How does one improve on the durability of a shellac french polish finish?

The Achilles' Heel of Luthiery
Srick
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2023 12:23 pm

Re: How does one improve on the durability of a shellac french polish finish?

Post by Srick »

Kathy Matsushita has a nice series about French polishing. Just do yourself a favor and increase the video speed to 1.5 x - there’s no need to watch every moment. BUT, having watched many, many FP videos, i found her hints and observations to be extremely helpful.
https://youtu.be/d6E-h1g2mIs?si=saX4EScDTbUqc6NC
And you know there's a YouTube video of a guy in Mexico who builds a guitar only using a machete, right?
rcnewcomb
Posts: 394
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:04 pm
Location: San Jose, CA, USA

Re: How does one improve on the durability of a shellac french polish finish?

Post by rcnewcomb »

Kathy Matsushita
She helped me build my first guitar and introduced me to French polishing! That's my first build on her bench.
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- Randall Newcomb
10 fingers in, 10 fingers out - another good day in the shop
Srick
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2023 12:23 pm

Re: How does one improve on the durability of a shellac french polish finish?

Post by Srick »

rcnewcomb wrote: Fri Jul 18, 2025 4:21 pm
Kathy Matsushita
She helped me build my first guitar and introduced me to French polishing! That's my first build on her bench.
Very cool!
And you know there's a YouTube video of a guy in Mexico who builds a guitar only using a machete, right?
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