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Old 28th Nov 2009, 1:27 pm   #12
Retired
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield. UK.
Posts: 673
Default Re: French polishing for beginners.

Hi,

I feel very humbled by all your very kind comments; thank you.

Thanks for bringing up the subject of toxic timbers dseymo1; a lot of timbers are taken for granted but are actually quite dangerous to health. Most exotics need careful handling and if in any doubt whatsoever wear protection. The worst I suffer is usually a bit of sneezing whilst hand sanding but if I power sand I always wear my respirator. I do woodturning and Spalted Beech is very common but I wonder how many turners have suffered ill health due to not wearing protection whilst sanding this on the lathe?

The very best of luck with your veneering and polishing bodge99 (great name for this type of work). If its your first attempt expect a lot of frustration but work through it and take your time; the more problems encountered the greater the pleasure as you stand back and admire the finished job; please stick with it and you will succeed.

If a question needs to be asked I never consider it to be dumb so please ask away Dave. I read the tip about applying the raw linseed oil from the book mentioned earlier and once this stage is reached and the oil is applied it is truly magical; to see the colours suddenly jump out at me always gives me a thrill. The oil must be allowed to completely dry before proceeding however long it takes.

If dipping the rubber in shellac works for you then its ok but I would never do it because there is a great risk of depositing far too much shellac onto the panel in one go; this is why I always press the rubber onto the paper to check. I apply brush coats of shellac in order to quickly build up a decent thickness and fill the grain but using the rubber will work but is a lot slower.

Your question regarding the straight strokes is very valid and I've taken the liberty of searching for a video which demonstrates far better than words showing exactly how the rubber is applied inside a panel and lifted off at the very edge. I've never seen this video before but it's very interesting and hope it answers the question for you. Please visit;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7wANfTub8

Thanks Mike; the chassis died so needs a bit of work but I did get it working when I first bought the set so there isn't too much wrong with it; just another job in the queue? I'm pleased you like the black trim and it's something new I learnt for future use; many cabinets have bits of veneer missing around grille and speaker openings which are very fiddly to replace and time consuming so if a set isn't to valuable then filling in these areas and spraying is a wonderful solution; I wish I'd tried it before and any colour can be used not just black.

Yes Jim; there are many brands of this kind of stain (spirit) and they can easily be identified because they are thinned or cleaned off with white spirit; I happened to have Blackfriars but have used Colron many times; these stains take quite a bit of time to dry especially in winter but are easy to apply and don't raise the grain. I also use water stain mixing my own from Vandke Crystals and this is extremely cheap; gloves are a must during use as stain bites deep into skin.

I've never used toner but it is used extensively in the States. Over here it is difficult to obtain but can be found by surfing the web in fact I think I saw it the last time I visited Restoration Materials? Its not cheap. Full panels can be sprayed and it is used for applying the darker band of colour around panel edges as seen on much modern furniture; I would have liked to experiment with toner but was put off by the cost.

I look back now to all those wasted years when I was scared stiff of French polishing and wonder what really scared me as I love doing this work now and when I step into my workshop to start one of these cabinet jobs its like stepping into a fantasy land; I put on my favourite music running a cd from a Walkman into one of my vintage sets; turn up the central heating radiator and Bron brings me a pot of tea and a biscuit every now and then. Later when the job is completed I stand back and still feel extremely strange wondering how the heck did I achieve that; surely I can't have done it? Life is good. Col.
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