French polish with bridge and fretboard removed

[Eric Scott]

Greetings!,
Am in preparation for a refinishing of my old Harwood parlour guitar. I'm replacing the fingerboard and the bridge, so the top will be free of obstacles, if I choose to refinish prior to install.

However, been pondering a thought. If you apply the finish prior to gluing on the bridge, do you need to mask off the area where the bridge is to be installed, and with what? Low-tack masking tape and French polish right over that? Or can you glue right onto the polish (not what I would expect, but I ask the question out of ignorance)?

I'd prefer to apply the finish to the top prior to installing the bridge and board, but need to know what's what before I continue.

What's the verdict?
Eric in San Francisco

[Tim Mace]

Pretty sure you'll want to leave the bridge area free of anything resembling a finish...........

[griff]

Definitely have the surface free of any finish before gluing. Either mask it off and polish over (remember to lightly score the edge of the finished tape before removing or it may chip out), or scrape the area clean after the polish. You can/should mask or scrape just short of the glue edge (a 1/16 or so) to leave a clean edge between bridge/finger board and surface.

[Bob Webster]

Hi, Eric. I build classical guitars and use a mortise and tenon joint to attach the neck to the body so that I can French polish them separately, along with the unglued bridge. I mask off the fingerboard with low tack tape to minimize any residual adhesive. I would do the same for the bridge area except that I usually do a bit of fiddling to the action before glueing the neck to the body and I want to get a final fit before I glue the bridge.

So, I French polish right over the bridge area and then scrape off the finish after I've determined the precise position of the bridge. You might want to consider doing the same thing just because you haven't yet glued on the fingerboard, so you don't yet know the precise location of the 12th fret. Close, of course, but fingerboards with wet glue on them tend to be pretty slippery characters. The alternative, if you're going to use hide glue to attach the bridge, is to glue on an undersized slip of paper where the bridge will go using hide glue. After French polishing, a little fiddling with an Exacto knife and some water and you're good to go. This is a little safer than scraping off the finish if you're concerned about skidding across your newly finished top with a sharp scraper.

Cheers,
Bob

[Robert Filippi]

Eric,

If you have not already stripped the old finish, consider testing the finish and, if it is french polish or nitro lacquer, leaving it on and french polishing over it. This way you will preserve the wonderful patina while at the same time making your job easier. Even if you have areas of no finish, FP will fill and level in a very acceptable way.

Don't be obsessed with removing old war scars or minor stains. If you use sandpaper, be very delicate or you will end up with pale spots where you wear through the patina-- (not good)

You can mask the bridge area if you like, but I prefer to scrape the area after the polish has cured for several weeks.(This goes easy) Bumping your tampon against the edge of the tape will leave a ridge, so make sure your tape is totally inside the bridge area leaving you room to remove the ridge, if you use that method.

Beware of applying masking tape to a fresh FP finish.

Sounds like you don't have a lot of experience with FP, so I recommend you practice with a junker or some scrap wood
first. There are some helpful videos and books on the subject also.

Hope this helps. By the way, I have a Harwood parlor in my shop now undergoing the same treatment.

Good Luck, Robert

[Eric Scott]

Thanks both to Bob W. and Robert F. Exactly the info I've been looking for, some very
specific detailed discussion, thanks.

Yep, my Harwood's abit of a beater, had it for a few years, sounds wonderful and looks great
with lots of age/use character, of which intend to retain.

But previous work of questionable quality and vintage has left it virtually unplayable.
Not too worried about using this as my "junker" cuz that's what it kind of is, but am being
extremely meticulous about my work (new pyramid bridge, ebony fingerboard, bone nuts and
saddle).

The finish is somewhat secondary to making it playable, but want it to look nice, and retain
its vintage character. Don't want it to look spankin' new. That, in my opinion, would just be weird.

Am truly diggin' the experience and most definitely taking my time.
This is great!