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Hello,

Has anyone found success using an electric buffer or polisher when french polishing? Perhaps just in the early stages? I am pore filling using a pumice abrasive and it is looking fantastic. However, It is a ton of work and I am doing multiple projects and am having some wrist/hand pain while doing this.

I may try at least enhancing my polishing operations mechanically, try to make an electric pad do what I'm doing by hand. Currently, it takes a good 30-60 minutes to go from wash coats to mostly pore filled in just a small area of the back. Perhaps I'll get faster but the sides are a daunting task and I'm doing several guitars.

This is just a few wash coats (just padded on 1# shellac) then polished w/ pumice and alcohol only. It actually seems a lot nicer and faster for me than the various water based pore fillers. Those are easy to use but I tend to think it is too thick then i've sanded it off and have start over and I did probably 5 coats. With pumice, I like the idea that the guitar finish will be 100% shellac ( well, I guess some oil stays behind ) but it sure will take a long time.

I think my answer is obviously no as if there were, then that's how everyone would french polish. :D

update: the mrs. suggested we hire my nephew who seems to like woodworking. hmm. now we're getting somewhere.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no short cut or mechanical way of doing french polishing. It is a very labor intensive, arduous way of finishing. However, it's highly rewarding, because it simply doesn't compare to any other finish. The good news is that as you become more experienced, french polishing goes much faster.

There are quicker ways of pore filling. I pore fill with Aquacoat or 2 part epoxy, which is faster than pumice. I put 2 wash coats of shellac to seal the wood, then I pore fill. Aquacoat pore fills fast. Use thin coats, pushing them into the pores like your grouting. Get the excess off so it'll dry quickly and sand.

Another alternative is to pore fill with shellac and sawdust, using dust from your guitar. Robbie O'Brien demonstrates this technique on YouTube. I've not done it yet, but it looks like a good fast alternative.

https://youtu.be/EcRc1cJrgtU

yeah, i've given up on on that line of thought. I just keep thinking a small mechanical polishing pad might help w/ the pumice rubbing, doing what I'm doing w/ 3 fingers. But you are right, I am getting faster and using less energy as I get experience. Basically, the pumice does fill w/ shellac and sawdust but you gotta raise it off the surface and it is super slow. I'll watch the vids. thanks!

Tom Bills' Introduction to French Polishing is in depth and quite well done.

labor intense process but worth the time to learn

Not the same as french polish, but you can brush on 4-5 coats of 2# cut shellac and polish it up. I have done this on 2 instruments, now 7 and 8 years old. Looks as good today as it did then.

Ed

Hi Ed

Could you show some pictures of those guitars with the shellac finish?

I am interested to see what it looks like.

Thanks

Pat

rcnewcomb wrote:Tom Bills' Introduction to French Polishing is in depth and quite well done.

I second this. A few guitars ago, I learned Tom Bills's method of French polishing and fell in love with it. So much so, that now, while I'm building my third violin, I decided to French polish it (a no-no, I guess, among most violinmakers), after using a waterbased dye (Transtint) to color the violin a reddish/brown color. It seems to be working out. I started the French polishing process on this violin almost two weeks ago (March 9th), and am almost done (23 sessions). All I have left to do is to now wait 5 days until I can do the final polishing with Novus #2, and then I can finish up the violin. I know it takes a long time to do, but it is SO relaxing and hands-on, and I love the process! I've been posting my process on Facebook, so if you want to see it, it's here: https://www.facebook.com/kathy.matsushita.

i appreciate the replies. I've been able to get this project filled and moving. I have made a few adjustments and pace is better. One thing I did was make a bigger pad. Taller to make it easier to hold and wider for more surface are to push the pumice, shellac and sawdust around easier. Also, as expected experience helped me figure out to use the right amount of things on my pad to make the pushing around a bit smoother.

The hand buffer idea was fleeting, perhaps and old back massager? haha. kidding

Not the same as french polish, but you can brush on 4-5 coats of 2# cut shellac and polish it up. I have done this on 2 instruments, now 7 and 8 years old. Looks as good today as it did then.

Was doing some reading on French Polishing last night and wondering the same thing. Its interesting to think about, FP was invented before spray guns and sandpaper, it was apparently sort of a miracle and closely guarded secret when it was first developed. But if I'm looking for a very thin and flat coat of shellac, it made me wonder if FP is the only way to get there.

For those of you who are really bored at home, here's a French Polishing guide from 1910: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17935/1 ... 7935-h.htm