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Well, I’ve been struggling with my first FP attempt for the last 2 weeks and I think at 6 sessions I have gotten a good film thickness going.  Maybe another 2 sessions and I’ll put it aside for a week or two to harden and then level and glaze.  I’ve been stiffing off between sessions as recommended by MichaelP and the surface looks fairly good as is – just a few dust specks here and there. 

 

What grit sandpaper do you guys normally use for leveling?

 

 

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Doug Mills
Chicago, Illinois

That looks really good Doug!

I look forward to seeing the finished product!

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Looks great, Doug. How's the elbow?

Robbie recommends 1200 grit but I like 1000. I do this while there's still some oil on the surface. How does the top look...I always seem to get better results on the B&S and would like to know how to improve my technique.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Doug, that looks really fantastic. I am doing FP, too, but mine does not look as good as yours. I got Robbie's DVD, and am trying to do it the same way, but my impatience is getting the best of me. Still I like the process and the places where the finish is pretty smooth there is this warm deep glow in the wood that is amazing considering how thin the shellac is. Kudos to you!

Will we get to see it at Ray's on the 17th?

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Looks like you have the technique down. Congratulations. 1000 grit will work fine.

I'll second that WOW!

I'm curious Doug, what's the wood and what fill had you used?

Thanks

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

Looking great there Doug!

I use either 1200 or 1000 grit for leveling off..whatevers in my sandpaper box at the time. I use a bit of olive oil to lubricate the paper and check carefully that its not getting too clogged up..this can put gouges into the FP surface.

Cheers

That looks fantastic Doug! Great work...

Steve, I'm always amazed at the apparent depth of the finish considering there's only drops of finish on there!

FP, it's a wonderful thing!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Looks wonderful, Doug, congrats!

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

Doug that looks great. The shellac really brings out the figure.

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Looks great Doug! Pretty satisfying isn't it?

I use 800 to 1200 grit for leveling, with naphtha as a lubricant.

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

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Yes, That does look nice Doug! One of these days,I'm going to give FP a try.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

JJ – yeah the wrist and elbow certainly develop a nice warm burn after an hour or so of pushing the shellac around.  The only problem I had was faint surface lines in the direction of my primary polishing stroke (head to heal per Robbie’s finishing video <thanks again Robbie for a great finishing dvd!!>) which was probably due to loading the muneca on the heavy side.  I switched to ovals with a more lightly loaded pad (10 to 12 drops of 2lb cut with 2 drops of alcohol) after session three and the surface soon flattened out and the lines disappeared.  I divided the top and back in quarters and loaded the muneca twice per quarter per session.  I also switched my muneca cover to a piece of very smooth, tightly woven thin cotton cloth from a worn out dress shirt after the initial loading sessions. The smooth tight weave seemed to help polish the surface and I always increased my stroke speed after the pad began to drag and polished for a minute or so more after the pad seemed dry which seemed to polish out any swirl marks and left a very flat surface.  I also gradually changed the axis of my oval strokes (figure 8’s were uncomfortable for me) during a session from initial slower circular strokes along the perimeter and shorter strokes across the bout axis to faster longer strokes closer to the head/heal axis.  I think this continual shift in the polishing stroke direction also helped to flatten the initial session strokes and  left a smoother surface.  And as mentioned before I followed Michael’s very good advice and spririted off between sessions.  Anyway, this is very novice advise for sure but it seemed to work for me.

 

Steve – yes I’m hoping to attend the Chicago gathering on the 17^th and am trying to get this guitar  finished so that I can bring it along.

 

Michael – the b&s wood is a spalted Myrtle set from Bob.  It has a tight grain which didn’t require any filling work prior to the fp’ing.

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Doug Mills
Chicago, Illinois