Shchellac For Acoustic Finish?

[Daniel Sorbera]

I read that you can use shellac as the primary finish on an acoustic guitar and it's supposed to work very well. Anyone ever heard of doing a finish out of only shellac? I know it wouldn't be as durable as some other finishes, but if it looks good and sounds good I'd be willing to give it a try.

[fryovanni]

I read that you can use shellac as the primary finish on an acoustic guitar and it's supposed to work very well. Anyone ever heard of doing a finish out of only shellac? I know it wouldn't be as durable as some other finishes, but if it looks good and sounds good I'd be willing to give it a try.

I have heard of that, it is also called French Polishing. A really nice traditional finish.

Peace,Rich

[GregP]

http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html

[Daniel Sorbera]

Thanks for the link greg. Great info in there. I'll be doing some tests with french polishing for sure. If it goes well I might try it out on the limba acoustic.

[GregP]

Make sure you let us know how it goes, elaborating on that tutorial or pointing out where things were different than expected.

[Acousticraft]

I used Shellac on the first guitar (acoustic) I made. It looked nice but is too soft and sweaty hands mark the finish after a while.

I personally wouldn't use it after the experience I have had. Use an oil like Danish oil or all the other brands of oil finishes out there. Much easier to apply than Shellac as it tacks up so fast.

[Mattia]

Shellac is an acoustically transparent finish (doesn't penetrate, lower damping than the wood, opposite of oil finishes which can work fine over a shellac seal coat), but relatively fragile. Lots of folks do french polished tops over lacquered back/sides.

I do all my necks in shellac; never had problems with the finish breaking down, and I've got fairly agressive sweat.

[Drak]

Shellac is one of the most durable, dependable, and time-tested finishes out there, period.

Shellac is primarily responsible for most of the antique furniture out there that still has it's original 100 or 200 year old finish still intact to this day.

Shellac was the primary world-wide first class finish used until lacquer was invented from cotton seeds (I think this is basically correct)

Now, if you're doing Metallica covers, maybe not the best thing, but it is an absolutely solid finish product, extremely safe and non-toxic to use (compratively speaking), easy to apply, easy to repair, an excellent finish.

And acoustically transparent.

If you sweat heavily or drink a lot of beer while you're playing, maybe not the best choice, but otherwise, a great non-harmful finish.

Also, bad shellac jobs can sometimes be traced back to using old pre-mixed shellac from a can. Shellac has a shelf life after which, it will not dry completely and remain soft and sticky.

I ALWAYS buy fresh flakes, mix it and dewax it myself, and use it within 6 months. Do that, you're guaranteed pretty much a nice, proper, hard shellac finish.

[fryovanni]

French Polishing is probably a very good thing for you to get good at. It will allow you to offer it to your acoustic customers as a premium finish .

Peace,Rich

[erikbojerik]

FWIW do NOT use any kind of oil finish on the soundboard. Way big damping action.