I love shellac over maple

[Means2nEnd]

If is helpful the Royal Lac sealer is just de waxed shellac and can be bought by itself from LMI. This although not a long thread has some great information and appreciate all the input here very useful indeed.

 

[BassUrges]

Not a long thread? Oh well, I can fix that.

This is a 36” reverse-P 5 with a strap button at the 9th fret and no tort.

Discuss all the ways in that is superior to Leo’s original design.

 

[Arie X]

if you're serious about shellac, then you need to be making your own from flake. there's a couple of additives like copal, sandrac, or gum arabic, etc.. that add some additional qualities if needed.

as far as chatoyance is concerned, shellac is good but oil varnish is far better imo. the level of penetration and the depth of "shimmer" it brings to the table is unsurpassed. while it's primarily a furniture focused finish, with some homework it can be adapted to instruments and provide a lifespan not unlike aged nitro (but without the cracks). it can be quite a handful to work with but it's very much worth the effort.

 

[BassUrges]

Yikes, $22/pt!

Maybe I’ll try it for the next one.

 

[Arie X]

what's $22/pt?

 

[BassUrges]

Oil varnish at Woodcraft.

 

[BassUrges]

I mean, given how much I’ve spent on this build, I guess that’s not that much.

 

[Arie X]

the Tried and True stuff?. It looks interesting but I'd experiment a bit first before using it on a fretless finger board. Not much will hold up under bass strings -tape wounds or not, scratching and digging about except epoxy, CA, or polyester resin. I guess one goal would be to find a way to get the depth with an oil finish and then seal it up with something very wear resistant that would stay put and not smell like an episode of Breaking Bad.

 

[BassUrges]

This will be fretted, which is why some kind of poly over shellac is good enough.

The Mermaid Bass will be fretless, but it’s getting an ebony board.

 

[Arie X]

oh ok.. i misunderstood.