OLD NEAPOLITAIN MANDOLIN

Today I removed 100 years worth of ingrained grime from this old mandolin's soundboard.

I love the way when you sand spruce with 800 grit, this patina appears - reminiscent of Urdu script. I wonder what it's saying?

Later I polished the scratch-plate (bottom left) & gave the whole thing a coat of solvent-free oil designed for the treatment of work surfaces. You slap it on liberally & let it soak in where it will - after an hour you remove any excess with kitchen paper - let it dry 48 hours... Then polish!