Mike's Oud Forums

varnish

Gabriel - 5-16-2005 at 01:12 AM

Hello:wavey:

I am wondering why some of the varnish is comming off my oud,Its at the top right corner of it and im wondering if its rotting, should just sand(smoothley and slowly without much pressure) and patch it up with some varnish?:shrug:

Dr. Oud - 5-18-2005 at 03:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gabriel
Hello:wavey:

I am wondering why some of the varnish is comming off my oud,Its at the top right corner of it and im wondering if its rotting, should just sand(smoothley and slowly without much pressure) and patch it up with some varnish?:shrug:

It's probably shellac, not varnish. Don't sand it or you'll change the color of the surface and never get it to match. Use some isopropyl alcohol and rub the loose stuff off with a cloth, plastic scrub pad or 0000 steel wool. Zinser makes a French Polish in a can that works great to restore a shellac finish. The instructions are on the can. You can find it at places like Woodcrafters that sell woodworking supplies. Hardware store grade shellac is pretty crude stuff and it has a liminted shelf life, so it's often no good when you buy it.