How to French polish your guitar. Video 6 of 9.
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- čas přidán 6. 05. 2019
- In this video I show how to remove imperfections from the surfaces that we are polishing, and also I explain how I fill the grain in the neck of the guitar.
To build your own classical guitar in your own workshop using my step by step 40 hour plus video course series visit:
onlineguitarmakingcourse.com
If you are interested in building a guitar in my workshop in Spain all the information that you will need about the 4 week course is available at:
guitarmakingcourse.org
Mr Requena you're a big luthier , thanks for for all of your series.
good video like always, thanks Pablo.
Thank you for these very well done videos that share your expertise and craftsmanship. These are some of the best instructional videos I have ever watched. I really enjoy your manner and we can all learn a lot from your careful approach to finishing.
Thanks for your series of very high quality instructional guitarconstruction vids. I actually can`t find any better on french polishing for guitars. In this vid., the sound level was much better, wich is most important. So again, thank you!
@Augustus Tommy thank you
Thank you very much sir, to us beginners, these instructions are invaluable.
Excellent (como sempre) Thanks Pablo. I’m polishing along with you, so eagerly await each new video.
Thanks Steve, I am very pleased you are finding these videos to be useful.
Close up camera shows the flame in the cedar. Very nice piece of wood. Cant wait to hear this guitar
Hola Pablo te agradezco mucho estos videos que me sirven de maravilla para mis proyectos. Soy Luthier amateur, es decir, lo hago para mi y me acabas de dar todo un curso para el finish de mis guitarras. Muchas gracias.
Hola Pablo, your videos showing how you do french polishing are SO inspiring and hepful! I will spare videos # 7-9 until tomorrow. I thank you!!! Muchissimas gracias, me gustaría estudiar contigo.
Erling Westh I am very pleased you like my videos.
Si tú quieres estudiar conmigo, tienes dos opciones: hacer un curso presencial aquí en Malaga, o comprar mi curso online. Toda la información que necesitas está en:
www.guitarmakingcourse.org
www.onlineguitarmakingcourse.com
Thank you
Hi Pablo, thanks for your instructions about french polishing. I have a question: when did you remove the masking tape on the fretboard? On video 5 it was there and now it's gone. What about on polishing the egdes on the neck to the fretboard? Thanks again for building us great guitars!
Hi Pablo. I wanted to let you know that I very much appreciate that you have taken so much of your valuable time to do these videos. I’m a new builder and I’m currently following these FP videos and I find that there is a significant learning curve in doing this kind of finish. I’m working on my 3rd guitar, a parlor guitar with a western red cedar soundboard and East Indian Rosewood. I have had many challenges on this guitar but I believe it will turn out pretty well.
I’m finding I need more oil that you are putting on. I’m in SW Colorado, USA and today the humidity here is about 12%. What is your average humidity in Spain?
In my workshop it is about 40%
Thank you for a great video series Pablo! Would you mind sharing what kind of tape do you use to mask out the bridge area during polishing? It doesn't look like simple masking tape and you polish over it without any fear of the edges raising up.
Hi Daniel, It is normal masking tape, and if it is well stuck the edges won't lift.
Gracias Pablo. Dices al principio que hiciste 5 días x 3 sesiones = 15 sesiones. Hiciste 3 pases o capas por sesión? O sea hasta ahora unas 45 capas más 2 o 3 iniciales de sellado?
Thanks so much for your videos, I’m doing my 1st guitar an was wondering do you add oil for all of the sessions of polishing?
Watch earlier video, number 5.
Fantastic Pablo this is a true service to the art ! I am polishing my first guitar at the moment and was wondering if I can do the pomice for the back and sides as well? At the moment everything has a few sessions and looking great but the grain is noticebly open. Thanks again for these amazing videos .
Yes, you can use pumice to fill the grain in the back and sides as well, remember that the pumice is not a grain filling product, is just a cutting agent.
@@redkitekk These videos are wonderful. You are very generous with your time.
I would also like to grain fill the back and sides using pumice. Should this be done before adding any oil as you do on the neck?
George Seifert yes, I wouldn’t use any oil.
Thank you. I'll be thrilled if I come anywhere close to the finish you achieved. The old adage of those who can't do, teach, isn't true in your case. You do both beautifully.
George Seifert thank you.
Hello Pablo, thank you for the very good video series. It has helped me a lot with my guitar building. One question: you mention that you did 3 sessions over 5 days. Does that really mean 15 layers on each surface? Greetings, Peter
Hi Peter
I have sent a reply to your email
Anyone starting with the sanding stage, try this, maybe do it on a separate piece of wood because it could be something wrong with it that I don't know. Before you sand, sprinkle talcum powder, you will notice that the sanding is so much smoother and less likely for a piece of grit to dig into the polished surface. Please try at your own risk, I don't know if there are side effects to this technique.
Thanks again Pablo. Questions - In these final stages of building up the shellac and you notice a drip or a blob, how long do you leave the shellac before sanding out the problem? Also was that micromesh you were using?
John Keenan wait 24 hours, if it doesn’t cut back well then wait longer, but don’t worry about trying too soon as you can’t really do any damage by sanding.
Yes, it is micromesh
What I am going to do...
Hi, Pablo.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
During my polishing all is looking very good, but i have a small fibers sticked in my polish.
Please, explain, whats wrong?
Hi Maxim, there could be a few reasons.
1- you must use shellac that you have mixed yourself with alcohol. If you buy it already mixed it is possible that it is too old and it doesn’t dry properly, so your guitar will always have fibers sticking to it.
2- it is also possible that some fibers come from the rubber that you use, all you need to do is to sand them away as I explain in the video.
3- you can also have dust landing in your guitar while you polish, you need to remove them in the same way, and as you work you have to try to eliminate these problems as you get to the final sessions of polishing where you will remove imperfections(only if they are very small)with the final glossing using polishing compound.
I think you meant 1200 wet and dry paper, 120 might be a bit much at this stage
Thank you again for your video, Pablo! When I am at this point I find that a certain numbert of microscopic cotton fibers are stuck to the surface. I clean it with sandpaper 1200 (once it is dry) and then give another hand of shellak. But after that, the fibers are there again! Do you think it's better that I proceed adding other layers of shellak and then clean impurity ony at the end? Because it seems I can't go on if I have to remove impurity after each hand (it's driving me crazy). Hope you can help! Best regards from Italy :-)
aniello iaccarino It’s difficult to know for sure what is the problem, however you could check that you are not using too much oil and as you suggest you can leave the final removal of imperfections for the end just before just start the glossing up process
@@redkitekk thank you for your help! I'll let know about the final result, I'm restoring a german radio from '50 :-)
Hi Pablo, should I be sanding out imperfections as I go? Or only once I’m nearing the end? I’m on day 2 of applying coats, but my shop is quite dusty and It’s beginning to accumulate many spots. Also, I’ve made a few imprints in the polish where I grabbed the guitar and it’s removed polish that has stuck to my fingers, and it looks a bit like the dust spots do. Should I sand these out in the same way shown here? Or just continue to polish / melt them with alcohol?
Yes, you need to remove them as you go along. I do a bit os fine sanding before I start each session of polishing if it is needed.
@@redkitekk it’s already looking really good, I really appreciate you and this series (pics below if you’re interested.) I wish I had followed your model about pore filling the neck with pumice instead of epoxy. The epoxy really seems to darken the pores and the wood overall
imgur.com/gallery/MbAEH8W
Thanks for your answering.
My pad bekome dirty very fast, may be it's a problem?
Why it happens?
Maxim Ovsyannikov the rubber shouldn’t be dirty, you need to clean it from time to time with alcohol. There are many reasons why this happens, I don’t have an answer to that.
@@redkitekkI mean the rubber become dirty with shellac.
I will try to use a few rubbers to keep them clear and wet.
It's very hard to find a right point.
I make polishing 3 months, during this time I was remove few almost ready finishes from three of my guitars, and start from very beginning, was try different ways in my work. Using more or less spirit and lacquer, oil and pressure, old shirts for my rubbers... I can see myself in the mirror of polish, but also I have a fibers. I do must to make this work well...
Do you use gum sandarac in your polish? If so, what proportions gum sandarac to shellac?
Which cut shellac do you use at this stage? 1lb or 2lb?
Hi, the proportions I use to mix the shellac is:
250 ml of alcohol + 60 grams of shellac+ 10 grams of Benzoe+ 10 grams of Mastix+ 20 grams of Sandarak. This is my own formula and if you only use alcohol and shellac you will have a very good result so I would keep it simple, you don't need to add the extra ingredients. If you only want to add Sandarak the mix will dry a little harder, and the other two ingredients will give more flexibility to the polish once dried, however....it is very difficult to quantify how much flexibility and hardness we are really adding so you have to decide for yourself what works for you.
I use the same mix for the whole process and I add more alcohol at different stages which I explain at different times along the course of this series of 9 videos about french polish.
I hope this helps.
@@redkitekk Hi - and many thanks for the reply. At this stage in the polishing process I've used a 2lb cut. I've not added more alcohol to the rubber, at this stage, so I do appreciate the tip. I've also used gum sandarac in my mix, but a lot less than you suggest.
I restore concertinas - the ends of the concertina can get a lot of abuse and wear from constant pressing down of buttons, and often the fingers can wear patches around the buttons. I want my shellac mix to produce a polish that is as hard as possible so as to retain the gloss finish for as long as possible.
As a player too, I like my instruments to not only play well, but also to look amazing.
I really enjoyed the video series - many thanks for posting - and many thanks for the great tips.
Steve