Restoration of a Silvestri

[Tabbyiab]

Hi everyone.. I'm a new member and new to playing the mandolin, although I did play a few folk tunes on the mandolin when I was in my teens.

I've just bought an Ermelinda Silvestri mandolin as a restoration project and whilst I wait for it to be delivered I just wanted to seek advice from the forum on a couple of things.

Firstly, the top of the instrument: it's looking very dirty. I've read that these Neapolitan instruments had no finish applied to their spruce tops. I was intending to hand sand the top and use a quality cabinet scraper to flatten the grain. Would this be okay? Secondly, would it be wrong to put some sort of clear sealer or blonde French polish on it once cleaned up to protect it?

Lastly, there looks like a tiny bit of damage to one of the pale fillets between the ribs of the bowl. Which wood is likely to be used for the pale fillets please?

Any other advice would be great, particularly in respect of the fretboard/frets cleaning and restoration. I'm a competent woodworker. I prefer hand tools over power tools and I will always choose traditional finishes and techniques over modern ones with respect to antique restoration.

[poul hansen]

I am yet to coe across an instrument totally without finish. 2 or layers of shellac will be almost unnoticeable. So I think you can clean it with alcohol and then use shellac after that. You determine how many layers you want.

PLEASE don't sand or even SCRAPE the top. You want to restore an old instrument to look like an old but well kept instrument, not like a new!!

If there are grooves from plectrums or fingernails, you can fill them with superglue or shellac. The latter being a long process but reversible.

I have cleaned and filled this one with shellac. Before and after:

[Nevin]

As mentioned above, your instrument was finished when made. My approach to cleaning is to start with the most gentle method and move up. You may be surprised how much a damp rag will remove. For truly filthy gunk, a rag with Naptha can help as can tooth brushes and very gentle scraping. I would not use alcohol to clean as it can damage the existing finish.

[Ray(T)]

My first mandolin was a Silvestri. I bought it circa. 1970 but it was relegated to a wall hanger many years ago. I must say that, for the last 50 years, I have always assumed that the top was completely unfinished.

[Richard500]

Shellac fluoresces bright orange according to the museum conservation folk, under longwave UV (the low cost diode sources). Bare wood may not fluoresce strongly. So I’d guess that looking where there might be original buildup - in corners, say, might show shellac.
Haven’t tried this, but this post got me to research a little, and will try this on my old instruments at some point.
Some of the materials for which there’s data pertain to instruments, which could be of use to restorers.
I also wouldn’t scrape down and refinish, but that’s not because of orthodoxy, just preference.

[poul hansen]

I just tried my UV lamp for amber finding and there is no fluorescence from shellac. It turns a bit yellow but so does lacquer from a can and grease.