Royal Lacquer - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, Robbie O’Brien discusses and demonstrates how to apply a shellac-based finish.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: Have you ever used Royal-Lac, and if so, could you show how to apply it?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from Colorado. "Dear Robert, I recently heard of a product called Royal-Lac and want to use it to finish my guitar. Have you ever used this product, and if so, could you show how to apply it? Peter in Colorado."
Royal-Lac finish
Peter, Royal-Lac is a product developed by VJ from ShellacFinishes. This product is a shellac based product with proprietary resins. Once applied and fully cured, it has a very durable finish, almost like a polyester. However, it still gives you a shellac appearance. One of the drawbacks to using a traditional shellac finish is that it doesn't give you the protection that you desire against scratches, chemicals, alcohol, sweat, heat, that kind of stuff. This product, however, gives you all of that protection and still gives you the shellac appearance. When I first heard about this product, I was very curious, so I contacted the manufacturer. I spoke with the head chemist, VJ, and asked some serious in-depth questions about the product.
I've used products in the past that were similar to this product, however, after a period of time the finishes cracked. The solution for that manufacturer was to add plasticizer. Now talking to VJ at ShellacFinishes, he told me that plasticizers are like a bandaid. Eventually they're going to evaporate out of the finish and you're left with the original problem, which is cracking. When he developed Royal-Lac, he wanted to avoid this issue, so what he did is made a strong chemical bond between the ingredients, so strong that the plasticizers are not necessary. Now I'm not a chemist, I can't talk very in depth about this. So I did some extensive testing with the product myself, did a bunch of sample boards and things, and so far so good. So let's talk about methods of application. This product can be sprayed, brushed, padded, wiped on. It's a very easily applied finish.
How to apply Royal-Lac
You asked to see how I applied this product. I happen to have a guitar on my bench right now waiting for a finish and I'm going to apply the Royal-Lac products. So I invite you to look over my shoulder as I do the application.
[Upbeat bluegrass banjo music]
Day 1: Prep and seal the wood
So the first step of finishing any guitar is prep work. Now in this video I'm going to assume that you've done all of your prep work. Everything's sanded to 320, you've done any pore filling that's needed to be done. I'm not going to cover that. I'm going to go right into the application of the product. I'm going to start by sealing the wood. I'm going to use a product called Seal-Lac. Now on lighter colored woods, this is a maple guitar, especially on lighter colored woods, sometimes you can get some blotchiness. So applying a coat of Seal-Lac underneath the Royal-Lac helps eliminate the blotchiness. The way I'm going to apply it is by using just a soft bristle brush. What I'm going to do is just dip the brush in and then clean it off on both sides. And then come to the guitar and apply with the grain.
[Upbeat bluegrass banjo music]
Recharge your brush as needed. I'm trying to do this in such a way that I don't leave any drips or runs. When you do this, you want to overlap the strokes by about a quarter inch or so. If you notice you missed a small area, it's okay to go back over it quickly. You've got enough open time. I'm already beginning to notice that some of the wood is soaking it up at a slightly different rate. Now, if you're using different species of wood in your project, like most guitar builders do, make sure that you put on very light coats during the seal stage so you don't get bleeding onto the wood. For example, this is a maple guitar, and I go very lightly over that center strip and around the bindings so that I get a very quick dry before it has a chance to bleed. There are other techniques you can use for woods that like to bleed as well, however, that's not the focus of this video.
So now that I've completed the back, I'm going to go ahead and start working on the sides. I like to give it about a 10 or 15 minute dry time between coats, and I'm going to apply two coats of the Seal-Lac. So while the back's drying, I'll go ahead and work on the side.
[Robert applies the Seal-Lac to the sides all the way around the guitar. Upbeat bluegrass banjo music playing.]
In the neck area, go ahead and hit the neck here, but don't leave a lot of buildup in there. So I've given it about 10 or 15 minutes. Just dry to the touch. I'm now going to go over with another coat. The idea is to get enough on there, that I have something to sand tomorrow. So go light with your first brush of seal coat and then you can go a little bit heavier on the next one. Don't forget to overlap your strokes by about a quarter inch or so. All right, so I've done two coats on the back and sides and I'm going to turn it over and work on the soundboard. And it's the same process, just brush it on.
Now I am going to let that dry for 10 minutes. Once it's dry to the touch, I'll come back and hit it one more time. So once I've got the soundboard done, I'm now going to come in and do the neck. Be very careful that I don't get runs and drips down into the peghead area where the tuners go. I am going to give that 10 minutes to dry and I'll come in and hit that again as well. All right, so I've sealed the entire guitar twice, now I'm going to let it sit overnight. I'll come back tomorrow and I'll pick up where we left off.
When you're done for the day, go ahead and thoroughly clean out your brush in some alcohol. Make sure it's thoroughly dry and then it's ready to go for tomorrow. It's also a good idea to take a paper towel with alcohol on it and clean off the rim of the container. That way it's not hard to open and it seals well.
Day 2: Sand the guitar
Welcome back to Day 2. I've allowed the guitar to cure overnight. Now let me talk a little bit about the application process. Yesterday I used a brush to apply the shellac, the seal coat. You could probably use a foam brush, you might get a little smoother layer that way. You can also use a pad, just like French polish, make a big muñeca and use that. Which is what I'm going to do today, I'm going to present another method of applying the seal coat. However, first of all, we need to sand the guitar. So let's get started on that. So here's the guitar. It's got two coats of Seal-Lac on there. I need to level this before I apply the next two coats. What I'm going to use is 400 grit paper and a backing block or a sanding pad. I'm not going to sand real aggressive because I don't want to run the risk of going through there.
You may notice that some areas of the wood have soaked it up better than on other areas. So there's a little bit of unevenness as far as texture and that's what we want to try and level. But without going through, if at all possible. So very lightly, with the grain [Robert gently works the sandpaper back and forth over the problem areas on the back of the guitar]. I'm not worried about getting it completely level at this point, because like I said, you could very easily go through it. What I am kind of worried about is ridges, any runs or drips or anything like that, left over from yesterday. If you can get those out, that certainly helps the next coats go on a little smoother. If you do decide to wet sand the finish, you can, however, it's a bit thin at this point and it's tough to tell, when the surface is wet, if you've gone through the finish and into the wood. However, let me show you how to wet sand. You do get a very nice smooth surface and it makes it a really nice level surface to apply your next coat.
How to wet sand
So let me show you how to do a little bit of wet sanding as well, if you decide to go that route. So what I'm going to use is a piece of 600 grit, wet dry paper. Probably anything between 400 and 600 will be appropriate for this step, and a squirt bottle with some water in it [Robert squirts the back of the guitar a couple of times with the water bottle]. And then come in. I'm not worried about getting it completely level at this point, I just want to take some of the ridges off. And this seems to do a pretty good job very quickly [Robert works the sandpaper in a small circular motion around the back of the guitar body]. And then I take a paper towel and just dry the surface. And now you're left with a nice level surface that you can apply the next coats over. Make sure the surface is dry though, before you do that. Once you've leveled the back, go ahead and do the sides and the neck the exact same way, either with your dry paper or your wet paper, doesn't matter. But get it level so you have a nice level surface for your next coat. So once you've sanded the guitar completely, just come in with a paper towel or a soft rag and wipe off all of the residue.
Make the finishing pad
All right, I told you I was going to pad on the next layer, so let me show you how to make the pad. So to make the pad, I'm just going to take about a six or eight inch square piece of T-shirt material and fold it in thirds, like this. And then fold it in half and then pull the corners in like that, so I've got this little ball. I'm then going to take about a 12-inch square piece of linen, place it in there, like that, and then bring the edges up around it, so I've got a nice pad to work with. And I like to flatten out the pads so you've got a nice surface to work with there [Robert hits the table with the finishing pad a couple of times].
Apply Seal-Lac using the hand-made finishing pad
To charge the pad, I'm just going to dip it into the Seal-Lac. Then I'm going to fly in and fly out on the guitar itself. So here we go.
[Robert gently wipes the pad against the guitar in long strokes down the entire length of the guitar body]
And with the pad you're able to get very, very thin, smooth layers. And recharge your pad as necessary. I am overlapping my strokes. And if you notice you're missing an area, you can go back over it. You have a little window of opportunity before things start to get tacky. Remember to fly in and fly out. You don't want to set this on the surface because it will leave a mark. Once the back's done, I'm going to go ahead and start on a side. So around the neck area, I've got a fully charged pad. I'm going to come in and just rub a little bit there on both sides, making sure that I get it into that corner nicely, and onto the heel block. Then I can go back and focus on the sides. Now I'm trying to keep my hand out of the alcohol because this is denatured alcohol. If you find you're getting your hands wet, you probably want to wear some gloves.
So I'm going to transition back into my vacuum hold down clamp that I got from LMI. This is very convenient for holding the guitar. If you don't have this, you'll notice I started out today by just holding the guitar. And you can do back and sides and let it dry overnight, and then come in and do the top the next day. That way you don't have the problem holding the guitar. Also with the neck, that could be a problem, where to hold it there. Since I have the vacuum clamp, it allows me to hold the guitar very conveniently without worrying about getting my hands into what I've just coated. So now I can roll the vacuum clamp over and come in and work on this side here.
Now since I'm trying to do the whole guitar in one session, I'm now back off of my vacuum clamp and holding the neck, that way I can do the top. I want to make sure I get right up against the sides of the fretboard. So if I just shape my pad very carefully, I can come in and get right up in there, like that.
Now I'm going to reach in through the soundhole, and that allows me to do the neck. All right, now I want everything to sit for about 10 or 15 minutes so that it dries to the touch. And I can almost go ahead and just start working on the back, because it's been almost 10 or 15 minutes. But I'm going to give it a little bit of time here to go ahead and cure just a little bit more so I can grab that neck again. Now don't forget to get inside here [Robert points to the slots on the peghead]. You can use a smaller pad. You can also come in with your brush, or very small artist brush, to get inside there. When you're finished using your pad, place it back in a jar or a Ziploc bag or something to keep it moist for the next session. You don't want it to dry out. All right, it's been about 10 or 15 minutes. It's dry to the touch. I'm going to take my pad out again and start again.
If you happen to get too much on your pad, rather than just go to your guitar, you can just take a paper towel and just blot it off a little bit like that. Once again, you want to fly in, fly out. Overlap your strokes, make sure you get all the way into the corner there, where the sides meet the heel. And I did that before charging my pad because I wanted to make sure that I didn't get any runs. Now I'll charge my pad to do the side. Once again, before I charge my pad, I'm going to get that right up next to the fretboard there so I can squeeze a little harder on it without getting any runs or drips. Make sure I get right into that turn there and right into that corner [Robert presses the pad up against the sides of the fretboard]. All right, so that's the end of day two. I put on another couple of coats of the seal coat, and that was after sanding everything at the beginning of the session. Once again, I'm going to let it dry overnight.
Day 3: Wetsanding the Seal-Lac
[Upbeat bluegrass banjo music]
All right, good morning. Welcome to Day 3. What I did yesterday is just apply a few more coats of the Seal-Lac. Today I'm going to wet sand everything with 600 grit and then start applying the top coats of Royal-Lac. When you're doing the edge of the bindings, be very careful. Go very light on those because you can sand through those edges in a hurry. Another important thing to remember when applying any finish, not just this product, is that it's not how much you put on, it's how much you leave on. And since I like for my shellac finishes to be very thin, I want... When it's all said and done at the end of the day, I'm sanding this thing back pretty thin. And you'll see that also when I go through the top coats with the Royal-Lac. I don't want to leave a lot on there, I want it very thin. I like the appearance of that and also there's the tonal aspect of that.
Be very careful as you're going up into here [Robert works the sandpaper on the peghead corners], those edges and things, you'll sand through those things in a heartbeat. So be very careful along the edges here as well, along that side of the heel block. If you sand through it, you're going to get a light area. Something else you want to keep an eye on is how much moisture you're using. Because this is not a tabletop, this is a completely different animal than a piece of furniture. And for example, on the soundboard, you can start getting some puffy areas or some expansion of the soundboard because of the moisture. So be very careful, get the moisture on there, get it off. Don't use a lot. When you're done leveling everything with the wet sandpaper, you want to come in and dry everything off. And clean it off, because there's a residue from the sanding left on the guitar. So I'm going to get all of that off of there [Robert wipes down the entire guitar with a shop towel]. I'm going to make sure that the guitar is thoroughly dry before I start wiping on the top coats.
Applying Royal-Lac top coats over the Seal-Lac
So now I'm going to come in and start applying top coats. I'm going to use the Royal-Lac. I'm going to use the dewaxed Blonde version of it. I'm also going to start with a fresh pad because the other pad has some of the Seal-Lac in it. I'm going to start with just a piece of T-shirt material. I'm going to fold it into thirds like this. I'm going to then fold it in half and then pick the corners up like this. So I've got a little pad. I'm also going to start with a fresh piece of linen and then just pull the corners in like that. And I like to flatten it out so I have a nice flat pad to work with [Robert bangs the pad ball against a hard surface to flatten it out]. Now the application for the Royal-Lac is going to be exactly the same way I did the seal coat. So I'm just going to take my shellac and put my pad into it and then very lightly come in and wipe it on. I'm using the fly in, fly out method that I used yesterday.
When you're applying this, you want to work very lightly, and it's better to have several light coats than a few heavy coats [Upbeat bluegrass banjo music].
[Robert begins applying the Royal-Lac to all areas of the guitar body.]
So after the 10 or 15 minute dry time, it's just dry to the touch, I'm going to come in and now wipe on the second coat for today. And that's done just like the previous coat.
So on Day 3 I started by leveling what I did on Day 2. I used 600 grit, wet dry paper and I used it wet [on-screen text reads: Wet sanding is okay only after complete cure time of 30 days]. Be careful with how much moisture you put on that guitar, especially on the soundboard at this time, because it's going to soak it up, it's going to start to swell and warp upon you. You don't want that to happen. I then applied one coat of the Royal-Lac, wiping it on with the fly in, fly out method. I waited 10 or 15 minutes and I just wiped on the second coat. If you think you have enough coverage for that day, that's fine. Let it sit, cure overnight, come back in and level on Day 4.
However, if you want to apply a couple three more coats throughout the day, you can. Let it sit for half hour, an hour or so, make sure it's dry to the touch. Come in and wipe on a little bit more. Because when you wet sand tomorrow, you don't want to go through it. Now it seems like we may be putting in a lot of time on this finish, this is Day 3 already. However, I'm only spending about half hour to an hour every day doing this. I'm into this about three hours so far. So it actually goes pretty quickly, but it's spread out over a number of days.
Day 4: Royal-Lac application
Welcome back to Day 4. Now let me explain what happened between Day 3 and Day 4. On Day 3, I applied a coat, waited 10 or 15 minutes and then put on another coat. Once I shut the camera off, I went ahead and put on another four or five coats throughout the day, waiting 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes an hour or two. Just spread it out throughout the day. That was on Friday.
One thing I've learned about finish work is you never want to rush the process. And since I put on quite a few coats on Friday, and it was Friday, I decided to just take the weekend off. Never rush your finish. So here we are back on Monday morning, Day 4, not consecutive days, but day four of our finishing process. What I'm going to do today is level, with wet sanding [on-screen text reads: Wet sanding is okay only after complete cure time of 30 days], the entire guitar again. And then I'm going to apply some more coats. Depending on what the guitar looks like after I get done wet sanding, these may be my final coats. If not, I'm going to come back tomorrow and I have to level with the wet sanding again and apply more coats. So once I get done wet sanding here now, I'll make a judgment call. So let's go ahead and get started.
So I've wet sanded everything, got it all level. I did go through in a couple of small areas, but I'm going to go ahead and try and apply my final coats. What I'm going to do this time though, is thin it back. Now the way you can thin it, this comes in a two pound cut. What you can do is add 50% alcohol, 50% of the Royal-Lac, and that gives you a one pound cut. Or you can just add a little alcohol to your pad before you get going and I think that's what I'm going to do. So go ahead and dip my pad in there, and then add a little alcohol to it and then wipe it on [Robert pours a little Everclear on the pad]. And it's really going on nice and level. Thinning it back like this, helps with your final coats. If you feel more comfortable, go ahead and pour some off into another jar and go ahead and dilute it back.
I also found if you need a little bit more open time, start to tack up on you, just add a little alcohol to your pad and come in and hit it again. It gives you a little bit more open time. One other thing I've discovered is that if you make a small pad like this, it allows you to get up around your heel block here and around your fretboard a little easier than with the larger pad. It allows me to come in and get right up in there. And having a nice level surface underneath here that we wet sanded, and then thinning this back, I've noticed it's going on a lot flatter and a lot smoother. And that's what you want when you apply finish. All right, so I just got done wiping on thin back coats. I'm probably back to about a one pound cut now. And it went on really level and nice and smooth. However, I did sand through some of the areas when I was level sanding, so I need a little bit more build.
So throughout the day today I'm going to apply maybe another four to six coats of this thin back, the one pound cut. And hopefully I'll get enough build on there that tomorrow I can come back and make a judgment call if I want to level and apply more coats, or if I want to go into my cure time before leveling and buffing to a high gloss. So we'll see you tomorrow.
Day 5: Royal-Lac application
So yesterday on Day 4, I wiped on several more thin coats. Remember, I diluted it 50/50 with alcohol and that made a one pound cut. Royal light comes in a two pound cut and I found that it wiped on a lot more level and a lot smoother, and it looked really, really nice actually. So I let it dry overnight. This morning. I'm going to level with 1,000 grit. I like the coverage I've got, so if I can just level it without going through it, I can then apply my final coats.
If you remember, yesterday I actually went through some areas when I was leveling with the 400 and 600 grit papers. So I want to get a little bit more on so it's not quite so thin. So yesterday I applied the four or five coats. I'm going to level this morning with 1,000 grit, hopefully I won't go through it. If I'm successful then I'll go ahead and apply my final coats this morning. If I'm able to do that, it's going to be the thin coats, the one pound cut.
Just got done sanding the guitar with 1,000 grit, wet, and it's looking really nice and level. I did go through in a couple of really small areas, like on the heel cap here and around the edge here. But I'm going to go ahead and apply another coat anyway, so I'm not too worried about the sand throughs. I'm going to use the thin back one pound cut and I'm going to try and lay it down as flat and as smooth as I possibly can.
And when I come back tomorrow and level with my 1,000 grit, hopefully I don't go through, and then I'm done. I'm into cure time. So here we go [Robert starts working the small pad on the back of the guitar using his fly in and fly out method]. I'm going to use my smaller pad that I made to go around the fretboard and around the neck so I can get right up into that 90 degree angle. And I am able to lay down a really nice smooth surface, there's almost no leveling required on that, and that's the goal. All right, so I just got done wiping on the first coat for today. This is the thin one pound cut. It went on really nice. I'm going to set it aside for 10 or 15 minutes and then wipe on another coat. And I'm going to do probably three or four more of those throughout the day. And then hopefully tomorrow we can come back and we're done. We'll see.
Day 6: Royal-Lac application
[Upbeat bluegrass banjo music]
Well, here we are again, another day. I believe it's Day 6 now. Now keep in mind I'm not spending all day doing this. I'm spending about an hour every morning. I level it by wet sanding [on-screen text reads: Wet sanding is okay only after complete cure time of 30 days] and then I wipe on another coat or two. And then throughout the day I wipe on another three, four, maybe five coats. And yesterday was a very good day. The neck and the peghead veneer, wow, they turned out awesome. I don't think there's anything I need to do. I don't think I even need to level it or buffet it to a high gloss, because it is already very level and super shiny. So I'm going to consider the neck done. What I'm going to work on today is the body of the guitar. I'm going to wet sand the top [on-screen text reads: Wet sanding is okay only after complete cure time of 30 days], the back and the sides to 1,000 grit.
If I do not go through it, I'm going to consider it done. Then I'm into cure time. I'm going to let it cure before I buff it up to a high gloss. If I do happen to sand through the finish, then I'm looking at wiping on more coats. However, I'm not going to go through in all areas of the guitar. For example, if I go through a little bit on the side, then I'm only going to work on that side. I can consider the back and the top and the other side done, if I'm able to level those without going through them. So by now, you know the routine. Here we go.
Now once again, I'm using 1,000 grit and I'm doing it wet, and I'm not applying a lot of pressure. I'm just kind of skimming the surface, letting the sandpaper do the work. Well, folks, I must be living right, or either that it's my lucky day, I was able to level the entire finish without going through it. That's a good day when that happens.
Royal-Lac cure time
Now, if I had gone through it, like I said, I would be reapplying some coats. But since I didn't, I'm now into cure time. Now let's talk about cure time. The manufacturer of this product says it takes about 30 days for it to totally cure and become a super hard polyester-like finish. I've leveled this finish and buffed it to a high gloss in as little as a few days, and I've also waited as much as two months. What I've discovered is that the longer you wait, the better the final product. If you're not in a hurry, I would suggest waiting at least three or four weeks, then you can come in and buff it. So I'm going to sign off and I'll see you in a few weeks.
Buffing Royal-Lac
Well, welcome back. The last time we were together, I leveled the finish by wet sanding [On-screen text reads: Wet sanding is okay only after complete cure time of 30 days] up to 1,000 grit. I've allowed about three weeks to go by and I think the finish is cured sufficiently for me to continue the process. What I'm going to do today is level with 1,500 and 2,000 grit, wet dry paper. This will make the finish very level and begin to give it a high gloss. Now, once I get done sanding to 2,000 grit, I'm also going to buff it up to a higher gloss by hand, and I'll also show you how to do that on a buffing wheel. So let's get started. I'm sure you know this process well by now. All I'm going to do is use the 1,500 grit wet dry paper and remove previous scratches. It's very light and I'm not trying to level the finish at this point. I just want to remove scratches from the previous grit, and it doesn't take very much.
I also remember this finish, since we hand applied it, it's very, very thin. If you want to do circular motions, you can do that as well. I prefer to use straight strokes with the grain in the final sanding. If you see any shiny areas, then you haven't quite got the surface level, so continue until all of your shiny areas have disappeared. If you remember, when I was applying the initial coats of shellac to the neck and to the peghead, I got it to lay down very nicely, just with the pad. And so now that I've sanded everything up to 2,000 grit, I'm going to lightly hit the peghead and the neck with 2,000 grit as well. It went on so evenly and so smoothly, I think just a light dusting with the 2000 grit is all it's going to take just to level this.
Okay, now that I'm done sanding, let's go into the buffing stage. To rub the finish out to a higher gloss, I'm first going to show you how to do it by hand. And you can come in and use products like Plastic Polish or Swirl Remover, for doing car finishes. Anything that will give a nice clean high sheen to the finish. Here is what you can use, and there are many products available on the market. I'm going to start with just this Meguiar's Clear Plastic Polish. And I'm going to use a soft rag, and I'm going to go with the grain. And since I've sanded to 2,000 grit, it's already starting to get a really nice shine to it. Now remember that this finish is very thin, so you don't want to get real aggressive with a cutting compound, you just want to polish. And once you remove all of the residue, you should have a very decent shine to this thing.
Buffing on a buffing wheel
So as you can tell, with the right products and a little elbow grease, you can get a very nice shine on the guitar, doing it by hand. For those of you who have buffing wheels, let me show you how to do it on the buffing wheel and you can avoid all the elbow grease [Robert slowly works the entire guitar body against the buffing wheel]. So here's the final product. As you can see, it gives you the look and feel of shellac, but also the durability of a polyester urethane. What I've just shown you is my finishing sequence for Royal-Lac, if you're going to pad it on. Now, keep in mind that you can brush, pad, French polish, or even spray this finish and have excellent results. So good luck and happy finishing.
[Upbeat Banjo music]
[On-screen text reads: Royal-Lac is now available at Luthiers Mercantile International www.lmii.com. Banjo music by Jeff Chumley. More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
