. Forgive my English...( second language and still make mistakes) ;)
@@HovingtonInstruments no worries, english is my second language too :P. its making more sense but still not sure what is actually 1 coat. as we are rubbing th surface serveral times in the same position i would assume then than 1 coat is about the time you spend in 1 surface before going to the next one.. perhaps 1 coat is about a 15 min rubbing per surface? thanks a lot
It would depend on the size of the instrument but a guitar back for example might take around 5minutes of rubbing . I have another video that covers French polish a bit more. It’s a 2 part video ua-cam.com/video/c9BWh8AYQg8/v-deo.html
Well done. It's nice to see someone using french polish as a finish. Unfortunately it's a dying art.
There is something really special I think with applying a finish like this. I love taking the time and see how the gloss is increasing after each coats. No overspray, no nasty smell. It’s always a fun experience for me to do a French polish. Thanks for watching
I learned from these videos and use it on my cigar box ukuleles. As Tony describes it, the method is easy, safe and satisfying. It also uses very little shellac, so it’s a very efficient use of materials.
Shellac is great stuff!
@@trackie1957 It's a natural bioplastic. I use it instead of grout sealer for my shower - because grout sealer is as toxic af and shellac works just fine.
What did you use for stain
I haven't used any stain on this Octave Mandolin. The finish I used is Super blonde Shellac..
Isnt it better to use an oil that doesnt go rancid? Would hate for the mandola to smell of rancid oil after a few months when you have put all this work into it.
rimmersbryggeri good question. The oil residue is removed with the next step which is called “spiriting off” the amount of oil is very minimal also. Less than a teaspoon for the whole process. So it’s not like a cutting board where the oil soaks in the wood and protects the board. The instrument was sealed prior to using oil. It acts only as a lubricant in this case and removed at the end. Thanks for watching and for the great question.
Mineral oil is acceptable.
Work the edges and the middle takes care of its self.
what is one pound cut and two pound cut shellac?
1lbs cut is 1 oz shellac and 1 cup solvent
2lbs cut is 2 oz shellac and 1cup solvent
1 cup is 8 oz, so if you need more you can time qty by amount needed
@@HovingtonInstruments sweet thanks. should have listened a bit better. now I only have to convert to metric. all good thanks
Could you use Linseed oil?
Olive oil is only use as a lubricant, linseed is a finish on it’s own. I will not say you can’t use it because I honestly don’t know, and never tried it myself. But my personal guess would be no... thanks for watching!
Tomy Hovington your video is the best I have seen on the subject. Very thorough. I am about to sand down my old classical guitar and French polish it for the first time. Your information will be very helpful. Thanks.
Glad the video is helpful. In regards to your previous question you may find interesting a comment I just received today from “Curious The George” about linseed oil. Check the comments in the same video to find it! Not sure how to link the comment.. good luck with your refinishing..
@@AnthonyMonaghan Two things. You can use "Mineral Oil", as that is what I use and normally it is never needed. When you go to refinish your guitar, you need to remember that if the old finish is not removed properly it will(*edit: it can mess up) mess up your new finish. Some types of finishes will not work together. If you are having issues I would suggest that you put a thin layer of straight shellac or even use a spray can shellac to get an insulating coat that you can build your FP over. I guess this is a little late if you were thinking about doing this 5 months ago. I wouldn't use my guitar as the piece I would make my first attempt at French Polish. Brave man.
I use canola. Works fine and is cheap.
I gave my woman a French polishing when I was waxing it
and then eeerrr and also uuuummmm and eerrrrr you can uuuuuummmm so you eeeeeeerrrrrr uuuuuuummmm errrrr umm
Good video, but the instrument is horrible.