Introduction

In past decades the increasing popularity of the classical guitar has prompted an unprecedented demand for this most beautiful instrument. Many small shops converted to mass production techniques to supply consumers with affordable instruments. Since the guitar's finish is one of the most time consuming steps in the construction of the guitar, age old finishing techniques were discarded in favor of finishes that were faster to apply. Economic considerations had to be taken into account in order to make new instruments as affordable as possible. Expensive labor was eliminated wherever necessary, even though there was an acoustic "price" to pay. As the popularity of the classical guitar increased, it was soon discovered that guitarists were demanding better sounding, better quality guitars. Luthiers, who are always searching for the best sound in their hand -made instruments, soon discovered that there were many discerning musicians who were willing to pay the extra cost for French polished guitars. French polishing is a method of applying shellac and has nothing to do with materials as the term may indicate. No "polish" is used in this method of finish. The term "French polishing" might have received its name from the extensive rubbing that is necess ary to apply shellac smoothly and perfectly. It is agreed by most makers of handmade instruments, that the acoustic properties of French polish are far superior to that of any other finish. With a French-polished finish of shellac, the finish is only a few thousandths of an inch thick. The dampening properties of Orville (left) and Bob Milburn this finish are less than tougher synthetic finishes. The only drawback to the French polished guitars is the delicate nature of the finish compared to the hard, synthetic finishes provided on the factory-made instruments. Extra care must be taken to protect the finish from damage due to perspiration, moisture, and of course general abuse from fingernail scratches. Even though factory finished instruments are more durable, it is very difficult for t he repair person to match these materials and repair them. If a French polished finish is damaged, it is the most forgiving to repair and touch up. We will cover some repair techniques in this article. Years ago, when we decided to learn the "old -world" way of French polishing, we were discouraged to find very little information on the subject. Most of the articles that we were able to find contained little more than a definition with a list of materials needed and very little instructional content. Just as frustrating to us was the fact that we could not find instructions on how to solve routine problems as they arose during our attempts at French polishing. Many of the articles were written as if nothing would ever go wrong, therefore, no explanation woul d ever be needed. We suspect that a step-by-step description of the entire French polishing procedure would be too lengthy which is usually beyond the scope of most publications. Instrument makers are often much more fussy about finishes so an article on F rench-polishing furniture may not translate well to the luthier.

Our determination to learn French polishing began with reading the few short articles that were available, many long phone calls to experienced luthiers, and a huge phone bill. The most valuable information that we were able to obtain was from America's foremost French polishing experts, Eugene Clark and luthiers Cyndy Burton and Jeffery Elliott. Much of the information contained in this article comes directly from Mr. Clark's and Ms. Burton's methods and techniques as we A close-up of blond shellac flakes. This brand is learned and practiced them over the years. We called 'luna'. will also try to detail possible problems and their solutions we have encountered. The reader should understand, however, that there are many very successful French polishers that do not necessarily use the same techniques as we do. This article is meant to get the beginner started with as much practical and useful information as possible. No doubt, as you gain experience, you will make discoveries and incorporate those ideas into your own methods. Remember, many skills and disciplines are accomp lished in many different ways. This overview is divided into a number of lessons from which the beginner or the already experienced finisher may find useful information. By segmenting this article into lessons, future reference will also be easier. We will get started by explaining the nature of the materials that we will be using and then relate our step-by-step procedures to the French polishing of a guitar from start to completion. We will try to avoid complex terms and long technical explanations in this article since that is not our goal nor would it serve any beneficial purpose for the student.

Materials
The tools and materials used in French polishing are few and very simple. As a matter of fact, for an investment of a few dollars you can obtain all that is needed to finish a number of instruments. At the end of this article we will list some merchants where dependable materials may be purchased. SHELLAC Lac is a natural substance that is secreted by the insect "Coccus lacca" often refe rred to as the lac beetle. This substance is collected from a variety of trees that play host to the insect. The Lac is taken from the tree branches and bark. The harvested lac is cleaned and processed into a variety of different forms including hand proce ssed (shell lac) which is scraped from heated bags of lac.

The bags of harvested lac are heated over an open fire. As the lac melts, the bags of lac are squeezed with a tourniquet producing enough pressure to force the melted lac to the outside surface of the bag. Much of the lac is processed into thin sheets which are crushed into brittle flakes for preservation and Shellac flake on left and ground shellac on right. The storage. Most of the shellac is used for shellac flakes were ground using a coffee grinder. Shellac industrial purposes while some of the shellac is non-poisonous and is approved for use in food by the is processed into ready-to-use finishing FDA. material which can be purchased in most paint or hardware stores. A great deal of the shellac flakes are processed and sold to professional finishers who specialize in beautiful hand rubbed finishes. Over a period of years the term "shell lac" has become known as "shellac." For one of the finest articles and complete description on how shellac is harvested and processed, you may want to obtain a copy of "American Lutherie No. 54, summer 1998." The article was written by Cyndy Burton, who is one of America's finest luthiers and French polishers. The shellac that we will be using is sold in flakes. The flakes are available in at least four types. The type of shellac denotes the color, from light to very dark, usually referred to as "white," "blonde," "orange", and "dark" (or "garnet"). The shellac flakes are then dissolved in alcoh ol only as needed. The reason for this is that dissolved shellac has a short "shelf- life." When a mixture of shellac and alcohol sets for a long period of time it collects moisture and undergoes a chemical degradation called hydrolysis. It is desirable to mix only what you plan to use in a few months time. Never use pre mixed, canned shellac from the store for French polishing. Ready -mixed shellac is composed of

number of additives designed to extend its shelf life, increase flow, and retard drying time so that it can be applied using a brush. Even though most ready mixed shellacs are of very high quality, the additives that they contain are not suitable for French polishing. Purchase only high quality shellac flakes from a trusted merchant. We will list na mes and addresses where shellac flakes can be purchased at the end of this article ALCOHOL We will be using a lot of alcohol. The alcohol will be used for dissolving shellac flakes, thinning, pore filling and other French polishing procedures. Good qua lity hardware store alcohol is all that is necessary. Some people, however, are sensitive to the materials that are added to the alcohol in the denaturing process. Denatured alcohol is ethanol to which has been added a small amount (about 5%) of a poisonou s alcohol (usually methanol) Above all, keep denatured alcohol out of reach from children and locked in a safe place. If you are concerned, you may wish to purchase pure alcohol from the liquor store. The only drawback of this approach is that you will pay a lot for the pure ethanol. There is a small concern that some denaturing agents may cause problems with the rate at which the alcohol evaporates. Read the labels on the alcohol you buy and purchase ethanol that has been denatured only with methanol. Agai n, we will mix only what is required as we work. An open container of alcohol will draw moisture as it evaporates and break down its purity so keep lids or caps on all bottles. PUMICE Pumice is used for grain and pore filling and is also used as an abra sive at certain times during French polishing. Pumice is often used as a polishing compound for many other types of finishing and is available in specialty paint stores. We use FFFF grade (F stands for floated. Fine pumice particles stay suspended in solution for a longer period of time and thus have a larger "float" grade) pumice which is very fine. Pore filling and the use of pumice can be a difficult part of French polishing early on. Once learned however, the job will be straightforward and almost effortless.

OIL Olive oil is used as a lubricant as we French polish. The shellac is applied using only the muneca or folded pad. The muneca must be pressed very firmly against the surface of the wood in order to dispense the shellac properly. This firm pressure also "amalgamates" each microscopic layer of These are the main materials used for French-polishing. shellac with the previous layer making it The containers are chosen to aid in dispensing proper possible to "build" a rich and seemingly deep amounts of the various materials. finish- and one that is quite hard. The judicious use of oil allows one to press hard and firmly against the wood without the muneca sticking or dragging. As the shellac is laid on the surface the oil will tend to permeate th rough the finish and rise to the top. It is therefore important to use only oil that will not get trapped under the shellac and destroy the finish. It is advisable to use only pure 100% virgin olive oil. Other oils such a walnut oil, baby oils (mineral oil ), and some paraffin oils can have additives such as antioxidants and perfumes that can create problems with the finish itself. The beginner should use only pure olive oil before he or she experiments with other lubricants ABRASIVES We will be covering some detailing and preparation of the guitar for French polishing as well as the polishing itself. We will include all grades and type of abrasives needed as follows:
y y y y y y y

220 grit open-coat dry sandpaper 3M "Gold" 216U 320 grit open-coat dry sandpaper 3M "Gold" 216U 400 grit wet/dry automotive sandpaper 3M "Imperial 401Q 800 grit wet/dry automotive sandpaper 3M "Imperial" 401Q 1200 grit wet/dry automotive sandpaper 3M "Imperial" 401Q Micro-Mesh "Cushioned abrasive" 3200 Micro-Mesh "Cushioned abrasive" 3600

The above abrasives should be all that you will need to complete your first French polishing project.

CLOTH We will be constructing a rubbing pad or "muneca" (Spanish for rag doll) using wool or surgical gauze for the inner pad and an outer covering of a soft 100% cotton cloth such as tshirt material. The composition of wool or gauze is ideal for retaining the shellac inside the muneca until it is forced out by the pressure of the hand. Be sure that you use only pure wool or clean cotton gauze for the Here are some of the sanding blocks we use in leveling the finish. In the back is a large wooden block with a cork inner pad or the shellac may not dispense pad. Next to it is a mahogany block with a round edge to properly. Do not use any synthetic or smooth the inner surface of the string slots. Also shown synthetic blends for any of the muneca are various rubber blocks. Some are made of pink pencil components. A well-worn t-shirt is ideal for erasers. Note the various sizes and shapes. the outer covering and a cut up wool sock is suitable for the inner pad. Have plenty of soft wiping clothes ready as well . You may want to purchase about a yard of t-shirt cloth from a local fabric store or, better yet, procure a couple of well worn t-shirts. This should be more than enough for the first project. Note that any material that comes into contact with the guitar must first be checked for foreign particles, dirt, etc. Even a tiny speck of dirt can cause visible scratches in the newly applied finish. The finish will be extraordinarily fragile until it hardens. CLEANING AND POLISHING AGENTS As we stated before, no polishing compounds or polish is used in the actual French polishing process as we lay on the shellac. When we are finished however, we will need to remove excess oil and clean and polish the instrument to rid it of hand prints. For this we use "Meguiar's No. 7 Show Car Glaze". The Meguiar's #7 contains no abrasives so it is safe for repeated use and maintenance of the finish. If a more aggressive cleaning agent is needed, we will use a very fine rubbing compound such as "Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover". The Meguiar's #9 contains a very fine abrasive and will remove some finish. Use it to remove tiny scratches. It cannot be used for finish maintenance. These are very high quality products which contain no silicone compounds that may damage the finish or the w ood itself. They can be purchased from automotive supply/parts store or auto paint specialty stores.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
y

y y y y

y y y y

A 1" wide x 1& 1/4 long x inch thick rubber block for sanding. A perfectly square wood block with cork glued to the bottom will do as a good substitute. Most any paint store will have rubber sanding blocks that can be cut into smaller blocks. You may also use rubber easers from a stationary store for smaller, ready -made sanding blocks. As a matter of fact, we have a variety of easer s of many different sizes and shapes for this very purpose. Be sure to glue the cork using epoxy because the oils and solvents may loosen other types of glues. Small squeeze bottles for dispensing the shellac and alcohol are important. Small glue bottles can be purchased at many paint and tool stores and are ideal. You will need at least two squeeze bottles A small bowl with an air-tight lid is desirable for storing the muneca and other dispensing clothes to keep them from drying out. A salt shaker for dispensing pumice. A medicine dropper bottle to dispense oil (purchased from a pharmacy). One quart of naphtha solvent. Guitar neck rest. Many times while French polishing, the guitar needs to be supported at the neck because of the downward pressure exerted o n the top. SuperGlue and 5-minute epoxy. A stop-watch A small funnel Typing paper

Finally, you will need a place to work. You may want to set aside a small, well -lighted area or use a spare room in your house to work on your project. An even temperature and a dust -free area are desirable for French polishing. Ideally, the area would be in a corner to help reduce drafts that carry dust (air-carried dust is only a concern late in the process) We have assembled about all that we need for our French polishing project, so let's get started . . .

Seal-coating the guitar

We are now ready to apply a base for the French polish. This base is what is known as a "spit coat", "wash-coat", or "seal-coat" of shellac. The purpose is three-fold. First, it provides a bonding surface for the many microscopic layers of shellac that we will be applyi ng to the guitar. Shellac is known as the worlds best wood sealer because of it's high bonding properties. Second, it will help protect the inlays, purflings, and the rosette from color contamination due to the oils and dyes in the back and sides of the guitar. Third, this base of shellac will combine with the pumice and natural wood dyes binding them into the pores of the wood. The first job will be to seal the purflings, bindings, and back strip. This will help to keep the oils and natural dyes in the wood from discoloring the inlay work. Cut an ample piece of t-shirt material into about a dozen 4" x 4" squares. Fold a 4" x 4" square of t-shirt material in half and then fold once more into quarters. With your squeeze bottle of mixed shellac, saturate a corner of the folded cloth pad until thoroughly wet, then apply a drop of oil to the same area. Let's do the back of the guitar first. Drag the cloth pad over the purfling and bindings following the contour of the guitar. Do only one half of the guitar at a time. This should be done in a single pass without stopping and with no side-to-side movements. If done quickly and accurately, no color will be left in the inlays. Move to the other half of the guitar and turn the cloth over to a clean side, recharge the cloth with shellac Sealing the edges of the back of a rosewood guitar. and oil and repeat. You can easily see the seal coat left by the wet pad.

Having completed both halves of the guitar, re-fold your cloth to a clean quarter, recharge and seal the back strip in a single straight pass. Now re-fold your cloth pad to the last clean quarter and recharge. In circular motions, wipe the "field" (unfinished areas of the back). By now your cloth pad is well contaminated with color from the wood. Dispose of the cloth and make a new one identical to the first. With a clean cloth, wipe each side of the heel joint with a single pass. Lay the guitar on it's side and seal the bindings and side purflings exactly in the same way as we did the back of the guitar. When the purflings are covered, use the cloth to cover the fields. Take care to fold the cloth to a clean quarter after each pass. Discard the color contaminated cloth as you fill in the field areas. Repeat the entire process for the other side of the guitar. Note: discard the cloth anytime you are concerned about dragging color onto light wood and causing contamination. After completing the sides of the guitar, apply a seal-coat coat to the rosette and the top purflings, re-folding the cloth to a Sealing the edges of an instrument. Note the "field" is already sealed. Here we are sealing the purflings new quarter each time. With a clean cloth, and bindings a second time. coat the field areas of the top. You will have to make a new cloth each time you run out of clean quarters. We will repeat this process three times on the entire guitar. For each pass, we will re-fold our pad to a clean side. It's a good idea to always make a new folded cloth pad to do the top of the guitar to avoid color contamination. It will take only about 15 or 20 minuets to seal -coat the entire guitar. When the first seal-coat is on, take time to examine the purflings. If, by chance, some color was drawn into the purflings you may want to take a small rubber block and sand the contaminated area using An example of a folded pad after it has been used to olive oil and 400 wet or dry sand paper. If you seal a section of a guitar edge. This coloration will are adept at using scrapers, just scrape the contaminate white purflings and light wood. discolored area and re-coat with shellac.

After letting the first spit coat dry for about half an hour, repeat the process. Each t ime that you apply the shellac the cloth pad will stay a bit cleaner. This is an indication that the purflings are becoming well sealed and a good base of shellac is being laid down. After applying three spit coats to the entire guitar, we will take a small artist's brush and again paint all of the purflings to provide additional protection for all of the inlay work since pumicing acts as an abrasive and can burn through the shellac to the purflings. In Removing purfling contamination using a small addition to painting the purflings, you may scraper made from a heavy single-edge razor blade wish to apply a wash coat to the classical guitar machine slots as well.

Filling the grain and pores

Pumice is of volcanic origin and has been around for hundreds of years and used for a variety of purposes. Before modern technology developed the fine sandpapers that are common in the marketplace today, pumice along with many other materials were used as abrasives. The wood finisher used a felt block and often a leather-covered block with pumice powder to sand the wood smooth. Pumice was also used to polish shellac and resins to fine high -gloss finishes. The pumice for the wood finisher was ground and filt ered into many different grades and sizes much the same way as we buy different grades of sandpaper today. No doubt, at some time during sanding, it was discovered that the pumice not only acted as an abrasive but filled the wood grain at the same time. The pumice method of grain filling has been with us for hundreds of years and is still the preferred method of grain filling for many wood finishers. Lets start our grain filling now . . . After sealing the instrument is allowed to "gas out" (remaining al cohol is allowed to evaporate) for a few hours. We are then ready to fill the pores and grain. This is the pumicing operation. At this point we should mention that there are some species of wood that do not require grain and pore filling. The top of the guitar will not have to be grain filled. Spruce, Cedar, and Maple are examples of "closed-pore" woods which do not have to be grain filled, and with some experience you will recognize woods which require grain filling and those that do not. Most rosewoods have large, open pores and will need to be filled. If the pores of an open -pored wood are not filled properly the finish will slowly shrink back into the pores. The result will be thousands of tiny craters in your finish. Applying the Pumice We will not be using any new shellac during the entire pumicing process. This is very important- additional shellac during the pore-filling process will inhibit the operation. We will be using the already dry shellac "spit coats" that we have previously applied to the g uitar. All that is used is the muneca loaded with alcohol and a very small amount of pumice applied to the muneca surface.

The alcohol will dissolve the dry shellac while the abrasive action of the pumice is pulling off microscopic wood fibers which will be deposited into the pores of the wood along with the natural colored oils. Do not use any shellac while pumicing. As Eugene Clark says, "You would be better off if someone stole your shellac at this point." Your muneca must touch the surface of the wood. A heavy layer of shellac would prevent this. The actual pumicing procedure is simple and is as follows . . . Add a generous amount of alcohol to the surface of the muneca. Be careful not to overdo the alcohol (about 10 to 12 drops is what we call generous). You will always have to add extra alcohol to a dry muneca. Once wet, however, just a few drops(4 or 5 for each recharge will be enough). Note that we will always load the muneca from the outside. Tap the muneca against the back of your hand to help distribute the alcohol throughout the wool pad. Fill your salt shaker with pumice and sprinkle a small amount onto a sheet of typing The muneca is touched to a bit of pumice on paper. The pumice is then distributed over the surface of the paper. Now, use the bottom edge of the muneca with a finger. muneca to "bite" off a small portion of the pumice. With the pumice sticking to the bottom of the muneca, add a few drops of alcohol (4 to 5) and rub with your finger until the pumice becomes transparent. This "clears" the pumice. NEVER APPLY PUMICE DIRECTLY TO THE SURFACE OF THE INSTRUMENT. Beware of clever gimmicks such as powder puffs and "pounce bags" used to add pumice directly to the surface of the instrument. They are unnecessary and silly. Adding pumice directly to the wood surface will result in the particles of pumice showing through the finish. In addition, putting pumice directly on the instrument will result in piles of pumice that cannot be removed except by sanding. Any dry sanding at this stage may also cause the pumice to show through the finish. Now, press the muneca firmly to the guitar's surface and rub in small circular patterns. Do one small area at a time changing to a direction of rotation often. This is a good time to practice changing directions without stopping the muneca. Never use straight and The pumice is made transparent by wetting it with a forward pressure with the grain. This will tend few drops of alcohol. to remove the material from the pores. Mentally divide the surface into small areas and finish these sections one at a time. Add only a little alcohol and pumice as you work. Soon you will see the grain being filled. You can actually feel and hear the muneca sanding the surface of the wood. When the muneca runs dry, recharge

with alcohol and add a "bite" of pumice. Continue this same pat tern over and over until you can no longer see the grain and pores of the wood. Be especially careful not to add too much pumice. You should be able to see any excess pumice on the surface of the guitar. It is now obvious why only a small section should be pumiced at a time. Any excess pumice can be moved to an area of the guitar that needs the additional pumice. If you accidentally add too much pumice, add more alcohol and work the excess pumice to an area of the guitar that needs additional pumicing. The pumice is an abrasive and will tend to wear the muneca cover very rapidly. It will be necessary to provide a new cover periodically. When the pores on the back of the instrument are satisfactorily filled, turn the guitar on its side and repeat. Use only small circular motions changing from clockwise to The grain is filled by moving the pumice-loaded counterclockwise movements as you work. When you encounter the heel joint, change to muneca in small circular motions. Direction should a small folded cloth and wet with alcohol. Add be changed often. The grain is best filled when the a bit of pumice and rub it into the cloth until it muneca is moved against the grain direction. Don't move the muncea in long strokes parallel to the "clears." Rub the pumice onto the sides up to grain. the joint until the grain has filled. This area of the guitar is perhaps the most difficult to pumice and may require 3 or 4 attempts before the pores are well filled. Next, you may want to pumice the neck of the guitar. Many lut hiers would rather leave the neck natural without filling the grain. If you do choose to fill the grain, complete it exactly the same as if were the back or sides of the guitar. If the neck is Spanish Cedar or Mahogany be especially careful to "clear" the pumice as you work. Remember, don't use shellac as your pumice. REVIEW Now lets review the grain filling procedure . . .
1. First, "seal-coat" or "wash-coat" all of the purflings with 3 sessions of shellac, being

2.

3. 4.

5.

careful to protect the inlay work from color contamination. Seal the "field" areas similarly. While spit coating, fold your shellac cloth often to avoid discoloring the inlay work. Pull the cloth in one direction with a single motion. After spit coating the guitar three times, you can then paint more shellac on the purflings using a soft camel hair painter's brush. Do this if you are having contamination problems. Use no shellac or oil during the grain filling process. The spit coats of shellac with the alcohol, combined with pumice, will be all that is necessary to fill the grain. Remember to "clear" the pumice. Dab the wet muneca on a little sprinkle of pumice. Add additional alcohol and rub the pumice evenly on the bottom of the muneca to clear the pumice. Always load the muneca from the outside with alcohol. Be careful to not add too much alcohol. 10 to 12 drops to a dry muneca and 4 to 5 thereafter should be all that is necessary.

6. Using firm pressure, rub the muneca onto the surface using circular motions and change directions often. 7. Grain fill only small sections of the guitar at a time. Any exc ess pumice can be moved to an unfinished area using a little alcohol. 8. Inspect your work often and use very little pumice as you work. Do not get impatient and try to hurry. This may result in more work in the long run. A bright lamp at a low angle will help visualize unfilled pores.

Making the muneca

Lets start our project by first making our muneca. There are a number of ways that a muneca can be made but to simplify the task we will explain several ways that we make ours. First, cut three round disks out of a thick wool sock or sweater. Be sure that it is 100% wool. If it contains any synthetics it may not dispense the shellac properly. The first disk should be about 1 & 1/4" in diameter.The second one should be 3/4" in diameter and the third about 1/2" in diameter. Now, stack all three together starting with the largest going down to the smallest. With a needle and thread sew the edge of the large disk to the top of the small disk. Do not pull the edges tight. Sew them just enough to keep them together. Next, A muneca cover made of several layers of wool. cut a 4" x 4" square of t-shirt material and lay it flat on the table. Lay the stack of wool with the large flat side in the middle of the square. Grasp the four corners of the t-shirt material and twist all four corners until the encapsulated wad of wool lays firmly between the thumb, index, and forefinger. Another way to make the muneca is to cut a small wad of wool from a wool sock or sweater about 3" x 3" square. Form into tightly in the muneca cover as we did before. Attach a rubber band around the base of the core and really flood it with some 2-pound cut shellac. Let the muneca sit in the open air for several hours. Once most of the alcohol evaporates the core will retain its shape. Cotton is an alternative to A muneca core made of 18 inches of cotton gauze. using wool for the muneca core. Surgical gauze (from a pharmacy) makes a good core. Cut about 18 inches of gauze and begin by

folding one end over and over again. Rotate the folded portion after each wrap while attempting to make the core as tight as possible. Ideally, you would like to make a finished core that has a somewhat rounded bottom and about one-half as high as it is in diameter. Once the gauze has been wrapped into the shape and size you want, wrap a cover around it and hold it in place tightly with a rubber band. Flood it with shellac and let it evaporate as in the above example. In both Before using the muneca, twist it tightly to make it these examples you will probably want to harder. make new covers rather than use the covers with the dried shellac as they will take quite some time to soften. Always put your munecas into a sealed container when you are not using them. Add a few drops of alcohol to the container. This will help prevent the muneca from getting hard. Also take care to change the muneca cover whenever it becomes damaged (often when you use pumice) or stained.

BODY SESSIONS
Assuming that the pumicing and grain filling went well and has been completed, we now begin our French polishing "sessions". We use the term sessions rather than "coats" such as a furniture finisher would use. We will be applying literally hundreds of micr oscopic layers of shellac to the instrument resulting in one single amalgamated layer of shellac. As you can see, in the case of French polishing, the term "coats" does not apply. During each session we will apply dozens of layers of shellac and will complete as many sessions as it takes to "body" the guitar (which is usually 6 to 8). Before proceeding, you may wish to examine the entire guitar very closely for any defects or unfilled grain that may have been overlooked previously. A little pumice and alcohol will take care of the unfilled grain. Remember, it is never too late to pumice. If the defects can be taken care of by a light sanding, use only 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper with oil as a lubricant. At this stage of finishing, in areas where there are "sink-outs", nicks and dents will tend to show where they previously were not apparent. This is the time to take care of and remedy any trouble spots that are visible. Any sink -outs, pin holes, or nicks can be filled using SuperGlue. First clean the area with naphtha, apply the glue and sand with 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper using oil as a lubricant. Now remove any excess pumice that may be left on the surfaces of the guitar using alcohol and a new muneca cover. The new muneca cover, along with alcohol, will tend to collect excess pumice. Now that we're satisfied with our inspection, lets begin "bodying" the guitar with shellac. BODYING Bodying is the process of applying shellac in many thin applications until a sufficient thickness is achieved. The body is sufficient when it can be sanded level with very fine sandpaper without burning-through to wood. Hundreds of passes of the muneca will be required, though individual layers are not the result. All the passes merge into one amorphous "sheet". Downward pressure of the muneca is critical for achieving a good degree of hardness of the final finish. We will be using a full 2-pound cut for the first 6 to 8 (body) sessions. Since we will not be too concerned about how smooth the body sessions go on, our effor ts will be to build up the base finish as rapidly as we can. Later we will "level" the body coats to a perfectly smooth surface. Remember that we have already mixed a 2 pound cut of shellac and should be ready to proceed. The object of bodying is to build up enough finish on the instrument to allow it to be sanded level with fine sandpaper.

Lets start by first installing a new muneca cover. As a matter of fact, you should cut a number of 4" x 4" squares of t -shirt material for muneca covers to have on hand as we proceed If at all possible find some well worn and laundered t-shirts. They tend to be softer than new material. Now add about 8 drops of 2 pound cut shellac. To this, add about 6 drops of alcohol. After a while you will be able to accurately estimate the amounts without counting drops. Finally add a drop of olive oil. Just wet the tip of your finger with oil and rub onto the bottom of the muneca. Smack the now loaded muneca against the back of your hand (several times) to distribute the shellac. Why the back of the hand? You will want to have a clean left palm to hold the guitar tightly while you work. The most difficult part of French polishing to master is in knowing when you have the muneca properly loaded. A good gauge is to use a piece of folded typing paper placed next to your work. When you load the muneca, smack against your hand several times and then blot against the paper. If you have added too much mix, the muneca will be too wet and the blot will also appear wet. If the mix is too little, no blot will show. If you have the correct amount, the blot will appear as many individual, separated spots on the paper. Another positive indicator of a properly loaded muneca is the famous "cloud" that is left behind the muneca as it lays on the shellac. This cloud is much like the cloud that your windshield wipers leave when there is oil on the windshield- appearing and disappearing as the wipers work back and forth. When the blot test shows that you have the right amount of mix, glide the muneca onto the surface of the guitar, using circular strokes, starting with the back (why the back? It is the easiest surface of the instrument to start with. It is relatively flat and has no obstructions or corners) Watch for the cloud or film of shellac left behind the muneca. Always glide onto and off of the surface of the instrument to prevent the muneca from sticking. NEVER STOP MOVING THE MUNECA WHEN IT IS IN CONTACT WITH THE INSTRUMENT. If you stop the muneca on the surface it will "Pulling-over" the surface using long, straight stick and damage the finish where you stop. strokes. Note that the finish is building nicely. Also Press firmly and use circular (or oval) and not the small amount of oil on the surface - indicated overlapping strokes as you cover about 1 \3 of by the arrow. the back of the guitar. Move the muneca in patterns that will insure coverage of the entire surface. Be very methodical as you work. Be certain that you are getting even coverage over the area that you are working on.

Glide the muneca onto the surface and move it in circular or oval patterns that overlap

Edges often get too little attention. Pay particular attention to all edges and "difficult" areas like the neck/body joint and the edge of the fingerboard. The cloud, or vapor trail of shellac left behind the muneca, will appear only if the shellac is going on properly. It will appear and disappear behind the muneca as you work. With a little practice, loading the muneca and applying shellac will become fairly routine. The loaded muneca should do about 1\3 of the back of the guitar. Reload your muneca as you complete each half. Early on you will need to reload more often - you will notice as you go along that each loading Always blot the newly charged muneca on paper prior to contacting the instrument. This will help will cover more area. When you complete both halves, reload and work the back edges of prevent damage due to an overly wet muneca. the guitar. While working the edges hold the muneca at a 45 degree angle against the corners of the guitar and follow the contour of the guitar. When you have covered the entire back of the guitar, recharge your muneca, and use straight passes from one end of the guitar to the other. When you use these straight firm strokes it will help keep your work even. When you have completed the straight line passes, change back to the circular patterns and continue bodying. These straight strokes followed by circular strokes are called "pulling over". The straight lin e pattern tends to flatten out the marks left by the muneca during the circular passes and if your pressure is firm enough will result in a harder smoother body. Do not use too much oil. A single drop is all that is necessary when you load the muneca. Add additional oil, though, if you note the muneca sticking. Remember, the edges are often over looked and should be treated with special attention. Give the edges additional attention by reloading your muneca and carefully bodying the last 2 inches around the edges of the guitar. If everything is going well, you should be able to see a building of the shellac at this point. You should body the back at least twice before this first session is complete. After completing the first session on the back, we will "stiff" off the shellac that we have just applied. This is done after each bodying session to remove oil and to reduce ridging from the muneca. "Stiffing" is done only with alcohol and maybe a drop or two of shellac added to the muneca. Add a few drops of alcohol to the bottom of the muneca and glide onto the guitar starting in the center. Again, watch for the tell-tale cloud! Press firmly and stroke in one direction from the heel of the guitar to the tail. Work your way systematically from the center of the guitar to No, this is not the result of consuming too much the outside edges of the guitar gradually ethanol during polishing. This represents a method adding a little more pressure as the muneca of changing directions without stopping or lifting the runs dry. You can tell by observing the trail muneca. behind the muneca as the muneca get dryer. Load the muneca only with alcohol and one or two drops of shellac each time the muneca runs dry. You may not have to add oil during stiffing. There should be enough oil already in the

muneca to complete the stiffing process. You can also use circular or oval strokes fo r stiffing. Do this if there are particular trouble spots or areas that need more attention. Use less pressure when the muneca is wetter and more pressure as it runs dry. During stiffing you will want to really exert pressure as the muneca is somewhat dry (but not totally dry). A lot gets done during bodying and stiffing during that critical point where the muneca has just the right amount of wetness to allow you to really push. Keep in mind, though that the guitar is fragile and don't push so hard as to cause damage. It is very important that the muneca be blotted each time it is loaded. Do not contact the guitar with the muneca unless you have blotted it and are certain it is not too wet. Now that the guitar has been stiffed off, the first session on the b ack of the guitar is complete. Turn the guitar on its side and reload the muneca with shellac, alcohol, and another drop of oil. With small circular motions, starting at the tail, work all the way to the heel of the guitar. When you get to the heel, squeez e the muneca so that it has a sharp edge and press firmly into the joint with each circular pass. Switch to a flat folded cloth and load with shellac, alcohol, and a drop of oil just as you would the muneca. With small circular motions rub the folded pad (from now on, just called a "pad") along the guitar side right into the neck joint. Repeat the process from the neck side of the joint. Use the blot test for the folded cloth the same as you would with the muneca. If the cloth is too wet it will not lay on shellac. Instead, it will actually tend to remove any previously applied shellac. Remember, look for the telltale cloud! Now, with a recharged muneca, go from circular motions to straight line passes from the heel toward the tail systematically, assuring e ven coverage. You should cover the sides of the guitar at least twice before stiffing. Start on the outer edge and at the tail of the guitar. Move the muneca in a straight line to the heel. When you get to the heel, do not stop the muneca. Return to the tail by looping around to the other edge of the guitar and then going to the tail. Repeat until you get to the middle of the side. Never stop the muneca. Always use a pattern that will allow you to change directions without stopping. Next, stiff off the side of the guitar just as we did on the back. Use only alcohol and straight strokes. Reload when you lose the cloud and add more pressure as the muneca starts to run dryer. Repeat this over and over until the side is entirely covered. You will probably want t o do the top next so you can avoid turning the guitar onto the newly done side. This will give it some time to harden a bit and avoid damage to your new work. The top plate or soundboard is finished exactly the same way as the back and sides of the guitar except that it is not pumiced. The muneca is charged with shellac, alcohol, and a drop of oil, and with circular motions press firmly applying the shellac. If the bridge is installed, the top will be a more difficult to French polish. Many luthiers prefer to install the bridge after the guitar is finished in favor of an easier and better finish. Some luthiers like to install the bridge and string the instrument before the guitar is finished in order to provide any additional modifications to the thickness o f the soundboard if necessary. If you prefer to install the bridge first, you may treat the bridge area the same as the neck joint. Use small circular motions up to the bridge and then, with your loaded and folded cloth pad, press firmly into the joint and wipe with a straight line along the full length of the bridge being certain that the joint is well covered. This takes practice, but after a few attempts, it should become easier. You will also use this same technique at the finger board/sound board joint s. The neck is bodied exactly the same way as the back and sides. Go over it at least two times using small circular patterns, then in a straight line. Then as always, stiff off in a straight line.

The string slots of the classical guitar headpiece can be painted with shellac using a small camel-hair painters brush. The head slots can also be finished using a folded cloth, loaded with shellac, alcohol, and a very small drop of oil the same way as you would finish the heel joint. After a few sessions, the slots can be sanded smooth and a final finish layer applied. Another way is the "shoe-shine" method. Fold a piece of t-shirt material into a long, folded piece about 5 inches long and 1 inch wide. It should contain about 4 layers. The arrows indicate how the fingerboard or other Load all but the last inch of each end and blot obstruction is dealt with. Overlapping ovals are made that run up against the edge of the fingerboard. it. Now use "shoe-shine" strokes to body the slots and crest of the head. This may leave a tiny ridge of shellac on the flat surfaces and these will need to be removed by leveling prior to continuing. Eugene Clark always admonishes his students to learn to form the muneca to the shape of the corner to access these difficult areas. This takes practice but once learned becomes second nature. Again, use circular patterns and then stiff off using straight passes. This will help keep the bodying even. The very nature of the small area of the head cap can make it very difficult to French polish. If your head piece is intricate with "V" cuts and complex shapes you will want to use your folded cloth in these areas. Do the machine slots first with the folded cloth then switch to the muneca for the flat areas. Any spillovers from the machine slots will be smoothed out when you change to the muneca. Running the muneca a bit dryer seems to help build the finish a bit faster. Be certain to press firmly in order to amalgamate each layer of shellac. The muneca can be obstructed by the machine slots and the nut slot and can cause the muneca to remove as much shellac as it puts on, so do not dwell on a single small area. Keep moving the muneca over and over the head piece until you see the shellac starting to build evenly on the entire surface. You may want to make a smaller muneca and use smaller circular patterns for the head piece. You can also try short deliberate strokes in much the same way as you would shine your shoes. Glide on and off many times until you see a buildup of finish. This should fi nish our first bodying session. The guitar should be left to "gas out" for several hours between each session.

Spiriting
After the guitar "gases out" for about an hour, you are ready to "spirit off" the guitar. Spiriting is the procedure used to remove the excess oil that has accumulated on top of the guitar's finish. Time and pressure of the muneca has allowed the oil to permeate to the surface. We will want to remove the excess oil to prepare for the next bodying session. Spiriting is done in the exact same way as stiffing. In fact, there is really no difference between the two except for the reason you are doing it. A small amount of alcohol is loaded in the muneca and, with straight even strokes and firm pressure, go from one end of the guitar to the other. Use overlapping strokes, covering the Spirit the surface using long, straight strokes. Use entire surface of the guitar. There will be a less pressure when the muneca is wetter and more very small amount of shellac left in the muneca which will guarantee that we will not pressure when it is relatively dry. be removing any shellac during the spiriting. After spiriting the entire guitar we are ready for the next bodying session. Even though the shellac is almost dry to the touch as it is being applied, it is advisable to let it continue to harden

During most French-polishing processes "reading" reflections can be a valuable method of evaluating

before more finish is applied. If too much your progress. finish is applied in a short period of time without allowing it to harden there is a danger of the finish "crazing". Crazing is a term given to a finish that has microscopic cracks in the surface. This occurs when solvents get trapped in the underlayer of a finish. The top layer, when ex posed to air, will harden faster than the underlayer. When the solvents in the underlayers try to gas out, the top layer cracks as it shrinks. Crazing will also occur if the top layer is not properly amalgamated with the previous layers. This is why it is very important to press firmly on the muneca as you polish. French -polish will not craze if properly applied. After completing the first body session and the guitar's surface has been spirited off, look over the entire guitar for areas that may not have al l of the grain filled. With alcohol and a little pumice, go over these areas again until they are filled. It is never too late to fill overlooked places that might have been missed - it just gets more difficult to fill pores as the finish builds. Review Now, lets review the bodying procedure . . .
1. Load your muneca with alcohol, shellac, and a single drop of oil. If your muneca is new

you should wet it with at least 10 drops of alcohol for the first loading. Once the muneca is used, 6 to 8 drops of drops of shellac to five or six drops of alcohol will be sufficient to load the muneca from then on. 2. Smack the loaded muneca against the back of your hand to help distribute the shellac/alcohol mix. Use a sheet of typing paper to blot the muneca. A wet blot means too much mixture. No blot at all means it's too dry. A water mark print means that the muneca is correctly loaded. 3. Always glide on and off the guitar. Use rotating strokes, never stopping the muneca. Doing so will damage the finish where you stop. 4. Be methodical. Mentally divide the guitar surfaces in sections and do each section, one at a time, assuring even coverage. Apply shellac to the surface using circular overlapping strokes followed by long straight strokes pulling over the shellac. Pressure is very, very important. In general, use low pressure when the muneca is wetter and more pressure when the muneca is drier. 5. Watch for the telltale cloud behind the muneca! No cloud means that no shellac is going on to the guitar. 6. Use a paper towel or dry rag to blot excess moisture from the muneca. A muneca that is too wet will damage the instrument. 7. Use only alcohol while stiffing off the surface. The residual shellac in the muneca will assure that no shellac is being removed during stiffing. 8. Stiff the guitar in one direction. From the heel to the tail, start from the middle and work to the edges. When stiffing the sides, start at an edge and work to the middle. 9. Develop a technique that will allow you to change directions without stopping the muneca. Circular and figure 8 patterns followed by long straight strokes are used by experts. 10. Pay close attention to the edges and the corners of the guitar. It is natural to neglect the edges. Always treat the edges as separate surfaces. This will assure that the finish on th e edges will not be too thin 11. Remember, use the oil sparingly. It is not necessary to add oil each time that you recharge the muneca. Use oil only when the muneca begins to drag or has a tendency to stick

12. In most cases, twice over the guitar using circular patterns, once using straight passes, and stiffing between bodying is considered a session. Remember, the muneca is gliding over the surfaces of the guitar many times as you work methodically in an area. In actuality, you have (or should have) covered ever y square inch of the guitar many times during each session. 13. Look over the guitar very carefully and re -pumice areas that may have been missed. 14. Spirit off the entire guitar using only alcohol added to the muneca using firm even strokes. 15. Continue to body for at least 4 more sessions

Glazing
Glazing is different from that of bodying the guitar by two major distinctions. First, we will use a very thin cut of shellac instead of the 2 pound cut that we have used up until now. Second, we will apply the shellac without using more straight patterns and fewer circular patterns. We will apply the shellac almost exactly the same way as we stiff the guitar. That is, we will start in the middle of the back of the guitar and apply the shellac mixture in a straight line from the heel to the tail. Circular patterns are used less often and are a method to correct problem areas. The object of glazing is simply to fill scratches left by the final leveling (sanding). Lets proceed as follows . . . You can make the thin glazing cut of shellac by simply adding sever al parts of alcohol to 1 part of shellac that you have been using up until now. Install a clean muneca cover and add a few drops (about 3 or 4 drops) of the 2 pound shellac. Add an equal amount of alcohol to the muneca and a drop of olive oil. Again as alw ays, smack against the back of your hand to distribute the mix. Now, in a straight line press the muneca firmly starting from the heel and go to the tail of the guitar. Remember to glide on and off the guitar. Repeat this pattern working from the middle to the edges of the guitar always watching for the cloud. Repeat this on the top, sides, and neck of the guitar. If you discover any defects while glazing the guitar use a very fine 1200 grit wet or dry sandpaper to level the area and continue to glaze the guitar. Remember to glaze the corners of the guitar and take extra care around the perimeter. This glazing procedure serves three purposes. First, it tends to smooth any ridging while filling the micro-scratches left from the final leveling. Second, the very thin cut of shellac tends to polish the instrument to a higher gloss while adding Having adequate light will greatly help in gauging additional shellac to the guitar. Third, since your progress. more pressure is used, it tends to harden the finish. Many expert French polishers will add additional body coats after the final leveling and then use a liquid abrasive/polishing compound in place of using the glaze coat method that we use. You do, however, run the risk of actually polishing through the finish to the wood. An abrasive such as automotive rubbing compound will remove the very thin shellac finish. We have tried both methods and agree that the glazing method leaves a much richer and deeper finish without the risk of ruining a great deal of work. Once the glazing procedur e is completed, inspect the work to locate any dull areas or defects. Lightly sand defects with 1200 grit wet or dry sandpaper and add additional glaze coats to the entire area. Dull areas are probably a result of the finish being too thin or of scratches not fully filled (glazed). If you discover a defect in the side of the guitar, sand and re-glaze the entire side. The same should be done on the top, back, neck and any other area that requires attention. When the final glaze coats are dry (about 4 days) we can now polish out the guitar. Polishing This is the simplest part of French polishing. First, go over the entire instrument with Meguiar's #7 Show Car glaze. Once again, if you discover a thin or dull area, add additional glaze coats. You will need to w ait at least two days after any glazing process before you can use the Meguiar's and complete the project.

If you discover a slightly dull area or tiny scratch at during the #7 process you can attempt to correct the problem with Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover. Be careful since this product contains a fine abrasive. The idea is to polish out a defect rather than fill it with more glaze sessions. This will only work if there is enough finish present to allow for abrasive polishing. Keep in mind that many times dull areas are a result of the finish being too thin. Abrasive polishing will only worsen this type of problem. On the other hand- a thin, dull Again, good light is a must. Note the smears of oil on area will need to be re-glazed with more the surface that is being glazed. The Meguiar's #7 will remove this residue easily. sessions anyway so the abrasive polishing with Meguiar's #9 may be worth a try.