stickystrings Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Im sure ill get some advice here, hopefully!!! I am ready to put a finish on a Triple 0 kit from Stew Mac, putting a french polish on it. Stew Mac recommend leaving the bridge till after the finish, I have thought long and hard about it and think it would be "cleaner" to go opposite way!!! I know it would be easier to apply a finish without the bridge there, its a Spruce top. Any opinions folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 I think the reason to finish the guitar and then scrape for the bridge is to ease the polishing/buffing/etc. of the top. If you're french polishing it, it may not make a difference (don't know how easy it would be to french polish around the bridge). I would rather glue the bridge on before getting shellac on the top. Somehow I don't think the bridge would bond as well to shellac as it would to bare wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 1. It is really hard to french polish around a bridge. I made that mistake on my first build. It's hard to get a good finish around the bridge. 2. Through my own and my dad's research, almost anything should stick to shellac. Have fun french polishing. It will take a lot of time to do but it looks great and sounds great too. The kit I built cost $89. A friend of mine played it for about a half an hour and told me I could sell it for 200 or 300 (which made me happy, he owns a martin and a fender acoustic). I attribute most of the sound to the thin FP finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 19, 2008 Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 Finish, then scrape, then glue the bridge. Significantly easier to sand, finish and polish without the bridge on there, and scraping the finish off the bridge area is really quite simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickystrings Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 Finish, then scrape, then glue the bridge. Significantly easier to sand, finish and polish without the bridge on there, and scraping the finish off the bridge area is really quite simple. Will do. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickystrings Posted September 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 I think the reason to finish the guitar and then scrape for the bridge is to ease the polishing/buffing/etc. of the top. If you're french polishing it, it may not make a difference (don't know how easy it would be to french polish around the bridge). I would rather glue the bridge on before getting shellac on the top. Somehow I don't think the bridge would bond as well to shellac as it would to bare wood. Thanks for the advice, will finish and scrape clear for bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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