In the acoustic instrument world it is widely believed that French Polish finishes provide the best acoustics because of the extremely thin coat of shellac that covers the instrument. The knock on French Polish has always been the long time it takes to build up the coating making it beyond the reach of factory made instruments. The finish is also criticized for being fragile and easy to scratch and damage. This photo demonstrates the other side of that thought, that French Polish is extremely easy to repair, a claim that the hard factory finishes cannot make.
This is my "play every day "favorite uke. A Koa/Cedar delight that has the most wonderful tone. I had put a plastic transparent stick-on pick guard on it as an experiment. I decided that I did not like it. When I took it off some of the finish and even a bit of the wood came with it. Yesterday I sanded lightly with 400, then 600, then 800 grit finishing with 1,000. Then two applications of French Polish and look at the result. The uke is new again. I will give it a couple of days to cure (playing every day) and then will use a coat or two of Mcguiars auto glaze and it will be like new, no, better than new.
This is my "play every day "favorite uke. A Koa/Cedar delight that has the most wonderful tone. I had put a plastic transparent stick-on pick guard on it as an experiment. I decided that I did not like it. When I took it off some of the finish and even a bit of the wood came with it. Yesterday I sanded lightly with 400, then 600, then 800 grit finishing with 1,000. Then two applications of French Polish and look at the result. The uke is new again. I will give it a couple of days to cure (playing every day) and then will use a coat or two of Mcguiars auto glaze and it will be like new, no, better than new.
