Shellac finish problems on new mandolin

[Charles E.]

Spirit varnishes typically also include tree resins such as sandarac and mastic.

[j. condino]

No mention of how it sounds or plays??????

I guess you'll never amount to anything if all you have is a scratched up varnished mandolin, like this old junker.....

[Jeff Hildreth]

https://www.guitarsint.com/article/I...ssical_Guitars

[j. condino]

Thanks for posting that link. It is a nice article, and a bit personal to me.

Bob and Orville Milburn were neighbors of mine, one town away. Jeff Elliott lived three doors away from me when I lived in Portland, and Eugene Clark was a dear friend and mentor who took my skills to the next level; he was a true jedi master in a world of mortals...

[Davey]

Ebony has pale streaks in it, maybe you just didn't notice them before.

Ordinary French polish i.e. Shellac isn't a very tough finish, but on the other hand it's easy to remove and re-apply. I don't know about any modern variants of traditional shellac.

If the finish really doesn't last well I'd imagine the maker would re-polish it for you. I'd keep him or her informed about it, but the pale streaks don't look like a finish problem to me.

[belbein]

The one thing I hate most about woodworking is finishing ... I hate it even more than my wife helping me by throwing "all those pieces of junk wood" away. The only finish I can abide applying is French polish. It takes a while, can't be rushed, demands slow mindfulness... and looks stunning. I don't agree that it's soft : it's just not hard like plastic. It lets the wood be wood. I recommend it as a finish and an artistic element every chance I get. I also endorse Fords how-to. (And I agree with whoever it was that said the ebony might have had streaks from the beginning. See the articles about Taylor using streaky ebony instead of the pure stuff.)