estebanana -> RE: Electrostatic varnish (Jan. 21 2018 4:12:06)
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I use a pine resin/cooked oil varnish, applied with fingers. Adding copal and sandrac, elemy, benzoin etc. to shellac is not a great idea. Shellac is complete by itself and the alterations often result in crazing or soft finishes later. Layering 'lean over fat' by accident can result in disasters. Sandrac is hard. Think about different thicknesses in microns of shellac, some areas, due to uneven human application, low spots on the surface of the wood etc. the shellac film will be uneven if measured out in microns. Adding a hardener to shellac will create areas that are thicker and harder than areas adjacent to areas where the film is thinner. You're setting up places that have less ability to move next to areas that can move if the wood moves. If the guitar gets cold for example and moves a lot, the sections of finish will move at different rates. The result is crazing, craquelure. It's not a good idea to adulterate the shellac. Adding gums a resins to shellac in guitars, which are in contact with the body makes the finish susceptible to damage is body chemistry effects the resins in the shellac. Acidity of perspiration can harm resins. Elemy is a soft gum, put that in there and the shellac will be compromised in hardness. Copal is hard, similar to sandrac....why mess up good shellac? There is a such thing as spirit varnish, which is shellac, seed lac usually, mixed with gums and resins and then heated a brushed on, but it creates a malleable self healing finish that is for violins, which require a different quality and softer varnish for them to sound best. Hard regular shellac films for guitars, softer varnishes for violins. It's part of the way the instrument functions that calls for the different qualities in varnish.
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