I just purchased O'Brien's on line course on Finishing. Very reasonable price for all that information. Its downloading now. Maybe I won't have to bug you guys so much after I watch it. Thanks for the lead!
John - Excellent post by you on the topic. Very clear and concise. Thanks!
Joe
Staining and Shellac
Forum rules
The purpose of this forum site is to provide a means for acoustic guitar makers at all skill levels to forward information, share experience and ask questions if project obstacles are encountered. We ask that egos be left at the door – the highest levels of courtesy and respect are to be shown to all. Posts containing disparaging comments will be removed. The “Acoustic Guitar Construction Forum” is owned by Kenneth Michael Guitars and is copy protected. Direct links to luthier suppliers are not permitted and will be edited.
The purpose of this forum site is to provide a means for acoustic guitar makers at all skill levels to forward information, share experience and ask questions if project obstacles are encountered. We ask that egos be left at the door – the highest levels of courtesy and respect are to be shown to all. Posts containing disparaging comments will be removed. The “Acoustic Guitar Construction Forum” is owned by Kenneth Michael Guitars and is copy protected. Direct links to luthier suppliers are not permitted and will be edited.
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Joe Farmer
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:58 pm
Re: Staining and Shellac
Just thought I'd do a quick follow up. O'Brien's course is outstanding!! I finished the guitar and it turned out really great. I think staining first is the way to go (bare wood, then shellac). I fell in love with using Shellac. I've had nothing but "beginners goof ups" with lacquer and the shellac was a success on my first try. And, this guitar sounds at least 300% better than it did with lacquer. Of course, I did build a new neck and put on a new bridge, and added a maple support plate just behind the X in the X brace, but I think the sound improvement is primarily the shellac and sizing the top with Egg Whites. Too many changes to know for sure why the excellent tone and response, but I'm going with shellac on the next build for sure.
I couldn't have got where I did without you folk's help!
Joe
I couldn't have got where I did without you folk's help!
Joe
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Dave Bagwill
- Posts: 5952
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:44 pm
Re: Staining and Shellac
Congrats, Joe, I'm glad that turned out so well for you.
Did you pore fill the back/sides and with what method?
Did you pore fill the back/sides and with what method?
-Under permanent construction
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Joe Farmer
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:58 pm
Re: Staining and Shellac
Thanks Dave. Sorry for the delay, but I'm not getting notified on new posts and just decided to check the forum today on chance.
I pore filled with All Purpose Joint Compound and tinted it Black with TransTint Black Dye. You get a huge bucket of compound that will last a lifetime at Home Depot for about $5. I really like working with this stuff for pore filling. This is what OBrien used so I decided to try it. I only pore filled one time and it seemed to work just fine. I think OBrien does it twice, but then again, he sells his instruments and wants everything absolutely perfect.
Its kinda messy stuff, so you should really tape up everything you don't want it touching. I take off all the excess with a lightly damp cloth before it dries, then sand with 320 after it dries. Doesn't take very long to have it looking really nice. I work a quarter of the back at a time and half a side at a time.
I'll post a picture of the guitar (after I take one) so you can see how the pore fill did. Worked great on the Limba!
Joe
I pore filled with All Purpose Joint Compound and tinted it Black with TransTint Black Dye. You get a huge bucket of compound that will last a lifetime at Home Depot for about $5. I really like working with this stuff for pore filling. This is what OBrien used so I decided to try it. I only pore filled one time and it seemed to work just fine. I think OBrien does it twice, but then again, he sells his instruments and wants everything absolutely perfect.
Its kinda messy stuff, so you should really tape up everything you don't want it touching. I take off all the excess with a lightly damp cloth before it dries, then sand with 320 after it dries. Doesn't take very long to have it looking really nice. I work a quarter of the back at a time and half a side at a time.
I'll post a picture of the guitar (after I take one) so you can see how the pore fill did. Worked great on the Limba!
Joe
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Dave Bagwill
- Posts: 5952
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:44 pm
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Joe Farmer
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:58 pm
Re: Staining and Shellac
I tried to upload a pic but it said file is too big, max size is 850K. The pics are jpg and about 2 MB. Other formats weren't any smaller. Oh well.
Joe
Joe
Re: Staining and Shellac
Hi Joe,
If you are using Microsoft Windows, usually one of the programs that comes with the operating system will allow you to edit photos and re-size them (and still keep them in jpg format). Decreasing the resolution will result in a decrease in file size. In Windows7, the program called "Paint" can resize the photo for example. Alternatively there's a lot of free software available that you can download to edit/manage photos. One that I use a fair bit is Picasa http://picasa.google.com/ which I find quite user-friendly. A simple Export button allows you to change the size or compression quality of the pics. You can set the new resolution of the photo to be something like 1024x768 for example, and the file size will often be roughly 100KB.
If you are using Microsoft Windows, usually one of the programs that comes with the operating system will allow you to edit photos and re-size them (and still keep them in jpg format). Decreasing the resolution will result in a decrease in file size. In Windows7, the program called "Paint" can resize the photo for example. Alternatively there's a lot of free software available that you can download to edit/manage photos. One that I use a fair bit is Picasa http://picasa.google.com/ which I find quite user-friendly. A simple Export button allows you to change the size or compression quality of the pics. You can set the new resolution of the photo to be something like 1024x768 for example, and the file size will often be roughly 100KB.