truerussian558 Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) My Fretless Bass is currently in finishing stage, And I've been doing it entirely by hand with shelac ( basically my variation of french polishing). But Ive run into some troubles. The whole Guitar is covered in a decent layer of shelac, So I've started wet sanding it, thats where the trouble starts, for some reason once I start sanding, the very center part of the back of the guitar becomes very diffuse (i.e. not glossy), while the sorrounding areas are fairly glossy. If I keep sanding the satin blob becomes bigger (about half the size of the palm of my hand), But in order to cover it again, I have to put a lot of shelac to cover that one spot. And once I start sanding, the texture changes and the small spot (that then grows huge) reappears The textrue of the spot, is rougher then the sorrounding area, and if you start rubbing it with a cloth soaked in alcohol (or hard with your fingiers) you get some crud that comes up (resembles the stuff that is on your paper after you use an eraser) The only other problems I had with the finishing is that early on I had some paper towels that the guitar was resting on fuse with the finish, and leave a huge imprint, when I neglected some overflow over the side of the guitar when I was applying the initial coat with a brush, I sanded it out flat (didnt need to sand through to the wood) and covered it again Edited June 7, 2006 by truerussian558 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Is the shellac fresh? If it's too old it might not dry completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 yeah, bought it new for this project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Shellac flakes or pre-mixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andir Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Is the problem in the same spot as the paper towel stuck ? If so the paper fibres from the towel are probably stuck in the finish and have become opaque so as not to show up. When you sand you break through to the fibres making that part of the finish look matt. If my guess is right you are going to either take the finish off to beyond the fibres (best) or pile on the shelac until you can polish without breaking through (cheap and nasty) Andi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted June 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) Pre mixed (its a 3 pound, but I dillute it to a 2 pound) @andir, As far as I remember it is in the same place (I'm not 100% sure), but the thing is that it is the only place that is going matte, out of all the places that got stuck to the paper. Edited June 7, 2006 by truerussian558 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andir Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 Maybee it got in deeper in that area and the shelac was drier in the other areas and it just stuck to the suface and was all removed ? I think i'm grasping now. Andi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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