I have some experience with French polishing bare wood but was curious as to how it would work when the wood has been colored. I’ve been doing some tests on red oak that has had a water-based dye applied. Not surprisingly the initial pore-filling step with 4F pumice is proving problematic because the dye is being removed before the grain gets filled.
I tried a slight variation by first applying two very thin coats (1lb cut) of shellac only, letting it dry completely, then using pumice to fill the grain. It only slightly delayed the dye removal and I was still unable to properly fill the grain. I have a couple more ideas to try but I’m not feeling overly optimistic at this point.
Is there a way to do this using the traditional pumice method or do I need to skip it entirely and instead use an oil- or water-based grain filler before moving on to the polishing stages?
Thanks,
Todd
Replies
Try pore-filling with pumice, then stain and french polish; or skip the pore filling and go straight to shellac/french polish.
Best to experiment on scraps until you find a process that is satisfactory.
I recently tried pore-filling with pumice first using a few drops of shellac and a bit more alcohol. When dry the water-based dye was applied. The result was better than expected though the shellac does impede the absorbtion of the dye. However, given that such a small amount of shellac is used with the pumice perhaps another coat of dye will help offset the absorbtion issue. I will try that this weekend.
Oh, and I'm definitely using scraps.
Shellac has alcohol in it and the water based dye may be reacting to it.
You may need to change the dye or finish so both are comparable.
Sorry for such a late comment. I routinely dye with water dye before polishing. The trick is to not overdo the pumice. Use less, don't overwork an area. Maybe dye a bit darker knowing you're going to be removing some. Oak is perhaps the most difficult to do because it takes so much time to fill the grain. There is no reason not to do a grain fill with a non-water based filler after the dye. You'll still need pumice to get a perfectly filled finish but not nearly enough. I hope this isn't too late for your project.
Thanks @johncoffey, it's not too late. I'm still experimenting so your timing is perfect. I'm glad to know it can be done, clearly I need to practice more. A lot more.