The story, continued

Although a spray or brush finish would have been easier to apply, I went with a hand-padded lacquer, which feels nicer to the touch and looks more like the finish of other string instruments, like a cello or bass.

I started out applying the lacquer like I would on a French polish. After the result didn’t turn out as I expected and an email to Behlen, I learned that I had to modify my technique.

Applying a little lacquer at a time and rubbing until the pad was almost dry gave much better results.