# French Polishing.



## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

French Polishing.

French polishing is undoubtedly the ultimate finish, and although a myth of great difficulty has been built up around it there is actually no need. I will try to simplify the process here but first let me tell you a little something about the origin and make up of it.

•	French Polish is made from Shellac and alcohol, usually nowadays Methylated spirit.
•	Shellac is made from a product of the Lac Beetle living in Asia, i.e. Thailand, India and China.
•	The Lac Beetle lays it’s eggs in the branches of trees, by the thousand and surrounds them with a substance that sets hard and after the eggs have hatched, is harvested and processed to produce Shellac.
•	There are many grades of Lac, as it is called, and they all go to make up differing types of Lac for French polish, I think that it might be better to restrain ourselves and stick to one type or so.
•	I make up my own French Polish and so can you, from your chosen supplier, I have previously mentioned Relics and their website, I like to go and collect mine so that I can browse around at all the other stuff they have, also Axminster power tool centre have an extensive range, obtain sufficient Shellac flakes and Methylated Spirit to mix at the proportions of 250 grammes to the litre and mix together, it will take a couple of days for the shellac flakes to be fully absorbed and will need shaking quite often to disperse.
•	I like to use Blonde dewaxed flakes for most of my polishing, because it is pale and suits almost anything, but I always have by me some proprietary branded Button polish for touching-in of darker pieces, and I have coloured some of my own mixture with Rare Earth pigments to make coloured shellac. 




I have re-adjusted the article and removed a lot of unnecessary pictures to make it smaller.







Picture 1 below, shows a number of different timbers that I have finished with French polish.













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except for the Deal all of the timbers finished extremely well using the method described herein. To the left is a piece of Deal (softwood), this I have polished with Blonde shellac but I have added Burnt Sienna Rare earth pigment to colour it to a shade near to Mahogany. Deal does not accept this type of finish too well, because of its softness, unlike the various hardwoods, but I thought I would like to demonstrate it.
•	Next is a piece of Maple which accepts Blonde shellac finish very well and does not go under a great transformation of colour in doing so.
•	Beech is next, and there again works well colourwise, and has the close-grained texture to finish very well, that’s probably why it is used so extensively in the furniture industry.
•	Next is a piece of Chestnut, which in my opinion has been improved with the shellac finish, as it seems to bring out the grain and the natural timber colour.
•	Iroko (Teak) finishes very nicely and benefits from finishing with shellac as it enhances the colour of the timber without disguising the colour variations in the graining. 
Here are two redwoods, the first being Utile, and the replacement for most Mahogany nowadays, and a piece of what is probably real Brazilian Mahogany as is it many years old. I put a line across the centre of both of these and polished each half separately one with dark button polish and the other with Blonde shellac, as you can see with a timber of this colour and density there is no visible difference.
Except for the Deal all of the timbers finished extremely well using the method described herein.



We will now go through the process necessary to carry out a successful French polishing operation.





Picture2.

•	First you must make a rubber.

A piece of good cotton cloth with a good-sized piece, the size of a large egg at least, of cotton waste.





Picture 3.


•	Fold-in the top two inches,






Picture4.
•	Fold in the two
Corners.











Picture 5.

•	Fold-in the two sides as shown
Your rubber is now ready for use.

















Picture5. 


•	Unwrap your rubber again, now pour Into the cotton waste a small amount of shellac, enough to soak the cotton waste but not to run through, a dispenser should be used so as not to overload the rubber, traditionally a wine bottle was used with a groove cut in the side of the cork to give a very small amount at a time, if you buy your French polish or Button polish in the containers shown in the picture, they have small pouring spouts. Fold up the rubber again and twist the tail, in doing so you will force the Shellac through the cover so allowing you to apply it to the surface of the timber.





Picture 6.


•	Apply the shellac to the timber in a circular motion without lifting off.














If you have carried out the process, as before described, with Sanding sealer, the whole French Polishing process will be that much easier as the timber will not be so absorbent.

•	If any open pores or blemishes are visible in the surface of the timber at this stage, they can be filled with proprietary grain filler, prior to the polishing process, just brush in the grain filler, allow to harden, and then sand off with very fine glass paper. 
•	Any minor blemishes that show up during the polishing process can be removed by using, Pumice or Rottenstone, just touch the rubber onto some of this powder and work into the aforesaid blemish, these preparations are so fine that they will not harm any work you have already done but will blend the polish and fill where necessary. 

•	Pumice is more course that Rottenstone, but it is not dark and will therefore be better on light coloured woods, whereas Rottenstone is almost black and will stain lighter timbers. 

•	Start by twisting the tail of the rubber so that a little of the shellac is forced through the cloth, work in circular movements, do not let the rubber stop on the surface, always run-off at the end to finish a stroke,
but try to keep your movements continuous, twist-up the tail as and when you need more shellac to keep covering the surface. When you begin to run low, open your rubber and charge it again with shellac.
•	There will come a time when your rubber will start to drag a little, this is the time to put a few drops of linseed oil onto the surface of your rubber this will make the rubber slide over the timber a lot easier and you will be able to carry on with adding more shellac to your finish.

•	It is a good idea to change the pattern of your rubbing to figure-of-eight and eventually to straight up and down strokes, following the grain. 

•	Very quickly you will see a very good surface appear, (it is not a long job at all).

•	Although shellac is very quick drying, it is advisable to let the work stand for a short while to harden and then to do a bit more polishing.

•	Keep an eye on the light reflecting across your work and correct any blemishes that may occur straight away by rubbing in more polish and then oil.


•	You will need to spirit-off when the desired finish is obtained, that is, to wipe over the whole area with your rubber dipped in Methylated spirit to remove the surplus linseed oil, It is probably better if you make up a separate rubber and keep for spiriting off as otherwise it will dilute the shellac to a degree that will be inadvisable. This will remove any surplus Linseed oil from the surface, but not so much as to affect the polish, use spirit very sparingly. I will advise that spiriting of must be used only in the circumstances where too much oil is present.

•	Allow to harden for 48 hours at least before use or damage to the finished surface may occur








Picture 7.


This piece of oak is the one shown in the demonstration and I obtained this type of finish with Blonde shellac as described, in a very short time. I have only given this piece about six or seven coats, whereas to give a first class durable finish of a very high standard one would use at least twenty coats. Of course it is only quite small so that is why it didn’t take long, but a table top can be French polished in a matter of an hour or so, remember, you do not have to wait whilst each coat dries as you do with oils and varnishes.

•	To get a piece of Oak furniture to look like an antique Victorian piece I suggest you stain with double strength solution of Van **** Crystals, seal as described and then French Polish with Shellac to at least twenty coats.



Above are three pieces in English Oak, that have been treated with 3 coats of Van **** Crystal solution and then have been finished with an inordinate amount of coats of Shellac French polish.


An eggshell finish may be obtained by rubbing the whole of the project with Pumice powder by touching the rubber onto some of the very fine powder, or may be rubbed out with 0000wire wool to the same effect, though why after having gone to lengths to create a beautiful high gloss finish to be proud of, I don’t know.

•	Keep all your rubbers in an airtight container so that they will remain soft and ready for the next time.
•	Shellac French polish may be put over any other finish especially where the finish may have gone wrong or has deteriorated, any wax must be removed with spirit first and then carry on with the finishing as before described. Damage or deep scratches may be filled using wax filler sticks, or a scratch pen, all of which are available from your supplier.
•	Any finish will benefit from the protection of a final coat of wax polish, although this is not deemed necessary, but the wax will receive the scratches and not the polish.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Another great post Derek and your time involved in sharing this process is much appreciated.


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Bob,
Just looked at you shop pics., don't you get any shavings or dust there or is it just for show, I dare not show mine, there are no shiny surfaces to see, just plenty of disorder.
Derek.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

A first class "how to" Derek, thank you. Regarding Bob's clinically clean shop, I've long suspected that his wife follows him round with a vacuum cleaner.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Alright guys..... I will take some shots "BEFORE" cleanup and post them just so you will see that it is not all show and that my wife is not as good to me as you think 

LOL


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Bob,
Thanks for that! It'll be nice to see you are like the rest of us.
derek.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

Hi Derek

I'd love to see the pictures you omitted. I didn't know about Relics so I looked them up and was delighted to find some overhead clothes airer castings I've been trying to find for ages. Thank you!

Cheers

Peter


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Peter,
Relics, is "www.try relics. co.uk"
The pictures I omitted are only showing treatments on differing timbers. the whole thing was done as a magazine project with the pictures enclosed by the script and was part of a bigger project called "The ins and outs of staining and finishing, and is far too large to pass on.
Derek.


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## Jennabutala (Feb 18, 2009)

French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss, deep colour and tough surface. It consists of applying many thin coats of french polish using a rubbing pad. The rubbing pad is made up of wadding inside a square piece of cotton and is referred to as a fad.

The process is lengthy and very repetitive. The finish is obtained through a specific combination of different rubbing motions , waiting for considerable time, building up layers of polish and then spiriting off any streaks left in the surface.

In the Victorian era, French polishing was commonly used on mahogany and other expensive woods, and was considered to give the best possible finish to exclusive furniture. The process was very labour intensive, however, and many major manufacturers abandoned the technique around 1930, instead preferring the cheaper and quicker techniques of spray finishing nitrocellulose lacquer and abrasive buffing.


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Jenna,
Yeah, that's right.


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## nzgeordie (Oct 22, 2006)

A useful, informative post Derek. I'm just about to try my hand for the first time at French polishing a sewing box for SWMBO. I was interested to read you used sanding sealer to prepare the surface before using the french polish technique which is something I hadn't read about. I intend to use a Plaster of Paris wash followed by boiled linseed oil as a preparation. Have you tried this method and if so, with what results?


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Pete,
I have not, but plaster of paris is one of the old fashioned methods of grain filling so you are on the right track, the linseed oil will probably slow down the polishing process, so you'll have to work a lot harder to obtain a finish.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Very good wright up Derek, Regarding Bob's shop being so clean, I have been there several times and have yet to see saw dust anywhere, except in a bag that I think he sprinkles around for pic or if someone comes over but calls first.

Really guys to he in his shop is a pleasure. It is somewhat small but is so cotton-pickin organized that it just always looks really neat and clean. I have been impressed every time I go over there. What is really disgusting is the fact that the way it organized and laid out just makes sense.


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## Lemuzz (Jul 25, 2008)

Thanks for the post Derek. My late father was a furniture manufacturer in the early 1920's. During this time he was given a quantity of shellac about 2 lbs. This lay round in our workshop for a number of years and is now in a large container in my home workshop. I was pleased to read this article as I now know how to use this and will on future projects.


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## nzgeordie (Oct 22, 2006)

Hey Muzza. If you want to offload some of that shellac - let me know


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## derek willis (Jan 21, 2009)

Lemuzz,
Use your shellac flakes at the proportion of 250gr. (about 1/2 pound) to a litre of methylated spirit, it will take up to two or three days to dissolve completely, shake it now and again to disperse the flakes, further dilution can be carried out after if needed, but don't dilute the whole quantity, just a little at a time, I never dilute, except when I need to get into undercut mouldings.


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## Gerard_sr (Dec 7, 2008)

*And here I thought it was what a "French Maid" does....*

And here I thought it was what a *"French Maid"* does.... 
I was all set to Google it and find one of them little black and white outfits for the wife! 


Dummy me.....

Seriously, Very informative Derek!
Thank You!

Cordially,
Gerry


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