Dull spot while french polishing?

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Sam.R.B

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So I started french polishing a ukulele the other day. This is my first attempt at actually french polishing something, and everything was going well until I noticed a large dull spot on the top. The back and sides look great, so I can't figure out why this happened. Any advice to fix it would be greatly appreciated

image0[1].jpg
 
Wow. That is a rather large dull spot alright. My thought is that something got on the wood there that is inhibiting the alcohol from absorbing into the wood. Glue perhaps? Wax? Fixing it depends on how deep it penetrated into the wood if that is what is causing the spot. If it was me I would sand down to bare wood and do a test until it started to absorb evenly. Maybe others have a better idea.
 
sequoia said:
Wow. That is a rather large dull spot alright. My thought is that something got on the wood there that is inhibiting the alcohol from absorbing into the wood. Glue perhaps? Wax? Fixing it depends on how deep it penetrated into the wood if that is what is causing the spot. If it was me I would sand down to bare wood and do a test until it started to absorb evenly. Maybe others have a better idea.
Click to expand...

Should I just sand down the dull spot and then brush on shellac to match the thickness before going back to french polishing?
 
Sure if you can get away with that and don't have to go too deep. Otherwise you will have to take the entire finish off if it doesn't match.
 
When I have a dull spot in FP it is usually because I have used too much alcohol and rubbed to heavily. So I remove shellac instead of buiding it.
Put light coats rather dry on the dull spot and let dry several hours between session.
 
I was french polishing with a pad, 2lb cut, wood was sanded to 220. Alain Lambert was right, I was rubbing too quickly and had too much alcohol/shellac. I lightly sanded the spot dry with 600 grit sandpaper, and reapplied shellac very dry and it the sheen came back.
 
image0[1].jpg

Here's where i'm at on the uke, although it took some work to do and fix, I'm very happy with the finish. I've struggled to find a finish I enjoy doing, but I think this'll be my go to from now on. Although it has a steep learning curve, it's very forgiving.
 
Sam.R.B said:
View attachment 125328

Here's where i'm at on the uke, although it took some work to do and fix, I'm very happy with the finish. I've struggled to find a finish I enjoy doing, but I think this'll be my go to from now on. Although it has a steep learning curve, it's very forgiving.
Click to expand...

Nice work, and thanks for sharing your solution and your uke
 
Sam.R.B said:
View attachment 125328

Here's where i'm at on the uke, although it took some work to do and fix, I'm very happy with the finish. I've struggled to find a finish I enjoy doing, but I think this'll be my go to from now on. Although it has a steep learning curve, it's very forgiving.
Click to expand...

I am not a pro or have the time demands of one, so French Polishing is what I use. I really like to see the wood come through right under my hand. Yes you do get in touch with the process.
 
Sam.R.B said:
I was french polishing with a pad, 2lb cut, wood was sanded to 220. Alain Lambert was right, I was rubbing too quickly and had too much alcohol/shellac. I lightly sanded the spot dry with 600 grit sandpaper, and reapplied shellac very dry and it the sheen came back.
Click to expand...

I used to work with a guy who wast a French Polisher by trade, it was all he did until the work dried up.

He taught me to sand progressively finer until using the finest grade of gritpaper available which he called flour grade, it literary was like a sheet if paper, only then would he start to polish.
 
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