French Polishing the Junior

The French polishing process is not terribly complicated. First I create a pad by wrapping a small piece of wool with a square of cotton cloth. I soak the wool with shellac and alcohol. The proportion changes depending on where I am in the process. When starting out I use just  a 3lb. cut of shellac. As I apply more coats I start using more alcohol. For the last couple of coats I only use alcohol.

After soaking the wool, I apply a small amount of mineral oil to the outside of the cloth. The oil lubricates the surface keeping it from heating up as I apply the shellac.

I rub the pad over the wood in a circular motion, being careful to glide the pad onto the surface and then gliding off. I never stop moving on the surface.

Early on, ridges will develop, don't worry. Shellac will continue to flow as it dries. With each pass the coats blend together. Increasing the alcohol helps soften the rough edges eventually creating a smooth surface.

After about every three or four coats, I flat sand with 320 grit wet/dry paper and use mineral oil to keep the sand paper clean.

For this build I spent far more time on the shellac process than I wanted. I'm still quite the novice at French polishing

Now that the surface is smooth I drop in the pickups and place the bridge to make sure everything fits, before moving on to final sanding and polishing.

For sanding I run through wet sanding with mineral oil, starting with 400 grit moving onto 800, 1000, 1500 and finally 2000 grit. I then begin the polishing process with a 4F Pumice Stone mixture. I apply with the grain, rubbing the mixture into the finish. I then wipe it off in the same manner with a clean cloth moving with the grain.

I let this cure over-night. Then I move onto a finer Rottenstone mixture. Again applying and rubbing with the grain, and wiping it off in the same manner.

This will sit over night, I will follow this by using Maguire's car polish. This time applying in a circular motion and wiping it off in that same motion. This should now give the guitar body a mirror like shine.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9AIQikdVag&feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVEJH42C8tI&feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNJOVLrdsK8&feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVEJH42C8tI&feature=youtu.be

TDPRI Tele - nearing the end

Today, I finished work on the Tele body.

This photo is from Saturday's rubbing with rottenstone. I went over the body twice rubbing the rottenstone mixed with mineral oil in and cleaning it off with cloth.

After I let the body sit for 24 hours, I rubbed the fine-cut Meguiar's into the finish.

After cleaning the Meguiar's off, revealing a mirror-like finish. (No, that's not PhotoShop - thats my reflection.)

Here's another look at the glass mirror-like finish. And a a good look at the mahogany veneer separating the maple pieces..

I also worked on the neck today, and experienced a set-back. I had a couple of areas of sand through on the Tru-Oil. I discovered them while rubbing with the 2F pumice. I stopped working on the neck and decided to let it sit until I had a chance to do some online research on Tru-Oil sand through.

TDPRI Telecaster and the Red Special - Hand Rubbing with Pumice and Rottenstone

I began hand rubbing with Pumice and Rottenstone this past weekend. The Red Special has turned into my testing body. I first sanded the body with a flat block of wood with sand paper (320 through 2000 grit.)

I then mixed the pumice with mineral oil and rubbed it over the wood, back and forth with the grain (not in circles). then wiped it off with a clean cloth. I first used the 2F pumice and followed it with the finer 4F pumice. I rubbed the grit over the body twice for each grit before moving on. I then let the body sit for two days, before I did the same with Rottenstone.

The reflection is almost a high gloss. I will let this sit for one more day and then polish with Meguire's rubbing compound (can be found at any auto parts store.)

 A few notes on this Red Special and issues that I ran into:
First, I have two sand-through spots. If I had not been as aggressive with the 320 level sanding and perhaps skipped a few grits I may have avoided this. Second, I should start with the back and the sides and save the front for last. If there is any kind of a learning curve, I will practice with areas that are seen less. Third, I need to do better wood prep before finishing, filling open grain, and flat sanding should not be taken for granted. And fourth, I should do more sanding between layers of shellac or other finishes. These are lessons I will carry with me on my next builds.



After finishing with the Rottenstone on the Red Special, I began work on the Tele. This time I skipped the 320 grit. The Shellac was pretty flat. I used, 400, 800, and 1500 only on the backs and sides. I decided to go straight to the Pumice on the front. This seemed to work pretty well for me. In two days I will move onto with Rottenstone. I'll also begin the same process on the neck. However, I will be mixing the Pumice and Rottenstone with water and a drop of detergent instead of mineral oil since the neck is finished with Tru-Oil. (Why? Because, I read about it on the web someplace.)

Also, my Seymour Duncan pickups came in today. I am just a couple weekends away from finishing the Tele project, stringing it up and playing it.