Steve's Guitar Making Part 8 - Finish 1 of 3

[sirgreggins8824]

does rottenstone work as well as the pumice? i can get 4f pumice if needed, i just know that rottenstone is finer

[MrHarrisBueller]

Hey Steve. I love the videos! I was wondering, at what point/stage would you do sunbursting? (e.g. before sealing, after sealing, before/after filling?)

[sirgreggins8824]

Hi steve, I'm doing an acoustic guitar project right now, and i've been told to use dewaxed shellac as a sealer then lacquer over it as a topcoat for more scratch protection since that's what i have. Do i NEED pumice to seal it up, or can I just brush on a coat or 2 of 1 lb cut of shellac?

[lushesfeet]

hey steve! thank you so much for this video. i have one question. i have a ovation s771 balladeer special(spruce top) with a natural finish. do you supposed this method would be good to restore my guitar? thank you!

[Nonix321]

great video series! I have a question excuse my ignorance but, Why don't you fill the pours before putting on the polish?

[dwshiva]

i'm a bit confussed by it not being toxic as it's mixed with methyl hydrate?

[Jim5150jvc]

I have a northern ash guitar body that I would like to have a natural finish. would this be a good method for it?

[bobloblaw1701]

It would work. Ash has an open grain like walnut or oak so you're going to have the same challenges I did on this guitar to get the pores filled, but it will work fine.

[rushpython100]

very non-toxic!?

nice. thanx for the vid.

[Beemerboy324]

The "fine tooth comb" approach is good but I use a tack cloth. Seems to work a bit quicker. French Polish is very nice but the final finish is still a bit fraglie even after a year.

[lostcowhand]

oh yeah, measure shellac by weight and alcohol by volume(fluid oz).

[lostcowhand]

2# cut = 32oz shellac/16oz alcohol, or 2:1.

So, 4oz alcohol needs 8oz shellac.

[nuboyhere]

Hi, Steve. Thank you for teaching us what you know. It's information that I sure find most useful, and the way you state it makes one think it all comes from experience. I've got a chinese aj-200s Epiphone sporting an incredibly thick finish (got pictures) which, I think, severely dampens the highs. Should I try to refinish the soundboard alone, using the technique that you demonstrated? If so, is the sealing stage necessary?

[theunderlyingme]

Hey Steve,

I'm up to french polishing my guitar body. I understand the pro's to polishing the body without the neck and bridge on as it is easier to cover evenly, but I'm not sure on how to attach the bridge once done polishing. Do I sand the contact area where the bridge will touch the guitar top then glue it on? and should i consider epoxy or stick with yellow glue? thanks for the helpful videos.

[bobloblaw1701]

You have to trace out the bridge on the guitar with a knife or razor. Put masking tape all around the outside of the line to protect the surrounding finish, then remove the finished with sandpaper/scraper/whatever. Then glue it on with white glue (so it can be removed down the road).

Steve

[charlescontarini21]

you forgot to mention it can also be fixed in about 10 minutes if it does get scratched.

[bobloblaw1701]

I think the fingerboard is left unfinished simply because it's such a high wear area that any finish would quickly be destroyed. The bridge can be finished. I french polish the ones I put on my classical guitars. I think it's just a matter of preference.

[DeepzThinker]

the unfinished parts of a guitar polish up nicely with lemon oil...

[jazzpsalti]

so I just finished an instrument, and am deciding to forego my stupid idea of sealing it with epoxy before doing a polyurethane finish. So I'm sanding all the epoxy off (GOSH!)

why doesn't the bridge and fingerboard get any finish??? I never learned why that is

[geckoalk3]

Also it migrates through gloves, giving you a false sense of security. Methanol will be absorbed into the skin and can easily poison you.

The only product I have found is the one available at lee valley. Its very expensive, but its unfortunately the only option. I use French polishing a lot in my shop, and have used it with great results.

The lee valley stuff is actually just a relabelled behlen product.

[geckoalk3]

Hi Steve, I know this is an older video, but I wanted to comment. Here in Canada it can be very difficult to get ethanol alcohol without the added methanol to make it toxic; however lee valley sells a shellac/lacquer thinner that is relatively non toxic. I would VERY strongly suggest that you stop using methanol for shellac finishing. It is too toxic to work with is any environment really. The fumes are very toxic and the vapour can migrate through all gas masks.

[SlowTrain08]

"take some straight alcohol and get my pad wet..."

...thats what she said

haha great video

[bobloblaw1701]

ok, that one got me laughing. Thanks

[rokstr3]

hey can you help me steve?. Alright i got a dean ml from a pawn shop and decided to do a custom paint job. Now I want something that is high gloss, durable and fast. So rule out nitrocellulose. I was hoping on your view of polyester, acrylic, polyurethane. I can't even find acrylic.

[stevieRay3211]

Very nice and informative video.

[anma98]

hi steve,

greatings from germany. could you please tell what the secong tinkture includes? ist it also alcohol?

[bobloblaw1701]

one jar has alcohol and one has alcohol and shellac

[Papachulo57]

It's me again Steve...lol....I'm just really excited about making my guitar. I like looking around your shop as much as I like watching you create this guitar. Anyway...have you tried Zpoxy for a filler? I think it's a resin based epoxy. I think I'll be giving it a whirl, I ordered some last week. Thank you for sharing these videos.

[bobloblaw1701]

I tried and epoxy filler once. I don't remember the name but I bought it from StewMac. It certainly filled the grain, but I found it a lot of work to sand out. However, like I said, I only tried it once so I probably didn't really have the method figured out. I know lot's of people fill with epoxy with great success.