Construction: Finish

Shellac and Varnish

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Finishing is an art which one neglects at the risk of ruining weeks of work in the final moments of building an instrument. Taking the time to bring an instrument to a superb finish not only protects it and contributes something to its voice quality. It clothes the instrument fittingly for its presence in the world of music.

After the body, top, and fretboard are fabricated as sub-units, they are given two coats of "one-pound cut" shellac, and rubbed out with 220-grit sandpaper. This sizing has two purposes. First, it seals all the inside of the body and the ends of the fretboard. This stabilizes the wood, sealing it at the moisture content at that moment. Thus external changes in the surrounding air will have a much less impact on the wood, from then on. The wood will still give and take a little with temperature changes, but the moisture is locked out.

The second function that this shellac sizing performs is to seal the pores of the wood in preparation for the varnish. The shellac seal keeps the varnish from penetrating the wood too much. This is one of the primary reasons that Bear Meadow dulcimers are so powerful --the wood hasn't been soaked in varnish.

First and second varnish rub out is 320 grit
We actually give the top six varnish coats: Two rubbed coats and a brush coat, followed by two more rubbed coats and then a final brush coat. For this second set of three varnish coats, rub out is 400 grit between coats (except the final brush coat).
The final varnish rub out is #0000 steel wool. (You have to be careful with this steel wool. Many brands have strands that are larger than #0000 embedded in it. Any brand that shows an elephant head logo somewhere on the package is the good stuff.)

By the time the last coat dries, the instrument is looking pretty nice. After rubbing out, the final treatment is with a very high-carnuba wax. We use a floor wax called "TreWax" that comes in a nice reddish-brown. You don't want white or clear wax, as this will build up white in the pores of the wood. This is then buffed.

The result is a musical instrument that looks like its been sitting on the bench about a hundred years. The finish we are describing here seals the pores without filling them, giving the wood a wonderful tactile feel and lustre. It is an understated finish with a lot of durability and subtle sensuality.

Dwain Wilder

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