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FYI-
The subject line about says it.
The LeeValley 'French Polish" is re-labelled Behlen's Qualasole Padding Finish- the Behlens label is under the LeeValley one.
If you want opinions about this product, Google Qualasole and you will get some hits (web, groups).
I've only used this stuff for a few minutes in my ongoing experiments with French Polish- seems to go on fine, though the solids content is not too high, to judge from the viscosity- equivalent to less than 1# cut shellac, I'd guess.

Cheers

John

A few of the MIMF'ers swear by Qualasole - there may be some archived discussions over there.

I've always wondered what's actually in there - it smells a little nasty.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

John,

I use it a lot. When working a set of highly figured back/sides, I like to use a first coat of Danish Oil. Between the oil and the first coat of vinyl sealer goes a coat (or two) of Qualasole. It dries beautifully over the oil, and for all I know actually combines to make a "varnish" out of the two substances. Whatever, it is a nice base to build subsequent coats on.

As for using it as the sole finishing medium, I've found it a bit tricky. Others have told me similar tales.

Steve

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Steve, Jim-
Thanks for the info.
I'll let you know what happens with it.
I already have a pretty good base of shellac/FP on my current 'experimenter' build project. The Qualasole is going on top of that (for now). It's nice slippery stuff and seems to pad on without the 'greasy' feel that I was getting with even a few drops of olive oil now and then with the standard FP method.
You could certainly put a thin finish on with it- doesn't hide any mistakes!

John

John - I went over to MIMF and searched out the info. It's Deb herself (the "other" SWMBO) who is the advocate. She says that the entire finish has to go on in one shot - you can't go back and pad over a dried coat as the burn in is too aggressive and you just make a mess. This may have been what Steve was referring to.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Jim-
Just 'got back' from MIMF and read what I could find there about Qualasole.
It really does sound like it needs as much technique and 'black art' as normal FP. I spent some time (30 min) yesterday working on the Qualasole finish and it helped having the usual row of FP dropper bottles with walnut oil, alcohol, etc handy. So far , swirl marks have not been the problem that Ms Suran describes, though it's not clear if that problem persisted through the various versions of Qualasole that she tried. I've converted a small washroom to a 'warm room' with a small heater and some ceiling hooks so the guitars can get the finish hardened up a bit quicker.
The guitar in question has enough mistakes that I'm not going to bother putting on a very substantial (ie thick) finish and so I'm going to push onward with making the bridge, attaching neck etc. I can always touch up the FP/Qualasole a bit more afterwards.

If I get bored enough I'll see if I can remove more of the LeeValley label and get more specs on the Behlen underneath- it does say Qualasole Padding Finish, though.

Cheers
John

Sneaky looking under the label.
I wonder if they re-label their lumber sealer/wax as well. I'll have to check.

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