Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everyone,

Can I have some opinions please on Beez Wax or tru-oil over shellac as a finish on my weissenborn copy.

Recently on a solid body lappie i'm building I tried three light coats of shellac letting it dry well between each coat and sanding lightly between each coat. I then applyied a final coat was beez wax and was very happy with the finish.

Would a finish like that work on my acoustic weissenborn copy project? Would there be any effect to the tone of the instrument? This is my first acoustic and I am not very experienced in French Polish finish.

Thanks for looking hope to hear from some of you.

Cheers

Alan

I don't have any experience with Beez Wax or any wax out side of creating a hand rubbed satin finish on lacquer or shellac finishes.

My question for you is do you want a satin or gloss finish? I suspect that for a satin finish, your plan is fine but for a gloss finish you can use Shellac all the way. You do not have to French polish to use Shellac as a top coat finish. It can be sprayed, Brushed or rubbed to create a gloss or satin finish.

A satin finish you would do the final rub out with wax and 0000 steel wool. To gloss it you would polish to the sheen you are after either by hand with liquid polishing compounds or on a buffer with Menzerna compounds, Or you could do Glazing sessions, as in French polishing to what ever sheen you want.