www.KitGuitarsForum.com

I have been spraying a guitar with shellac. I am using a 4 lb cut with Preval sprayers. It seems to work well, however there will need to be a lot of level sanding. I think after that we will top it off with traditional French polish. We had started French polishing and then glued on the neck. At this point we decided to try to spray. Any advice?

Why are you spraying? I use shellac extensively through the building process as a means to keep the wood from absorbing any dirt, oil, etc. I use a blue shop towel to apply the shellac by just wiping it on quickly. Throw the paper towel away. Works fine.

sylvan wrote:Why are you spraying? I use shellac extensively through the building process as a means to keep the wood from absorbing any dirt, oil, etc. I use a blue shop towel to apply the shellac by just wiping it on quickly. Throw the paper towel away. Works fine.

I am spraying because I have read of others doing the same. French polishing seems to take a very long time to add any amount of build to the finish. We put on in one day what would have taken a week rubbing by hand.

An old saying comes to mind: Haste makes waste, sometimes the quickie method results in substandard outcomes. (Not always but more times than not) This has been my experience. When building a guitar I'm never in a hurry to complete the guitar or any of the steps that lead up to the completion of the guitar. Just my opinion!

David L

A guitar can be completely French Polished in a day with the correct technique.

David L wrote:An old saying comes to mind: Haste makes waste, sometimes the quickie method results in substandard outcomes. (Not always but more times than not) This has been my experience. When building a guitar I'm never in a hurry to complete the guitar or any of the steps that lead up to the completion of the guitar. Just my opinion!

David L

I don't expect substandard outcomes, we haven't had any yet. It seems to me if the level sanding is done properly and a few final hand coats are applied it should be just as good as traditional French polish. I am interested to hear from someone who has experience with spraying.

I have sprayed shellac on a violin that I had dyed and I wanted to avoid spreading the colors. I would not use anything thicker than a 2 lb cut. I would probably be at 1.5-2 lb cut. That might be why you have to level so much. I find the stuff drys so fast it does not have time to self level like a lacquer.

I can French Polish a guitar without using any sandpaper. For me that is part of the look. Your idea of finishing with French Polish after the build might get you that look.

After the pore fill I have completely French Polished a classical guitar in a weekend. It usually takes me a couple of weeks to spray lacquer a guitar; albeit the hands on time is way higher for the FP.

johnnparchem wrote:I have sprayed shellac on a violin that I had dyed and I wanted to avoid spreading the colors. I would not use anything thicker than a 2 lb cut. I would probably be at 1.5-2 lb cut. That might be why you have to level so much. I find the stuff drys so fast it does not have time to self level like a lacquer.

I can French Polish a guitar without using any sandpaper. For me that is part of the look. Your idea of finishing with French Polish after the build might get you that look.

After the pore fill I have completely French Polished a classical guitar in a weekend. It usually takes me a couple of weeks to spray lacquer a guitar; albeit the hands on time is way higher for the FP.

I started with a 2 lb cut and got many runs, we then moved up to 4 lb cut and that seemed better, it still went on wet. A factor here might be the Preval sprayers keep the shellac cold, so it doesn't dry too fast. Thanks for your help.