*
I have french polished a sideboard top and have achieved a fairly good gloss after the “bodying” stage. My understanding from books and Mr Jewitt’s video, is that the last step is to use alcohol only, on the cotton gauze core material used in the tampon, to gently clear off any pad lubricating oil which has migrated to the surface, and buff it out with pressure. When I do this, it dulls the gloss and creates fine scratches. How many days must opne wait before “spititing off”? Any other tricks? Thanks for your advice
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
*
I never use plain alcohol. Try a thinner cut of shellac. it only takes a very small amount of oil to polish.(sometimes I don't use any) Are you maybe using to much? I dont wait very long between coats.Make sure your shellac is fresh. That could be part of your problem.
*My shellac is freshly mixed super blonde from flakes. Do you use the linen or muslin tampon for final spiriting off, or only a piece of the core cotton as the last step to bring out the final gloss? Any other tricks? Thanks a lot.Jay
*It sounds like the cloth is the culprit. Try using cheesecloth. The stuff I used in the video and my shop is technically "surgical sponge" which I buy in bulk from a local textile company. If you can't find it locally, try herehttp://www.homesteadfinishingprod.com/Touchupsolventmisc.htmJeff
*Jeff,I actually am a surgeon, and used cotton surgical gauze, so that couldn't be it. I ended up getting out the scratches using a rotary buffer and automotive polishing compound of two progressively finer degrees of polish. This was described in a past issue of FWW, for use on table-top varnish. It worked beautifully on the shellac. Thanks
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled