How I French Polish an instrument.

[Dave Bagwill]

I dug out my copy of his finishing dvd and in fact he does do the shellac and endgrain sawdust method, briefly, and does say it is his preferred method. As for the black drywall or whatever, I never did see the necessity for that, though the finished product looked very nice.
I agree that the clear fillers are more tasteful.

[Kevin in California]

Your FP has looked really good John. I'm thinking I might try it on my nylon OM when I build it. I know I'll need to practice some before hand.

Kevin

[peter havriluk]

I just finished making up a set of floors for a B-17 out of birch plywood. Used a Minwax sanding sealer (that's what the can said) that was unwaxed shellac. Seemed to build up nicely and sanded down nicely. Was there anything unique about the Minwax shellac sanding sealer that allowed enough of a buildup to fill the birch and build up thick enough to allow sanding to level? I'd thought it might be useful in guitar finishes, too, but I have no experience using other shellacs as surface sealers/primers.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

[ken cierp]

First -- Birch is not a porous wood and does not need "pore filler" Woods like Oak, Walnut, Mahogany, Rosewood etc. have a very different surface than Birch, Maple, Cherry. The most important aspect of finishing is the compatibility issue that is why using a manufacturer's complete finishing system is always my recommendation. There are many systems available for the small shop -- reinventing the wheel in the finishing arena almost always results in disappointment.