NorCalluthier -> RE: Speeding shellac cure (Dec. 10 2019 16:46:06)
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Hello Tom, I'm very familiar with Gene Clark's walnut oil and shellac French polishing. He told me a few years ago that his finish "stayed tender" for up to a year. My experience is that the addition of any oil---vegetable or mineral---slows down the curing process of shellac. Gene did claim that the shellac plus walnut oil combination ended you up with a more durable finish, that "got rid of the noise". My experience is that oil in finishes increases the damping and kills treble---good for violins and steel string guitars---bad for nylon string instruments. My next experiment will be 4 pound cut shellac that has been diluted to 2 pound cut with acetone. This is just to fill the pores---probably several coats, and lots of drying time. I then French polish with 2 pound cut thinned 2:1 with acetone---around .6 pound cut. That extremely thin mix dries to the touch in about 30 seconds. Paradoxically you get faster build the thinner you go. I'm determined to come up with a clear pore filler that doesn't decrease treble response, and doesn't shrink in a few months to show the pores again. Cypress guitars,God bless 'em, don't have the pore filling problem. I use rosewood bridges, head facings, and bindings, but on a blanca they look fine, left unfilled. Cheers, Brian
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