Polishing

[pnooud]

My crack is due to arrive in the next few days; I have all of the tools etc ready to go, but have found the products available for staining and polishing a bit baffling and there seems to be loads of options;
Staining with analine dye or gel stain etc
Polishing french polish, varnish, lacquer, wax, oil.

I am based in the UK so some brands may not be available to me.

I want to achieve a dark deep rich shiny finish, I don't mind if its a bit labor intensive.

I though stain the wood with a gel stain https://www.goldleafsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Gel-Stain.html

Then french polish it https://www.goldleafsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Beginners-French-Polishing-Kit-7507_FP.html#SID=158

My thinking behind the french polish was that although it will take more effort, I will probably get a better finish as I am building up layers instead of needing the skill to get a perfectly flat clear coat of varnish down.

What approaches have been successful in some of the best Bottlehead builds?

I have no experience with this kind of work so advise would be greatly received.

Thanks. 

[Doc B.]

Somewhere I have pics of a spalted maple guitar I finished with French polish. French polish is beautiful. It will take days to do, maybe weeks. Your wrists will ache and you will get sick of the smell of shellac. But the particular tone and sheen it has is beautiful. It's not necessarily as deep and glass-like as a flood coated, scraped and hand rubbed nitrocellulose lacquer over a shellac filler finish - which also takes many hours of rubbing. French polish is more easily repaired - though that is more of a plus on something like a guitar that is handled constantly. It is not very water resistant, though that shouldn't matter on an amp base!

If you are a seasoned DIY adventurer go for. If you would rather start at the shallow end and work your way into deeper water I'd suggest spraying carefully sanded layers of water base satin finish clear as the most fool proof method. Looks very nice too, that's how we have done many bases here at BHQ. Another alternative is gunstock finish - nowadays we use a lot of Tru Oil for its speed of application and simplicity.

[Paul Birkeland]

Go for the French Polish for sure!  Post pics when you're finished.

[Strikkflypilot]

I used French polish after mahogany staining my "Norwegian Crack" (In the gallery).
It makes the wood shine thru beautifully.
Takes some getting used to waiting long enough to apply a new layer, and if You rub too hard and long, previous layers dissolve. But the result is worth it!

[pnooud]

Thanks everyone, I will get the french polish kit ordered then; can't wait. 

Do I need to buy a special type of stain for use with french polish?

Strikkflypilot, your Norwegian Crack build looks awesome, well worth the hard work.

[Doc B.]

Lots of ways to do it. You can put aniline dye powder intended for use with alcohol right into the shellac.  The back of this guitar was french polished with the shellac heavily tinted that way with a dark walnut powder, and the front polished with un-tinted shellac. I used pieces of an old 100% cotton t-shirt wrapped around a small block of wool felt for the ponce. I also used Bull's Eye shellac primer, which is essentially a thin cut of shellac just about right for polishing. Look up french polishing guitars - lots of great info on the web.

[pnooud]

Cool thanks Doc

[Strikkflypilot]

Now that's a beautiful Telecaster!

[E.T.]

In a book I read last year about finishing wood, the author said that _unwaxed_ shellac isn't damaged by water.  Haven't tried it yet.  I think none of the premade canned shellacs are unwaxed;  you'd probably have to make it up from dry flakes dissolved in alcohol.

[Grainger49]

Shellac is hygroscopic.  It will absorb water and change color.  Old shellaced pieces turn black.

However polyurethane is impervious to water and alcohol.

[galyons]

Not a fan of polyurethane.  It just doesn't do much for me...plastic coated wood.  And it is really toxic. Unless I need the abrasion protection of the plastic I don't use it anymore. IMO, it can be made less "plasticy" by making your own wipe on varnish, ( I use 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 polyurethane and 1/3 boiled linseed oil). Because of the high oil content this will seep into the wood rather than sit on top. The wipe on application also eliminates brush marks, bubbles and most, if not all, dust/fibers.

My last few projects have been finished with Tried and True Oil with Varnish.  Easy to use.  But one MUST follow the directions...less is better!  Does require some elbow grease.  Pretty much nontoxic.  Rather than the nauseous fumes of the oils and polyurethane, the T&T actually has a very low level of fumes and the smell is somewhat nice.  I am quite pleased with the results, an "in the wood"  finish versus on top.  The grain pops, very pleasant "polished" wood feel and good protection, plus being an oil finish...easy to repair. And not toxic!

French polish is beautiful for a high gloss finish and also easy to repair.  Just not an easy process, but worth the effort when you want high build and high gloss.

Cheers,
Geary