Shellac Stick / French polish

[Richard Cron]

Hi,

I’m restoring a 1929 Gibson L10, the original black lacquer finish had been removed before I acquired the instrument. So, I’m thinking about refinishing it with black shellac (French polish). Is it possible to fill larger dents using a shellac stick (Black) before applying the spit coat? 

[Paul Hostetter]

If you're going to refinish it black, it almost doesn't matter what you fill dents with, they'll be covered with black anyway. 

[Richard Cron]

Good point! I didn't think of that. ( :

[Topher Belknap]

It doesn't matter, unless the finish is incompatible with the patch.  Fortunately this won't be a problem with shellac stick and shellac.  (I would still use black stick, as the shellac will dissolve some of the old finish).

[Richard Cron]

Okay, I appreciate the advice, I'm new at this and finishing these things is a bit of a mystery to me. .The guitar had been stripped down to wood long ago. The black shellac I was thinking about using was that new black stuff sold by Shellac.net. (waxed) I have no idea how opaque this stuff is and wasn't sure it some of the grain would show through. That's what got me thinking about the shellac sticks. In any case, I've got some more work to do on the guitar before I apply the finish. Who know's, I might change my mind on the color scheme altogether. Why Gibson lacquered these things black back in the day I'll never understand, the spruce and maple sure are nice to look at. 

Thanks again! 

[Ned Knepp]

Richard, 

 I have an early mid-'20's mandolin that has a black top with the standard brown sides and back. I think it looks good that way. I  usually like the look of natural finishes too but the black has a class that works for me.

I don't know how deep the dents are that you are filling but I would try to raise them with steam before I filled them with shellac. Impact dents compress the cellular structure of the wood so even if it is not possible to raise the grain back completely you should be able to get it at least part of the way. 

[Richard Cron]

From pictures I've seen of the 1929-31 L10, the black was pretty nice. Gibson didn't do a burst...it was totally black!   Actually, I'm filling a few little gaps where the binding meets the router channel. I took the old binding off and replace it with new but in the process I lost a little wood. Though about taking a router to it and making the channel a little bigger but the gaps is pretty minimal so i thought I'd just fill them and forgo the invasive surgery.