How to French polish your guitar. Video 3 of 9.

In this video I show how to seal the surfaces in the guitar before we start using the polishing rubber.
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[@FiddleSticks800]

What an amazing set of videos. I purchased a Mexican guitar by Enos Hernandez a while back for very little money, fan braced cedar top, Spanish heal, with solid palo escrito back and sides beautifully constructed. A very light guitar ~1250 g . I felt like I had to save it. The previous owner had started sanding off the finish for some reason. I have spent my nights over the last several months carefully cleaning off the rest of the old finish and preparing to French polish the guitar. These videos have been invaluable as I have been learning French polishing on scraps of wood in preparation for finishing my Enos Hernandez. Thank you.

[@markkutuominen9346]

I really love this set of videos. Thw thoroughness, detailled instructions, no nonesense❤. I have used only ordinary varnish (once) an TruOil, next time I have thought to try shellac. Therefore your videos are worth of gold. Thank you!

[@jameshughes1190]

Pablo, I know it has been several years since you made this video; I hope that you are well. Thanks you so much for presenting this important topic in such fine detail, I very much appreciate your work.

[@ezg3863]

Great vid as always Pablo, you are a treasure my friend!

[@100amps]

Such a great instructor. Thank you Pablo.

[@AlanBrown111]

Brilliant videos Pablo!!...thanks for sharing all these techniques...I am building my fourth guitar now (over 7 years) and learning all the time :)

[@giuseppepittalis1294]

Thanks a lot for these very interesting videos.

[@leocjm]

I just felt like dropping my Startup career to build guitars.. Amazing job!

[@lyndamcardle4123]

Hello Pablo Thank you once again for responding to my question. You have only confirmed to me what I needed to do...that is, use a paint/varnish stripper on the soundboard to get rid of the finish. I will do this very carefully over the next week. Thank you for your guidance and your wonderful videos. It is wonderful to watch an artisan/craftsman work and explain their reasons for doing things in such a way.

[@juliangaffney798]

Thanks for the excellent video!

[@ferruccioalfonsi2760]

Very well done, Pablo. Thank you

[@redkitekk]

Ferruccio Alfonsi you are very welcome

[@antonyhadjion8376]

This is excellent! Thanks!

[@bigfatpear]

great video

[@jesus7357]

Gracias Pablo!

[@hgabriel2007]

Great videos, Pablo! Thanks for sharing.

[@lyndamcardle4123]

Dear Pablo I'm only making a polite enquiry ......I'm presuming that the back and sides are walnut and the soundboard top is spruce (but, due to the colour of the video) could be cedar...however, that notwithstanding, it's a beautifully made and informative video....thank you.

[@redkitekk]

Lynda McArdle I am very pleased you enjoyed the video, the back and sides in this guitar are Indian rosewood and the soundboard is made of cedar.

[@TheSULTAN7777]

many thanks .

[@apmpsj]

Good video!!

[@ucenicul]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Question : US gallon or United Kingdom gallon ?

[@redkitekk]

Daniel Szekely thanks for bringing this up, I use UK gallons which is 4,5 liters.

[@ucenicul]

@@redkitekk Thank you

[@eemacedo]

Pablo. I am closely following this series of your videos. However, I had a big doubt. Do you use pure shellac with alcohol just to make the varnish? I ask this because I always see people mixing shellac with sandarac in other videos, for example. Thanks.

[@redkitekk]

You can mix it with sandarac and gums but it isn’t necessary. I have done this in the past but nowadays I only use shellac.

[@WilliamRodriguez-os1rv]

another great video, thanks!

[@possibleanswers1]

Thank.you so much. You are so wonderfully generous in sharing your expertise. Greatly appreciated! One question- do you take the surfaces down to 400 grit both before and after the grain filling?

[@redkitekk]

John Keenan on the rosewood I take it to 240 before grain filling and to 400 after so that the surfaces are as scratch free as possible on the soundboard and neck I also prepare them to 400 before applying any polish

[@mikewillifordjr]

Is using non hardening oil superior to hardening oils such as walnut or just preference?

[@redkitekk]

Oil is just used as a lubricant. One of the later stages of polishing is to remove all the oil to be able to gloss up the surfaces, so I don’t think it would make much of a difference if any.

[@thomasmorarre9193]

Wondering if the rosette has been pre-sealed. Otherwise, wouldn't the dark wood bleed color into the shellac and spread onto the soundboard?

[@redkitekk]

Hi Thomas, yes, I seal all the surfaces with a thin coat of shellac before I start polishing.

[@lyndamcardle4123]

Hello Pablo Thank you for responding to my e-mail last night regarding the tonewoods used in this video. Can I ask a further question please ? I bought a second-hand (used) Washburn Cumberland jumbo which is a beautiful guitar however, the previous owner decided he wanted to apply a varnish to a natural finish but, unfortunately, splashed this varnish / finish on to the soundboard in three different places without finishing off the application. I can only presume then that he fell asleep as the soundboard now has three large areas where the varnish has been applied. I have sanded and sanded and sanded these areas but, to no avail, these areas still retain the varnish "stain".......so my questions are 1) do I keep on sanding ? 2) will these stains disappear? 3) can I apply some application to remove these stain areas and then apply a decent finish. Thank you.

[@redkitekk]

Lynda McArdle i am sorry to say that without seen the guitar it is difficult to make an assessment, but perhaps I can try to answer your questions. Sanding is the last thing you would want to do to any soundboard, to remove varnish, lacquer, or any other finish I would use paint stripper, as many times as needed depending on the type of finish on the guitar, once all finish is removed you could do very light sanding to completely clean the surfaces. If you have been sanding and sanding and the marks don’t go it is possible that some thin oil has been used and it’s gone very deep into the grain, but I would try the stripper in those areas just in case you can pull the finish completely. To lighten up some areas of the soundboard you can use wood bleaching products or H2O2, but you could end up with uneven colors. Basically...... not a fun job.

[@laa_guitar2658]

Dear Pablo, thanks so much for the time and effort you put into these videos. I was wondering how you keep the white purfling and back center stripe from getting stained by the rosewood when you sand the grain filler back to the wood prior to beginning the shellac?

[@redkitekk]

You first have to seal the lines very carefully with a clean cloth and a bit of shellac and change the clothe each time you do one pass to apply the shellac, you have to do this there o four times before you can start polishing

[@andrewkonopitski7939]

@@redkitekk Thanks for this! I am finishing a federal card table in mahogany with holly inlay and I have not been able to find any information on how to fill grain and french polish without contaminating the holly inlay. This is the only method that makes sense to me so I'm going to give it a shot!

[@redkitekk]

@@andrewkonopitski7939 try the resin in an of cut of mahogany and holly to check that the resin dries clear to polish on top, I don’t use these timbers so I don’t know how the react to resin, with some timbers the clear resin is not so clear once dry so it is best to test it before you use on your table.

[@charles-antoinebertrand6247]

Hello Pablo, do you have a link for the oil you use? I want to compare with what we have in Canada. thank you so much

[@redkitekk]

No, sorry, the oil I use I bought it a long time ago and the company I bought it from closed up years ago. All I can tell you is that it is engineering oil, synthetic and completely transparent.

[@charles-antoinebertrand6247]

Allright i’ll find mine! Thanks for your reply and your videos of course. Happy new year Charles

[@jasonbrown5060]

Do you seal the inside of the guitar with shellac also?

[@redkitekk]

Jason Brown no I don’t, I know many makers do but I believe it is more beneficial not to polish the inside of the instrument.

[@guitareclmuller]

Bonjour Pablo, pouvez-vous m'expliquer pourquoi vous mettez deux épaisseurs de scotch de masquage( masking tape) à l'emplacement du chevalet? Le découpez-vous à la largeur exacte du chevalet ou légèrement en retrait 1 ou 2mm? Merci

[@redkitekk]

This is just so that it is easier to polish the top without the obstacle that the bridge is. This means that as you glue on the bridge the polish around it goes all the way to the bridge. The tape is the exact dimension of the bridge.

[@guitareclmuller]

@@redkitekk ok thanks you Pablo but why do you stick dobble masking tape one above the other?

[@guitareclmuller]

I usually don't put masking tape on and when the top varnish is finished, I cut around the bridge then scrape the varnish under the bridge with a small scraper. it is quite difficult to do and requires a lot of attention to detail. on my guitar in progress, I stuck the bridge on the table before varnishing to try and I regret ...

[@hni7458]

Papblo's vid series here is fantastic, and I've followed it at restoring a guitar from a conventional varnish - I'm not through yet. I see one worry here in No 3: if you - like me - start from a semi-filled wood surface - which well might be the case for my 240-grit ground surface, not fresh cedar - then Pablo's way of filling the surface with pure shellac w/o rubbing it in, might be a touch too tough. I might have got imperfections from that fatty shellack that cannot be removed now at later stages. Next time I do this with another of my guitars, I'm gonna rub in a pure, but rather dry, shellac solution using the conventional rubber, with or w/o the abrasive powder, pom pomm whatissname. At the later stages here I'd be using a liiittle alcohol in order not to get stuck, try to be working on it, before going into the actual polishing using oil.

[@MastersOfTheHeart]

how did you go? im about to start a refinishing project of a guitar with Nitro.. only gonna do the soundboard. need to ensure that its all come off first. he did mention that the top does not need any filling, but use up to 400 grit. he also told me to use paint stripper to get rid of the nitro first, then start at 180 grit, 240, 320 then 400. will be starting this weekend. would be nice to know how you went with the pomice stone powder. cheers.

[@MastersOfTheHeart]

@@hni7458 this is valuable insight. I will be FP my soundboard once i was done with getting the Nitro off, but i understand what you mean by the paint stripper being aggressive. I appreciate your comment, best wishes. id like to go and build a spanish guitar with Pablo one day, need to save up lol. ciao.

[@hni7458]

@@MastersOfTheHeart Thank you kindly for asking Mauri. I know you aren't asking about French polishing, but I'm giving you the lot still; it may help someone here. Perhaps you are getting into French polishing ahead. Sorry for being so talkative, but here we go. I've heard from very reliable sources here, w/o disclosing what sources, that one should be using pumice; I didn't in the end, but that is only becasue I went pass that stage when I at last found a 6/0 (very fone grit) mix in Italy. Please observe that I didn't have to use any stripper; that's what I found initially, I could skip that filthy agressive stuff, and I just ground off the thin polish, whatever chemistry it was. Beware from going down into the soundboard, that's a stiff NoGo, just eliminate to old surface coating. My initial problem from last summer was that I started with waaay too wet a shellac cloth. I think partly this was due to what I say in my initial comment above, but not only that, please see bullets below, and I regret to say that Pablo has not commented there. Anyway, I've put in much effort here and my findings for French polishing, FP, are as follows - however, it must be emphasized, this very much in line with Pablo's professional directions, for which I have a high opinion: - don't overdo initial grinding for removing old coat, don't go above some 400 grit (takes long to explain, but I had some ghost patterns that formed at the plain soundboard surface that formed at some 600 grit; I asked at the Net, no one could explain) - I won't ever once more start from applying a heavy shellack solution directly into a dry soundboard, and if you do, be wary of imperfections since this will be the base to build further upon, and EVERY imperfection will show in the end - newbies generally ALWAYS use too wet a cloth, wet with respect to shellac-spririt solution, not necessarily shellac concentration - the cloth can't be too dry; FP is more about tribology than really a surface coating process, this is sooo important, and this is not intuitively appreciated - I didn't, even if I had been strictly warned; and indeed had seen Pablo's YT series - this fact cannot be overly stressed, and is the most important part of all FP if you ask me - use oil in the manner it's directed by Pablo, esp important in the beginning - stop with maximum two polishing sessions a day, if even that, well separated in time, and end EVERY session with a concluding step where you taper off the shellack portion in relation to spirit in order to get off oil; but always with a comparatively dry cloth - with advantage use tiny compressed (not to leave debris) pure-cotton cloths, suggestively such 50mm diametre circles our ladies use for make-up work. Works great esp around crammed areas as around headstock, bridge etc. The risk here is sctraches from nails; never ever have a beer and go FP, this is about pure concentration; one deep scratch and you are screwed, and this - remember - over months (?) of work - so you aren't allowed to get into any hurry here; this takes time, so let it take time then, this is sheer contemplation, relaxation, valued time for one's mind - some work with the FPing of a guitar during several months; we newbies have generally never understood that fact.

[@hni7458]

@@MastersOfTheHeart Thank you Mauri, In fact I gathered enough experience last year to get me the courage to now having fixed small dings in a vintage expensive guitar of mine from 1993, using a water-soluble filler à la Robert O'Brien, this onto, and into, the old FP. Great result if I may say so myself, and I encourage you to sweep the Net and then to mainly stay to Pablo for directions according to his vids. But you please remember what I say as well 😁

[@simonecamplani2430]

Wich kind of brushes you suggest for shellac? And how do you clean it ?

[@redkitekk]

Simone Camplani any good quality artists brush will be fine and you clean it with alcohol.

[@andysparks7381]

Pablo, this was a very good video. I cannot remember without going back and searching, but did you tell what kind of brush you use to apply the shellac? Is it natural fibers?

[@redkitekk]

Andy Sparks it is just a good quality artist brush, I washed it well and let it dry before using it to make sure I wasn’t going to have particles coming out.

[@antonharms]

Thankyou Pablo for the excellent videos. Do you have a specific product name for the oil? Paraffin oil is often recommended and have bought some. Is that ok to use in your system? Thanks

[@redkitekk]

Anton Harms I bought the oil I use a long time ago from a British company that isn’t trading anymore, it was sold as polishing oil. I have never used paraffin oil so I don’t know for sure but it should work fine.

[@becomingalulabro4536]

How long do you suggest waiting after putting the sealer coats on before moving onto video 4 and beginning to French polish? I just put my 2 sealer coats on and wondering how long I should let it cure (I’m always eager to keep moving forward!)

[@redkitekk]

2 o 3 hours should be fine. When you touch it it must feel very dry.

[@catrionanicthamhais]

Dear Pablo, thanks so much once again for your excellent videos. A question. Here in Thailand, I can get 95% and 99% alcohol (and possibly 70% from the company that I order from). I've used both but at this point, but I haven't quite figured out, because of various variables I suppose, which one is the better choice. If you had to choose between those two alcohol percentages, which one, do you think, would be best? Cheers and all the very best Cath

[@redkitekk]

Catherine Thompson I have never used anything but 69% but I believe you would be ok using a higher % as it will have less water.

[@MastersOfTheHeart]

i think you mean 96% Pablo? here in australia i have found 100%, im starting my french polishing this week after removing the Nitro from my Cedar top spanish guitar. i have done 240, then 320 and now doing 400...

[@dumalucky]

You dont have to change the oil.. You cook with it as you go so always have fresh supply

[@rich_guitar]

Im not clear on something, did you do the grain filling process with the epoxy to the soundboard as well?

[@redkitekk]

Rich Verdugo, no, only on the rosewood.

[@juniorguitermaker329]

Which oil u used to finish grandfa

[@redkitekk]

I use refined mineral oil.

[@juniorguitermaker329]

@@redkitekk thanks grandfa and that's refine also shine forever?

[@MOHANMSHARMA]

it seems, that The top don't have epoxy filll?

[@redkitekk]

That’s right, you don’t use epoxy on the top.

[@harryodum5598]

Pablo what type of brush do you use? And can I mix the shellac with Behkol ?

[@redkitekk]

Hi Harry, the brush I use is just a good quality artist brush 25 mm wide. In therms of Behkol, I have never used it so I don't know.

[@arcam0789]

Hello Pablo, is the brush you use synthetic or marten? Thank you!

[@redkitekk]

It is a synthetic brush, but it is a good quality one, you can find them in an artist shop.

[@arcam0789]

@@redkitekk Thank you very much Pablo !!!

[@SasonEyR]

Free un maestro

[@haybob2527]

I tried twice to french polish my Guitar back and failed twice.. I settled for a mat finish in the end. 😥

[@redkitekk]

HayBob French polish takes time to master, I still find that it doesn’t always go as I wish and I have been doing it for years. Don’t give up, keep trying and you will get it. By the way, a mat finish is also a great on a guitar.

[@haybob2527]

@@redkitekk Thank you, Pablo, for your kind words😊 . I have an old side table that I am going to practice on and the mat finish does look good on the guitar...👍

[@jeandavidbreyman7367]

C'est fatiguant... Tu parles trop. Travaille plutôt,ce sera beaucoup mieux...!!!

[@qweasd60]

@Jean David Breyman Go home to sleep - And please stay there and don't come back - you are just disturbing!

[@eemacedo]

How do you say idiot in French?

[@pedoeburro11]

mucho bla bla bla .... aburre y no va al grano, casi cinco horas uffff..

[@qweasd60]

Go home!