charlie oud - 10-14-2010 at 12:27 AM
Dear Members 
Some years ago I changed a glossy varnish on a spanish guitar to a matt appearance by using very fine grade wire wool. I did this for purely cosmetic
reasons. Would this practice be ok on all types of gloss varnish, particularly those commonly used on Egyptian ouds? Thank you.
fernandraynaud - 10-14-2010 at 02:01 PM
If you mean on the face, I've done it both on thick Egyptian brushed-on varnish, and on my own less than perfect "french polish" shellac, with
excellent results in both cases. Just keep working a circular motion with very light pressure. It looks so much "classier". On thin shellac, the
trick is not to work down to bare wood. I don't see any reason to do it on the bowl, but I can't imagine any reason not to, either.
Hatem_Afandi - 10-14-2010 at 04:40 PM
Hello Charlie, The short answer is "Yes". I am not an expert, However, the last oud Master Maurice repaired for me had a glossy finish, but he changed
it to some "reddish finish" as part or the refurbish process. I did not ask about the details (what a shame). Interestingly enough, ALL his recently
made ouds have that kind of finish.
Zulu - 10-14-2010 at 05:24 PM
I have brushed shellac on the soundboard of my oud and buffed it down to a thin satin finish.
It paid off today when my wife brought me breakfast and she spilled a bit of hot sauce on the sound board; it wipped right off with a very lightly
dampened paper towel. If the soundboard was untreated that would have left a nasty stain. Personally; there is no way I would leave a soundboard bare.
SamirCanada - 10-15-2010 at 03:18 AM
my advice is to use the 3M synthetic wire wool instead of the real steel wool.
much less messy 
fernandraynaud - 10-15-2010 at 03:46 AM
I've used the white "plastic steel wool" a lot, but for this job the old fashioned wire wool has an advantage: it cuts better, so the job is done much
faster and it levels better. Maybe in the end it doesn't matter, but especially for that Egyptian face varnish the wire wool cuts those brushmarks
down very well.
Zulu, I'm with you on that issue for sure.
charlie oud - 10-15-2010 at 04:09 AM
Yes Fernand, I mean the face and thank you all for a set of extremely helpful replies 
. A further question on this matter if I may.
The oud in question has the same gloss finish on its finger board. I assume that if I wanted this to also have a matt appearance, then I could treat
this the same as the soundboard. Perhaps as lightly as possible to prevent an uneven surface which may cause buzzing?. The only objective is to lose
the gloss shine, which I feel (as Fernand says) makes the oud look 'classier', more stylish.
Zulu - 10-15-2010 at 11:08 AM
The soundboard and fingerboard are two totally different subjects as far as treatment.
The soundboard is to be treated with shellac...the fingerboard is not.
Shellac is perfect for the soundboard because it is brittle and will have the least effect on resonance and vibration; allowing the instrument to sing
as opposed to dampening or muffling the sound.
But shellac will crack and peel on the fingerboard which can lead to buzzing and other unwanted side effects.
You can remove the neck coating with some alcohol and light sanding. The bare neck can then be treated with TRU-OIL; see here for application...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvryJL9okd8
Keep the treatments isolated...Shellac on soundboard only; Tru-Oil on neck only.
SamirCanada - 10-16-2010 at 06:36 AM
I would use a long, dead flat block of wood (or mdf) and wrap it with sand paper for the fingerboard.