French polishing the neck

[Haggis]

Hi!

I have a mahogany neck and wonder if that material need to pore fill that in the same way as with the back and sides?
Also.. on martin kits the area between the head and the neck has a diamond...looking joint..(don´t know if I understod that my self) I wonder if you smooth that out, with a chisel, and sanding to make the french polish easier..?

häggis

[johnnparchem]

I pore fill mahogany necks. I have not had a volute on a neck I have french polished. But I would just make sure it is sanded with out scratches and just wipe shellac on it every now and then while you are polishing the smoother parts of the neck. That is how I deal with the area near the bridge when I have it glued on. I wait part way through a polishing session until I am sure the muneca will not leave a drip when I hit an edge before I hit odd places.

[B. Howard]

My necks are different than Martin but similar. First off, yes to the pore fill on Mahogany, always. As for prep on the volute( that diamond thingy) fill and sand as you do the rest of the guitar. Just be careful not to sand across any grain. I sand each facet of mine individually with a small sanding block. I do the same when I polish it, i work each facet. I get plenty of shellac in the corners when I am doing that.