Official Luthiers Forum!

I know Neil managed to get a small shipment of hard shellac over to North America a couple months ago, and that some of you blokes bought some.

Anyone tried it yet? Have any thoughts?

Hey Paul,

Great question, I have been waiting for Bob to show us a tute on the process and some feedback from others.

Cheers

Kim

I've finished my 12 string with it and had no problems at all .It's a great looking finish . I noticed it to be quite flexible too,whilst scraping off the bridge area .Takes quite a while to go off fully , but it's advantages win out .
I put it on straight out of the bottle . I think Bob is going to try it thinned down a little next time ,to get a bit better flow . He'll probably be able to expand on that.
Great product !

Cheers Craig

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Did you spray it Kiwi?

I sprayed it straight out of the bottle but thought it could probably do with some thinning. I know Bob found the same thing. Neil tells me its about a four pound cut.

Getting ready to put a finish on #3, I'm thinking of getting a couple of liters of the stuff so I can take my time getting the gun setup right for it, and work out how much to thin it.

Looking forward to seeing this 12 string of yours.

I've used it on a few so far and love it. I spray it thinned maybe 1 part meth 3 part HS. Flows nice & sands easily. Does not screw your brain with fumes.
Dom

We've sanded it back, right up to 12,000 grit micromesh, 2 days after spraying it but it still needs 21-28 days (depending on temperatures) before it crosslinks and hardens.

It doesn't seem to matter when you rub it back. It will still get a great gloss finish once it has fully cured

I did attempt to buff one guitar a week after spraying. The buffer left fine marks all over it but it only took 15 minutes to sand them out.

I'm going to talk to Neil Ellis soon about UV curing to see if we can speed the process up. He has mentioned that the curing time is temperature dependant.

Cheers

Bob

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

I used it on my last little concert uke, but did not polish it out shiny. I just brushed it on with a foam brush on top of z-poxy pore fill. About 6 coats over a 2 day period, then leveled it with 400 grit very lightly. Then let it sit for 2 weeks. Then levelled again with 600 grit all the way to 1500 grit, then used synthetic super fine steel wool with Renaissance Wax to satin it out. The finish is one of the best I've ever seen. Very durable, but not as hard as McFaddens Lacquer. It will dent much more easily, but it is easy to repair. I also have a Banjola that was done using this Shellac. Edward sprayed it, and his impression was that it flowed out easily, and blended well. Very easy to sand too between coats. That is very durable and turned out great. I highly recommend this product! Here are some shots of the Uke:



Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Tracy,

That uke's a beaut with that U-Beaut!

Now that I have that out of my system , is this stuff available in the US yet?

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Penn Industries was carrying this product, but not sure if they ran out. You might want to give them a call. Do a search in the archives for Ubeat and you will find the phone number for them. Good luck!
Tracy

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

I have been corresponding with Neil about setting up a US distributorship for that product and its "proprietary solvent" only. Penn State( their contracted sole distributor) has no real interest in continuing to sell it. It has to be shipped by ship- no air shipping allowed. Apparently when PSI was contacted by U-Beaut on my behalf they don't want to handle it, but don't want me to have it. My proposal was to buy any other related products from PSI. It is really a shame because it is a special product that many luthiers could use with fine results. I suppose now that I have aired my efforts, PSI will do the same half-hearted stocking. In my effort, finances were not an issue. Just could not get it to come together.Mike T.

I should add that a very respected Australian woodworker and handtool specialist was willing to help this work to mutual advantage of the company and myself.I was humbled by his willingness to assist.mt

[QUOTE=PaulB] Did you spray it Kiwi?
[/QUOTE]

Yes I did Paul . Very very very badly . I've never used a spray gun before and ended up with an unusual amount of runs , orange peel etc . You name it , I managed to do it . Not the fault of the shellac of course I'm going to give the job to my pug dog next time . He's cheap and can't possibly do a worse job of it than me .

Despite my incredibly bad spraying , after leveling ,it came up magic !.

Actually , this is the second time I've used it . I put it on french polish style last time. I can't fault the stuff and ended up with a very thin yet tough finish on the soundboard .


My 12 Stg is about a couple of weeks away Paul. Yoo Hoo

Cheers Craig

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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