Guitar #2 1/2 White Spruce/Cherry (Start Over)/FINISHED!!!

[Danl8]

Jeez, that's really looking pretty. The cherry is going to darken with time and light exposure anyhow -- good choice on staying with blonde shellac.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Wow! You're doing a lot better than I did with my French polish fiasco. Nice work.

I learned from you, so I wouldn't be doing this well without your help.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Jeez, that's really looking pretty. The cherry is going to darken with time and light exposure anyhow -- good choice on staying with blonde shellac.

Thank you. This is still a warthog of a guitar, but at least the wood will look nice. LOL

[Diane Kauffmds]

I'm done with my third session for today and I'm pooped. I was worried that the curly sapele binding was going to be dark with no real character, but I'm delighted at the rose gold hues coming out as a result of the shellac. I don't know that the photos do it justice.

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[Kevin Sjostrand]

It's beautiful Diane, a lovely contrast going on there. Nice work.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Thank you Kevin.

With 9 sessions on the sides and back and 4 sessions on the front, fp continues.

I really don't know how many coats of shellac are on the guitar; I average 2-3 thin coats per session. I decided to level the shellac a bit today. In my experience with my OM (which was not french polished; I used a different method to apply the shellac), 600 grit sandpaper is very aggressive to the finish. NOT in this case; 600g didn't touch the finish. I had to use 320g (gently). I've been putting a Kung Fu effort into polishing that shellac and apparently it makes it very hard, even after just 24 hours.

The guitar as of right now:

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[Diane Kauffmds]

Praise the Lord, french polishing is finished!

I still have a couple of spots on the top that require leveling gently with alcohol. I have absolutely emptied my pint jar of shellac. The only waste, was the very first, thin coat that I put on the back, that I took off. I think this guitar is bulletproof.

Tomorrow, I'm going to wet sand the sides and back of the guitar, starting at 1200g going up to 3000g, then I'll polish with the Stewmac polishing compound.

In a way, I like the gentle sheen that's on the top right now. I'll make the decision whether I want to put a mirror shine on it in a couple of days. I'm still finishing the neck with polyurethane.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Looking great. That Cherry is Wild!

[Diane Kauffmds]

Looking great. That Cherry is Wild!

It is some crazy looking cherry, and I swear the stuff is petrified.

I just got done sanding the entire box, starting with 1200g and going to 3000g. I went ahead and polished the top. I'm going to let it harden off, before doing the back and sides. I just started finishing the neck today, so it'll be a few days, before I can set the neck. I want to make sure that the shellac on the box is really hardened.

Here is a photo of the top. I turned off the lights in the sewing room and aimed it at the stained glass window to show the polish:

[johnnparchem]

That is an impressive shine!