Woodworker's Journal 2004-28-4, страница 59

FINISHING THOVGHTS

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French Polish: Classic Hand-rubbed Finish

By Michacl Drcsdner

Woodworker's Journal editor Rob Johnstone rubs out a French polish finish to a high gloss. French polish finishes can be of ultra-high luster or satin ... as the finisher desires.

59 August 2004 Woodworker's Journal

French polish, as elusive us it is beautiful, is referred lu as the Holy Grail of finishing, but the process is regarded as difficult to leant. A few guidelines will have you polishing in no time.

By wrapping a center pad of tra:e cloth with z well-washed piece of linen, the author creates the perfect application pad.

Making the Pad

Creating a good application pad is half the batie. I like to use trace cloth: an all-cotton, tightly woven checseclolh for the center, and well-washed linen handkerchief material for the cover.

Dip the trace cloth in denatured alcohol la make it pliable, then wring iL out. Fold about a 9" square of it repeatedly to form a smooth-bottomed, slightly conical nouse-shaped pad (a real mouse, not a computer mouse). 'Hie purpose of the trace cloth is to act like a sponge, holding and dispensing the shellac, and the purpose of the linen wrapper is> to create a smooth surface to contact the wood. Wrap the liner, tightly around the cotton, and twist the ends so that the bottom of the pari is smooth, wrinkle-free, and tight. Press the pad on a clean, hard surface to fatten the bottom.

is easily repairable and indefinitely renewable. The only application tool you need is a cloth pad. A French polished surface dries to the touch as yoj apply it, so it remains dust-free. There is no drying time, sc a nice finish can sometimes be built up in one day.

Preparing the Surface

Sand all surfaces to 220 grit or finer. For the last sanding, use garnet paper and sand by hand, going with the grain. Seal the wood with dewaxed shellac. Flood the shellac onto the raw wood, then immediately wipe it off, leaving or.ly what has been absorbed by the wood. I^t the sealer dry thoroughly. Sealing will raise the grain of the wood slightly, creating whiskers. Remove them by sanding very lightly with 100-grit sandpaper.

If you're working on an open pore wood, now is the time to fill the pores. Traditionally, finishers used a slurry of shellac and pumice, rubbed on with a pad. to create a clear filler. Since the advent of clear pore fillers, this technique has lost its allure.

French polishing is a technique for applying shellac with a rag or pad, though the term is also used for the finish itself. Shellac dries very fast, so it is difficult to wipe it on without it becoming too sticky to manipulate. Each coat of shellac dissolves the previous coats, so you'll dissolve and remove the first coat as you try to apply a second. To get around these problems, French polishers rub shellac on in very thin layers, with the pad just barely wet. The technique takes a hit of practice, but the result is an ultra-thin finish that makes the wood look polished, but not plastic.

Shellac is fairly durable, but is subject to damage by heat, alcohol and alkaline chemicals. On the plus side, it's hard and brittle; resists water, stains and acid; will not discolor or darken over time, and