Is French Polish up to the ukulele task?

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pakhan

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Don't get me wrong, I love FP. I think it can be the best feeling finish and certainly on guitars, there can be tonal difference....

Yes it is a beautiful finish, although a lot of folks keep saying it is too fragile for ukes... I've seen Eugene Clarke's classicals and man those FP finishes are totally hard.....

What do you think?

Terence
 
My Timms has a French polish finish. It's only six months old, but considering that I'velayed the hell out of it and NE winters are not particularly kind, it's shown no signs of being anything less than fantastic.

I'd take it over a gloss or satin finish any day.
 
I have beaten the hell out of mine. Lots of nail marks.
 
The French Polish is holding up pretty well on my 1920s Kumalae. But only time will tell how good it really is ...
 
I just got a mandolin refinished and it was French polished. As I understand it, FP is a process and not a finish. I was surprised by the price because it wasn't much more than a lacquer job but the guy that did it says it really isn't any more labor intensive than lacquer. I can't say to its longevity but a number of people tell me that they will FP their instrument every couple years to maintain it. Now that I own a varnished instrument, I plan on paying a bit more attention to the varnish/fp threads. Seems like a great option for a uke.
 
One could try UBeaut Hard Shellac thinned for French polish application and do it over three or so applications of Smith CPES epoxy.

Also, Eugene's method takes a long time, and he uses a lot of walnut oil in his FP formula...as much as he can get away with. I don't know if he's using any Japan drier, but that could help with the speed of cure. One could even think of his mix as being a kind of hybrid between spirit and oil varnish. You could also try putting in a bit of spike oil.
 
ProfChris said:
The French Polish is holding up pretty well on my 1920s Kumalae. But only time will tell how good it really is ...
Click to expand...

Yep....you don't want to jump to conclusions

Shellac is a fine finish for ukuleles....french polished or other. It has pro's and con's like any other finish so it all depends how you plan to use it.
If your playing style is scratching up a shellac finish then you will scratch up any other finish and eventually the top. Maybe you should modify your playing style or cut those 6" fingernails.
 
The learning curve on "doing" a french polished shellac finish is pretty steep, but once you learn, or when you get your instrument done by someone who has learned, it can be a very durable finish, and beautiful. Did I say beautiful?
Trouble is, people are in a hurry for their instrument, and shellac needs time to harden. If you can baby the instrument for a year, that will help.
 
Rick Turner said:
One could try UBeaut Hard Shellac thinned for French polish application and do it over three or so applications of Smith CPES epoxy.

Also, Eugene's method takes a long time, and he uses a lot of walnut oil in his FP formula...as much as he can get away with. I don't know if he's using any Japan drier, but that could help with the speed of cure. One could even think of his mix as being a kind of hybrid between spirit and oil varnish. You could also try putting in a bit of spike oil.
Click to expand...

Rick- do you normally grain fill with the smiths CPES or west systems???
 
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