French Polish drying

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gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

French Polish drying

Hi Luthiers,

Last year I bought a nice blanca from a rather sweaty guy.
A part of the back and side was worn out with french polish.

When I was a kid, I helped my father with some frenchpolish on his grand piano. So I thougt, well I give it a try.
The result, I am happy with! Now it is finished and I want to know how long I have to let it dry.
When is it save to touch it and play the guitar again?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 20 2021 7:58:29

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

I usually wait three to four days until the finish hardens up. Before then it might be a bit tender.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 20 2021 8:20:59

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to estebanana)

Thanks a lot!
So it is save to play it again after 5 days?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 20 2021 8:25:49

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

The French polish is still sticky.
Do I just have to wait some days more? Or is the stickyness something I can do about.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2021 7:38:24

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

It should be dry by now. Something is off

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2021 8:40:39

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to estebanana)

Ok, thanks.

The man said that the french polish pretty old was.

So, maybe that is the problem?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2021 9:15:15

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1676
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

Yes, it sounds like the problem is the polish solution was old and spoiled.

A lot of people report that shellac solutions for French polishing don't stay good for long. I think this is because they use alcohol that has water in it. I use anhydrous (no water) alcohol and my solutions have stayed good for over a year.

You should mix your own solution starting from solid shellac and either use it right away or use anhydrous alcohol.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2021 18:02:26

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

Will it get dry over time?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 25 2021 18:48:25

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

quote:

Will it get dry over time?

You can try more spiriting off. Use oil and alcohol alone ad go over the sticky area and gradually use less oil and a a drier and drier pad until you're working with only alcohol, but very dry. Sometimes that teases out the problem.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 0:40:11

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to estebanana)

It looks like it pays of….stil a bit sticky, but I will leave it a few days now.

One big lesson learned though….: Leave it to a pro! 😬

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 11:35:25

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

The lesson is don’t buy pre made shellac, soak the flakes yourself.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 11:53:39

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

I went trough a bit, dryer, dryer, till a normal dry cloth and it polished perfect and the stichyness is gone.

Thanks a lot for the help.🙏

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 12:09:19

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

Alright that’s great. Now I take lessons from you.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 16:04:13

JasonM

Posts: 2055
Joined: Dec. 8 2005
From: Baltimore

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to constructordeguitarras)

quote:

You should mix your own solution starting from solid shellac and either use it right away or use anhydrous alcohol.

Doctor, have you noticed any other benefits to using anhydrous ethanol or lab grade stuff? One would think it would be better to not have any water or impurities that might be in the stuff from the liquor store...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 26 2021 19:05:03

gerundino63

Posts: 1743
Joined: Jul. 11 2003
From: The Netherlands

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to estebanana)

I bought my own french polish and did the whole back once more. Let it dry out, very fast this time, thanks Estebanana!
And now I enjoy french polishing so much, I started to do a little wooden old box. Good resultate.
I hink I found me a new hobby….😃

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 10 2021 8:59:22

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: French Polish drying (in reply to gerundino63)

Wonderful! Now you’re going to figure lots of stuff out. Nice to connect to your dads work with shellac.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 10 2021 15:41:11