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Shellac French polished, is by far my favorite finish. One problem I am facing is when I want to stain a piece darker, the French polish process is rubbing out the stain. Has anyone tried tinting shellac, I want to go darker than Garnet shellac. If so, what did you use for the tint? Also, are there better ways to accomplish this? Thanks.
GS

I have used Behlens Solar lux to tint shellac with good results. I would thin k any alcohol based aniline dye would also work.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Trans tint from Stew Mac works

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I've dyed and sprayed shellac with success.

I've used the Stew Mac stuff too, works great.

Thanks fellows, I'll order some up and see how it goes. I am guessing a pitfall to watch out for is uneven coat. I learned this French polishing light wood with garnet. I ended up with darker areas that I needed to sand out. I haven't had much luck with spraying shellac, and I kind of like the trance-like state I go into when using a pad

Regards,
GS

I never tried spraying it before but I like to brush on the first two coats to get a head start on the FP process. Are you restoring something though? Or is this a fresh build or refinish that you are trying to match color?

jfmckenna ,

It is a restore / learning project. I got this pile of parts to try a few things out. I had an Oahu K71 that someone had tried to convert to a round neck using what looked like A pen knife, so I got this Oahu to practice neck carving with a spoke shave. It came out as a nice C shape, so I had the nerve to fix the K71, which came out great. A friend mentioned he wanted a starter guitar for his son, so I told him if I could put this birch-ie back together and it came out okay he cold have it.


I think this is from the 1930's. It is a 13" birch Oahu, so probably never great. The top and back looked like potato chips. I was able to flatten the back but the top was cracked in many places and generally in bad shape, so I took the opportunity to make a new top. I braced it like an x-braced Stahl (laminated x and tone bars). Unfortunately, the low tack tape I used to put the binding on was still a little too tacky so I blew what was left of the back finish, so I stripped it and intend to stain then tint it very dark.
Not a preservation project at all, just an attempt to try some ideas out on something that otherwise world have gone in the scrap bin.

Here is a work in progress shot, cedar top and binding and some amber shellac applied to the top:


If it comes out okay, I am going to donate it to a friend as a starter guitar.
Thanks for the tips everyone.
Regards,
GS

Jeez, I love rescue stories. Good for you!

I know how you feel. I loved reading JF's S.S. Stewart thread and the recent icr L-50 thread. Brian has a recent ES 125 or 225 cliff hanger that was fun to watch. They are like soap operas to me, but they always have a happy ending. When someone starts a new one I always think, humm, this one looks good, make some popcorn, and ponder how all the repairs will get done

That's great! The top looks awesome too. Rescue stories are the best. You are kind of like a surgeon bringing life back to the patient

This worked great. Thanks gang Have a look. The back photo is a little bleached by the flash, it is a bit darker black cherry and looks great in room light. Here are a few pics.


Looks like a poplar neck.


Birch back.

Thanks again.
GS

I'm letting the shellac harden up and I'll polish it in a few weeks and then it is done. It sounds pretty nice for a 13". I braced the top mostly following the plans I have for a Stahl #6. I laminated with a strip of ebony between two pieces of cedar left over from the top to make the braces. Thanks for the tips.


GS

Sweet! Now play it till your fingers bleed!