French Polishing
This is not a "How to French Polish" article but a description of how I do it. From reading books and watching YouTube videos it seems as though there are as many variations as there are people doing it so it certainly isn't a case of Right or Wrong.
The polish itself is shellac dissolved in meths. Shellac comes in several shades, the most common being Blonde, Button and Garnet which translates as clear, middle and dark.
The old adage "It's all in the prep" applies very much here and the first thing is to get the wood you wish to polish as smooth as possible, and that includes marks left by rough glass paper.
Applying a coat of linseed oil will do no harm and is a good way of wiping away any remaining dust. I used boiled because it's what I've got and it seems fine. If you haven't got any at all it certainly isn't essential.
You'll often come across references to things like "3 lb shellac." This is the 'Cut' and is the amount of shellac added to a gallon of meths. Normal people aren't likely to want to deal in such large quantities but it's easy to scale down.
A gallon is ten pounds so 3 lb cut is three to ten, 2 lb two to ten and so on. Knowing that, it doesn't matter if you measure-out in pounds, (fluid) ounces or even grammes and millilitres.
There's no need to get hung-up on precision, how thick you want it is something that comes with feel and it's easier to thin it than have to add more shellac and wait for it to disolve. It will also thicken as the meths evaporates, and it will even when in a tightly lidded container or while it's open in use.
A 3 lb cut is good for general use. Put the shellac in a jar and add the meths and leave it for twenty-four hours for the shellac to disolve. Periodically shaking it will help it dissolve but don't panic when it looks like it's never going to. It's as well to keep this mixture in stock and then decant smaller quantities for use. These can be thinned as required.
The first job is to build up a coating of shellac which you can later polish and which will fill the grain of the wood. It dries quickly and it won't take long to get three or four coats on. Let these harden for at least a few hours (depending how warm it is) and preferably over-night.
At this stage your wood will be looking rather nice so the next job is to spoil it by 'Flatting.'
This involves sanding out all the brush strokes and other marks. Use wet and dry abrasive no courser than 360 grade (remember the LOWER the number the ROUGHER it is). I spray whatever I'm working on with a plant-sprayer filled with water but different people use different lubricants so there's scope to experiment.
Ideally you'll end up with a uniformly matt finish which looks like frosted glass. If you still have shiny bits in the wood grain then it needs some more polish brushing on and flatting again until they are all filled. How obsessive you are about this is personal choice.
It is possible to apply a grain filler before starting but I've never bothered as it's something else to buy and I've also been concerned that it may fall out or be the wrong colour.
When you have got a flatted finish to your satisfaction it's time to start the actual French Polishing. This is done with a "Rubber." All this is is a lump of cotton wool wrapped in a cloth. I've got a supply of old linen which I use but the main thing is that it isn't fluffy. Put the cotton wool in the middle and then screw it up. The important thing is that the "Sole" at the bottom is smooth.
Now thin your polish down a bit and put some on the sole of the rubber. Rub it around in a circular motion on the work piece. Don't stop with it in contact as it may pull the existing polish off. The point of this operation is to apply further thin coats of shellac but to also soften what's already there and smooth it out.
If at any point the rubber feels sticky stop and let things re-harden properly before continuing. The rubber can be kept usable by being stored in a plastic bag or lidded jam jar.
Keep doing this with progressively thinner polish until you end up with straight meths. It's as well to finish off with straight strokes along the grain as this will hide any marks that remain.
Now give it a day or so to fully harden and then polish it with either proper "Burnishing Cream," T-Cut or Brasso before giving a final polish with beeswax.
All materials mentioned above are available via e-Bay. As for meths, a gallon bottle (even allowing for postage off e-Bay) works out about half the price of the little 500cc bottles normally on sale, an it's cheaper still from a decorator's supplier.
The polish itself is shellac dissolved in meths. Shellac comes in several shades, the most common being Blonde, Button and Garnet which translates as clear, middle and dark.
The old adage "It's all in the prep" applies very much here and the first thing is to get the wood you wish to polish as smooth as possible, and that includes marks left by rough glass paper.
Applying a coat of linseed oil will do no harm and is a good way of wiping away any remaining dust. I used boiled because it's what I've got and it seems fine. If you haven't got any at all it certainly isn't essential.
You'll often come across references to things like "3 lb shellac." This is the 'Cut' and is the amount of shellac added to a gallon of meths. Normal people aren't likely to want to deal in such large quantities but it's easy to scale down.
A gallon is ten pounds so 3 lb cut is three to ten, 2 lb two to ten and so on. Knowing that, it doesn't matter if you measure-out in pounds, (fluid) ounces or even grammes and millilitres.
There's no need to get hung-up on precision, how thick you want it is something that comes with feel and it's easier to thin it than have to add more shellac and wait for it to disolve. It will also thicken as the meths evaporates, and it will even when in a tightly lidded container or while it's open in use.
A 3 lb cut is good for general use. Put the shellac in a jar and add the meths and leave it for twenty-four hours for the shellac to disolve. Periodically shaking it will help it dissolve but don't panic when it looks like it's never going to. It's as well to keep this mixture in stock and then decant smaller quantities for use. These can be thinned as required.
The first job is to build up a coating of shellac which you can later polish and which will fill the grain of the wood. It dries quickly and it won't take long to get three or four coats on. Let these harden for at least a few hours (depending how warm it is) and preferably over-night.
At this stage your wood will be looking rather nice so the next job is to spoil it by 'Flatting.'
This involves sanding out all the brush strokes and other marks. Use wet and dry abrasive no courser than 360 grade (remember the LOWER the number the ROUGHER it is). I spray whatever I'm working on with a plant-sprayer filled with water but different people use different lubricants so there's scope to experiment.
Ideally you'll end up with a uniformly matt finish which looks like frosted glass. If you still have shiny bits in the wood grain then it needs some more polish brushing on and flatting again until they are all filled. How obsessive you are about this is personal choice.
It is possible to apply a grain filler before starting but I've never bothered as it's something else to buy and I've also been concerned that it may fall out or be the wrong colour.
When you have got a flatted finish to your satisfaction it's time to start the actual French Polishing. This is done with a "Rubber." All this is is a lump of cotton wool wrapped in a cloth. I've got a supply of old linen which I use but the main thing is that it isn't fluffy. Put the cotton wool in the middle and then screw it up. The important thing is that the "Sole" at the bottom is smooth.
Now thin your polish down a bit and put some on the sole of the rubber. Rub it around in a circular motion on the work piece. Don't stop with it in contact as it may pull the existing polish off. The point of this operation is to apply further thin coats of shellac but to also soften what's already there and smooth it out.
If at any point the rubber feels sticky stop and let things re-harden properly before continuing. The rubber can be kept usable by being stored in a plastic bag or lidded jam jar.
Keep doing this with progressively thinner polish until you end up with straight meths. It's as well to finish off with straight strokes along the grain as this will hide any marks that remain.
Now give it a day or so to fully harden and then polish it with either proper "Burnishing Cream," T-Cut or Brasso before giving a final polish with beeswax.
All materials mentioned above are available via e-Bay. As for meths, a gallon bottle (even allowing for postage off e-Bay) works out about half the price of the little 500cc bottles normally on sale, an it's cheaper still from a decorator's supplier.
