croquet hoop said:
Beautiful! Did you french polish the neck as you did on another guitar, or did you apply it differently?
Dewaxed shellac flakes disolved very thin in denatured alcohol (Ruddy Amber) brushed on from one end to the other,but extremely light as in barely got the neck wet, had to do it under lights so I could see if the brush strokes were coating the neck, if I saw a dry spot during a stroke I dipped the brush tip and pulled off the excess and started a new stroke again from one end to the next feathering it off the neck...its a test in patience about 3-7 coats a day for about 2-3 weeks, tapering the number of coats as the finish gets thicker over repeated applications.
I shellaced the entire neck at each session starting with the front headstock face then the headstock edges, then I flipped the neck over and did the back headstock face then the headstock edges again (reason being is this is where you'll find it runs as the brush scraps the edges almost impossible to prevent it 100% of the time) then I did the back of the neck itself from the butt right up to the base of the headstock feathering it off....tried to do the whole neck and headstock early on and its too much area to cover and the edges of the necks contours catch the brush and cause runs....its a finicky process.
And then lots of drying time like a month or 2 better yet 3, so dont even start the process unless you can wait 3 months before you put the neck on your guitar.
Careful on the edges, shellac has a tendency to move around the more you mess with it, and if you try to go back and make a repair while its wet your making a mistake..... leave it alone and let it dry and lightly sand the area and recoat....if you have a run (it means your brush was too wet) ......its a constant 2 steps forward one step back sometimes 2 steps forward 3 steps back...seriously.
tip: The brush should NOT be holding enough shellac to cause a run, especially on the headstock faces because the edge of the tuner holes will
catch your brush and drag shellac into them and it runs down and out the other side ruining the work on the other side of the headstock a real pain to fix, and dont put cotton in them holes either unless you want it buried in your finish.....I finished this neck 3 times stripped it twice before I accepted that it would take along time of just applying a slight glare of shellac if I wanted to avoid alot of grief.
obviously there are alot of flaws Im a newbie to the process but its very rewarding...and it builds character...lol
