French Polishing

B

briyon

Well-known member
I have a couple of question regarding French Polishing and finishing in general.  I am about complete with a Seymour style table that a built in a class I took with Will Neptune last summer.  The table has turned mahogany legs, maple veneered (bricked) apron and a 4 panel book matched mahogany top.

Questions:
1) I have a DVD on French Polishing from Vijay Vilgi and he states to do your filling with 4F pumice (which I have also heard from others).  Does this fill the pores with white or light colored filler?  Is this the recommended way to fill the pores in mahogany or is there a new process?

2) My plan is to use a dark dewaxed shellac on the top.  I wasn't sure what to do with the curly maple and birdseye maple veneered apron.  Any suggestions?  Or just use the same shellac.

3) Currently the table is only dry assembled.  I am wondering if I should finish all of the parts before glue up.  This seems like it might produce the best results for finish.  Does anyone have any tips or techniques for masking off the areas on the apron that the legs (basically a half lap joint that is pegged) so that they legs can be glued later. Or does this make sense at all?  I was thinking it would be easier because the legs are turned and reeded.

Thanks,

Brian
 
The purpose of the pumice is not so much to act as a filler, but rather to act as an abrasive which generates wood dust that, in combination with pumice, will fill the pores.  Properly done, this dust fills the pores with almost the same color as the wood and doesn't show up white.  You can also fill with shellac by putting on a couple of coats and sanding each one off.  Do this twice or thrice and there should be enough shellac in the pores to fill them.

You should be sure you don't end up staining your inlays with the pumice/wood dust/mineral oil mess you'll be making if you go that route.  Maybe this isn't such a great idea with an inlaid piece, but I've no experience polishing Seymour type stuff.

Strictly personal opinions on shellac:  If you use darker stuff, use it early to body the finish, then switch to the clearest stuff you can get for the last coats.  Be careful about darker shellacs on maple.  These shellacs dry orange in thin film, and I find this color over maple unpleasant.  Too orangey, and not enough in the amber/brown range.  Get ready for the hollers and howls from the "linseed oil delenda est" crowd, but I'd not hesitate to oil (top quality oil) the whole thing, and then start polishing.  Oil good, failure to properly wipe off bad.

JD
 
Here is my 2 cents-  I would look at some old pieces and try and achieve that same color/look.  Shellac, whether it is orange, dark, blonde, etc. by itself even over oil, to me always looks plain. (just my opinion)  I would push you to experiment with stains(water and alcohol).  It is not hard to color the maple and not the mahogany.  THink compatibility of color finishes.....  Turned legs with exposed endgrain-reeding- that will suck up color- seal it first with a wash coat... experiment with glazes to highlight.  I have never used pumice but that doesnt mean you can't.. I dont fully understand why you would finish a piece before assembling it.  I have never had a problem finishing when it was together and dont see what I would gain doing it prior to assembley.  And for the oil under shellac- I have had enough antiques come through where the old oil has amalgamized to a dark nasty tar that I just will not use it on my pieces.  I dont see an appreciable gain from it look wise.  Its all just my 2 cents...

Pete
www.cherrybrookwoodworks.com
   
 
I have used pumice to fill the pores but not being an expect at it I found, much later, I used too much pumice and the pores looked white from the pumice.  I had much better luck brushing on many coats of shellac and even padding it on but without the pumice.

Dennis Bork
Antiquity Period Designs, Ltd.
 
When you French polish a table, obviously you can polish the top, but how do you finish the legs. You can pad on shellac but can you (should you) try for that polished look on the non-flat surfaces?
I have seen multiple videos on shellac and French polishing but I don't remember anyone addressing this.

Howard Steier
 
Hi Briyon

I have found that if you ask 10 people about French Polishing,  9 of them will do it different. Pumice is used as a filler/abrasive but is an advanced class in the French Polishing learning curve. Too much pumice will leave a gritty, rough surface with white deposits in the pores. If you are not comfortable polishing I would skip the pumice on this project. It takes some practice to get it right.  And the use of oil in the polishing procedure should be measured in drops rather than covering the hole surface. Any oil used will surface through the finish leaving a bloom.The use of BLO as a polishing lube?  Yeah it can be done, but I think you should take some finish adhesion tests if you do. I think you will be surprised of the results.     When I French Polish I use color mixed in the polish as well as French Patching. This way I can change , add or correct the color as I go, not just in the staining end.   And I polish the legs the same as the top, it just takes a little more practice
    Randy
 
The filling of pores traditionally was probably multiple coats of shellac leveled with fine sandpaper between coats. For open grain woods, this is extremely time consuming. Try it if you don't believe me. Adding a very light sprinkle of 4F or finer pumice to the polishing pad can shorten the process by pushing some of the powder into the pores. Too much and the white flecks will appear. If done correctly, the pumice will almost disappear. I think the reason for this may be that the refractive index of the pumice is quite close to that of shellac resin. It's like putting a plastic rod into a liquid of the same refractive index. The rod disappears to your eyes beneath the surface. Filling will still take several passes but it does help. Final passes of course are with a straight shellac pad.

Chuck Walker
 
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