Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi everyone,

I have a classical guitar with that traditional orangey reddy brown colored top.  Just wanted to know; is that shellac used as a grain filler  that gives it that colour?  Its laquer on top, whatever it is underneath.

Thanks,

Stefan

Usually they just put a color into the finish.

The top is probably Western Redcedar (or even Redwood) and is probably just that color naturally? How old is the guitar?

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

You don't grain fill tops. Odds are the top is Red Cedar and it is either or sealed and or finished with shellac based product. Pore filling is a process done on the back and sides because many hardwoods have very open pore structure. Tops are Spruce Cedar Redwood and such have a tight grain structure and don't require filling.

It is probably a colorant in the finish. It is common for a classical guitar, especially the Spanish ones, to have the "orange" tint you described. The instrument is sealed and then a colorant is applied either in between layers or directly in the topcoat. You will find that if you strip the finish off the guitar then you will be back to the original color of the wood, probably cedar.

Several of the Madrid builders are famous for their "red" finish and when french polished use shellac that is red to orange in color. Because this look became associated with certain builders, other builders would imitate the look when lacquering their guitars by using a colorant in the lacquer so that the result looks similar to the french polished guitars they are imitating.

These "red" guitars are found in both spruce and cedar top guitars. Some are as red as some violins where as most of the Spanish buiders aim for a "pumpkin" orange.