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Shellac

freya - 8-25-2012 at 10:54 AM

I'll avoid the set of questions that come up when discussing any sort of finishing applied to the oud top and just include here some general shellac info (that I may have posted in the distant past) that could, in any case be applied to just the finishing of the bowl.

First a link to a shellac supplier.

http://www.shellacfinishes.com

Aside from the "patina" version of shellac (colorless - not so east to find) there is a very good video on shellac production in India. This is an ideal "village" level craft as it employs all the members of the village as well as protecting the forest from cutting for firewood so that the lac may be cultivated.

Secondly a good video on youtube on building the base coat with a brush and doing the finish with a pad - save many layers of padding - though finish leveling with a scraper does take various other skills. BTW, I like all of Stansell's videos as the the accelerated timing gives, for me a better sense of the operation without being tedious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8wmr-Np4s&feature=related

Cheers

fernandraynaud - 8-25-2012 at 02:22 PM

Some other info for summary. Www.shellac.net is another good source. They offer 4 oz sample amounts for around $10. Mixing that with a pint of alcohol and straining through t-shirt cloth makes about half a liter of "two pound cut" average density shellac. A true 96% not denatured alcohol can be discretely asked for in many Polish delicatessen under the name Spiritus, as it's a necessary part of some Polish pastry making, and not only. Shellac normally is used for a full glossy finish. By using fine plastic steel wool on the final coat I stumbled onto the semi-gloss that I think looks better on a soundboard.

Brian Prunka - 8-25-2012 at 06:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by fernandraynaud

A true 96% not denatured alcohol can be discretely asked for in many Polish delicatessen under the name Spiritus, as it's a necessary part of some Polish pastry making, and not only.

Good tip, my neighborhood is mostly Polish.

Aymara - 8-26-2012 at 12:30 AM

I found it extremely difficult to find a European shop, that sells flakes of clear colorless shellac.

So here's a tip for Europeans: Baptist is a craftsman supply shop located in Arnhem, Netherlands. Just drop them an email in English:

http://www.baptist.nl
houtbewerkers @ baptist . nl (remove the spaces, I filled in to avoid spam)

They sell flakes in honey, red and clear. I'm not shure, but I think they also have black.

BTW ... in this shop we also bought the following book, which I can highly recommend:

Finishes & Finishing Techniques

Just bought shellac flakes today...

oudistcamp - 8-26-2012 at 08:59 AM

I'm in Istanbul now....
A friend brought me to a side alley with a shop that sells minerals, chemicals etc.
They had 3 grades of flakes, and this is the highest grade for luthiers - beautiful clear, light honey color.
TL150/kg.

Can't wait to try it out....

fernandraynaud - 8-26-2012 at 05:08 PM

Good find! Did they have a very very light colored one? I'm thinking that on oud soundboards, to preserve the aesthetic, maybe the clearer the better, at least on some ouds? Like this
http://www.shellac.net/PlatinaFlakePic.html
But then again, there are interesting color options
http://www.shellac.net/RubyFlakePic.html
I don't know whether dewaxed or waxy is better for our purposes. They say dewaxed shellac is used to make undercoats for other finishes, but natural waxy is best if the finish is to be all shellac. Also there are the paper-thin sheets that break into flake, and the melted chunk/button stuff they say is polymerized by heating, and tougher.
http://www.shellac.net/Kusmi1ButtonPic.html
So many shellacs, so little time ;-)

Edward Powell - 8-26-2012 at 07:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by oudistcamp

I'm in Istanbul now....
A friend brought me to a side alley with a shop that sells minerals, chemicals etc.
They had 3 grades of flakes, and this is the highest grade for luthiers - beautiful clear, light honey color.
TL150/kg.

Can't wait to try it out....

is there any chance you can post the address or basic direction to this shop --- I might be going soon to istanbul to load up on supplies... stuff is SO much cheaper there that the savings would pay for my travel and hotel (ok, I'm not staying in a 5* :-)).

I also bought colourless shellak in a side street shop in istanbul - great stuff - very cheap ---- this was in the tools area just across Galata bridge.

BTW, thanks for this clip - it seems like an excellent method and I am going to try it. I also find the whole french polish thing a bit intimidating and prefer just brushing and padding! THANKS!

oudistcamp - 8-27-2012 at 01:36 AM

It may have been the same shop. They have bags of minerals - gypsum, salts etc
The cash register is in a separate little cubicle on the right.
A side street off the busy pedestrian way selling baklava to plungers, stretching from Ataturk Blvd to the Spice Bazaar.

The flakes I got are the clear ones.
The photo is darker than real life without flash, and if you separate the flakes from the clump, they are very light and pure.
The darker ones are furniture grade and much cheaper.

Edward Powell - 8-27-2012 at 08:47 AM

Quote: Originally posted by oudistcamp

It may have been the same shop. They have bags of minerals - gypsum, salts etc
The cash register is in a separate little cubicle on the right.
A side street off the busy pedestrian way selling baklava to plungers, stretching from Ataturk Blvd to the Spice Bazaar.

The flakes I got are the clear ones.
The photo is darker than real life without flash, and if you separate the flakes from the clump, they are very light and pure.
The darker ones are furniture grade and much cheaper.

so your shop is also just off Galata bridge?