Preparing Furniture for French Polishing

By Anon Anon

This text contains a concise and detailed guide to the art of French polishing. Complete with helpful diagrams and easy-to-follow instructions, this guide is perfect for those with little or no experience in French polishing and makes for a great addition to collections of DIY literature. The sections of this book include: 'Shellac', 'What French Polishing Is', 'The Polishing Workshop', 'The Polishing Rubber', 'Preparing Surfaces', 'Preparing New Wood', 'Wax Stopping', 'Fillers and Filling', 'Fatting of Bodying-In', 'Bodying-up or Working-Up', 'Colouring', 'Spiriting', 'Supporting', 'Work for Polishing', and more. This antique book has been elected for modern republication due to its instructional value, and we are proud to republish it now complete with a new introduction on French polishing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473357693

Book preview

FRENCH POLISHING

SHELLAC—THE POLISHING WORKSHOP AND EQUIPMENT—THE POLISHING RUBBER

ALTHOUGH French polishing is a trade by itself, it is only natural that every woodworker will wish to finish his own work without having recourse to a professional polisher. The difficulties in the way are not great for anyone who is prepared to exercise a fair amount of care and patience in the work, and when properly done there is no better surface to be obtained. And firstly, a word must be said on the essential medium in French polishing—shellac.

SHELLAC.

Shellac is made from lac, or gum lac, a resinous substance which comes from the branches of several trees; the most common is the Fiscus religiosa (the religious tree of the Hindus); the Rhamnus jujuba, and the Croton lacciferum (behar tree). These trees grow in Siam, Assam, Bengal and Malabar. An insect (the female insect of Coccus lacca) punctures the bark of these trees for the purpose of depositing her eggs; the resinous substance oozes from the tree and hardens on the twigs. The twigs are broken off by the natives and dried in the sun. When dried these are called stick lac. After the twigs have become thoroughly dry they are pounded so as to break the resinous substance from the twigs. This resinous substance, after being removed from the twigs, is known as seed lac. Seed lac is melted, collected, and cooled, and it is then known as lump lac.

The seed lac is put into bags made of cotton and hung over a slow fire; the resinous substance now melts, and the bag is twisted and the clean filtered substance is allowed to flow over planks generally made of fig wood, the timber of which is hard and smooth. The resinous substance cools on these planks, forming thin layers or scales, which are known to commerce as shell-lac or shellac.

White or Bleached Shellac is made from the brown shellac by passing chlorine (one of the most powerful bleaching agents) through it. The colouring matter is thus taken out, giving the familiar white shellac of commerce. Bleached shellac should be put into alcohol or methylated spirit as soon as it is dry. If exposed to the air for a few days it oxidises and becomes partially insoluble. Bleached shellac should therefore be kept under water, and transported by burying it in wet sawdust. To dry white shellac before making it into polish, the lac should be finely broken up and spread out upon a tray, which is placed before a slow fire. The broken lac should be frequently turned over on the tray until all moisture has disappeared.

WHAT FRENCH POLISHING IS.

French Polish is thus but a varnish, though of a different nature from the ordinary oil varnishes. The chief difference lies in the application. Ordinary varnishes are laid on with a brush, with as little friction as possible, whereas French polish is applied by means of rubbers worked over the surface of the wood with a light pressure, and the more rubbing the polish receives (up to a certain point) the better the results. Briefly, then, the great distinction is attributable to French polish being applied as scantily as possible by rubbers, and needing much friction and many applications, whilst varnish is applied as freely as possible with a brush, causing as little friction as possible and a high polish being obtained by only a few applications.

Skill is necessary to make a good polisher, as well as knowledge about