French polishing questions

Tripoli Powder should give a really fine cut and a way better look to the finish but if you already have obvious lines it won't necessarily delete them. Same for steel wool unless you know what your doing with both. I would avoid Scratch-X most stuff made for cars is made for automotive finishes, not for wood finish.

EEE will be the same as the Tripoli Powder but with a higher gloss due to the waxes.

You need to eradicate the lines before doing anything else.

For what it's worth I've seen a lot of restored antiques with that same marking as what you have and in most instances it comes from shoddy or lazy polishing. The last few steps are very important in getting that brilliant finish you want. Using a cut and polish can help but only as a very last resort.

Worst comes to worst, use some 1500 grit wet and dry on a cork block with water that has a reop of dish detergent in it as a wetting agent. Sand very carefully with the wet n dry and water. This will stop the abrasive from clogging and if done right will get rid of the lines without cutting the finish back too far on the surface of the work. Don't go crazy with it, stop and check the progress regularly by wiping down and allowing the surface to dry.

It could take anywhere from a couple of wipes over the surface with the abrasive to a minute or so, but go easy. You're not sanding just levelling.

You could then use a cut and polish like EEE-Ultra Shine over the top for a higher gloss or Tripoli Powder for a higher slightly dryer shine.

Quick question on mouse/rubbers and the material.

Obtaining genuine flax-based linen is a tricky proposition.

When questioned closely, every retailer I've found that calls their product "Linen" isn't real linen at all, mostly coarse cotton thread deliberately lubberly made.... inclusions and thread vagaries being quite intentional. (i.e. fake).

This product by Zweigart is genuine linen.

Is it too coarse?

WHITE BELFAST LINEN - 32cnt - Zweigart brand - (P3609-100/78)(1447) | eBay

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Originally Posted by woodPixel

Quick question on mouse/rubbers and the material.


Is it too coarse?

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I would say so, looks way to open - 32 count!

I bought some old bed linen at a pop up near my supermarket, I have had no problems with it.

Yes, it looks a bit coarse to me too. It may work, but really, it's not all that desperately important to have genuine linen to wrap your wadding in. Cotton works very well, & even most cotton you get may have a small proportion of synthetic unless it claims to be "pure" cotton. They all work, the finer the weave, the better the surface it will leave. Cotton won't last as long as linen, perhaps, but it depends entirely on the quality of the product. If it's old well-washed cloth, which is what I favour, & it hasn't started to deteriorate, it will last quite a while as a wrapper. I double my cloth & turn it inside out as soon as it shows signs of wear. I might go through a couple of bits of cloth during a very busy day, but mostly a rubber lasts for an entire small job.....

If you are teaching yourself to FP, I predict your biggest problem will be getting the dilution of the polish just right. For a beginner, I reckon it's best to start with a much more dilute solution than is usually recommended in books, etc. Books are written by people who have lots of experience, & with experience, you can handle a less dilute cut, & you recognise instantly if the polish is too thick for the job. OK, so the more dilute, the more rub-overs it takes to get a build, but as with any finish I know, many fine coats are better than fewer & thicker coats. One of the reasons I don't do a lot more FP is because a really perfect job takes LOTS of patience & patience isn't my long suit when it comes to finishing - I just want to get that part out of the way & get onto something more interesting. But if you DO have patience & put the effort into it, there's no other finish I know that you can do with no fancy gear & get as good a result.
:)
Cheers,

I've a new small box that I was thinking of FP.

I was going to use a few piece of prepped timber to practice. The 100% IMS (from above) worked a treat on the flakes. They dissolved within an hour. Fluid is much darker than I expected.

IanW, agree with the time-invested thing, but I've perfected all the other finishes and this is my last wild horse! Its also something that is easily done in my workshop (ahem, tiny balcony!).


With straining, would a coffee filter be suitable? I also have paint strainers I used to use for spaying car paints, or will they be too fine? (190 microns - pictured).

There is also this "Cheesecloth".... suitable for mouses? Amazon.com.au : cheesecloth fabric

I ask as Ive no white tshirts, either old or new. Perhaps I'll get some cheap pillowcases from Woolworths :)


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Anyone know of a short course in Sydney teaching the basics of FP.

The only one i could find in my area is from st George Community college but at midday every Monday it's not something i can get to.

Regards

Adam

Imagine how good a video series from Neil or someone equivalent based on the polishers handbook would be ;) I’d buy that

Cheers
Nathan

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Originally Posted by delbs

Imagine how good a video series from Neil or someone equivalent based on the polishers handbook would be ;) I’d buy that

Cheers
Nathan

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I’m on my iPad so cannot check to see if these links still work, as they won’t d/load. Anyway have a sticky beak here and see if they still work.

Neil's Ubeaut Finishing Video

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Originally Posted by DJ’s Timber

I’m on my iPad so cannot check to see if these links still work, as they won’t d/load. Anyway have a sticky beak here and see if they still work.

Neil's Ubeaut Finishing Video

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They sure do.

The forum needs a mini-youtube :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by woodPixel

....IanW, agree with the time-invested thing, but I've perfected all the other finishes and this is my last wild horse! Its also something that is easily done in my workshop (ahem, tiny balcony!).....

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Not sayin' don't do it, WP, just pointing out it's one of those things that takes time, both to do a good job & to learn the quirks. Indeed, one of its attractions is it can be done just about anywhere.

Haven't tried coffee filters, but they should work. If the residue has settled well, you can carefully decant a goodly proportion of the liquid without needing a filter but filtering is safer, particularly if you don't have a steady hand. Haven't used coffee filters myself, but they should work.

Plain cotton pillow cases should be fine for wrappers...

Cheers,

Pajama or winter sheet flannelette is the good stuff for FP Rubber wrapping.

When you make rubbers, new ones are good for starting off but they get better with age. You keep them in a jar with a screw on lid and the old ones are better for finishing off a job . Its the use of the linseed oil that does it, it builds and stays in the rubber and that turns it into a slow fine release tool which is much better for finishing. Jack, the old polisher who worked for Dad showed me that.
I wonder if the other oils that get suggested for finishing do that ? I bet some of them don't.
Its the same thing you see how linseed oil dries around the Oil and turps jar. It covers it with a thick rubbery layer that builds over time into a huge amount that has to be cut off with a knife .
With the rubber, the wrapping material gets replaced time and time again. Some of my rubbers are easy ten or fifteen years old . A square sheet ends up being re positioned as holes wear in it until I cant find a spot without a hole in it any more. Then it needs a new rag.
New ones are rolled up when I have a job requiring a lot of bodying up and fast amounts of shellac put down . The old rubbers are no good at that. Cheesecloth is used for that and was its main use as far as I know . To wipe on fast coats of shellac. When its a large job a brush is to slow .

The whole idea of FP is not about laying on coats. Otherwise the spray gun would have finished off the idea of FP totally. Have you ever seen how just brushing it on layer over layer turns it into a mess and waste of shellac and time?


FP is about putting some on and working it sideways before its dried and hard but after its to soft and wet. Its the filling of the grain bringing that up and keeping the top low for the bodying stage that can take years to understand. Or never be understood. It has a lot to do with the timing of when you put it on and then when you work it . It can be done very quickly . Three or Four ten minute bursts with have a shoe box sized box done . The same Three or Four 20 minute bursts will have a side table done . Then its cut back flat and the finishing off final very thin layers are done with ever finer and much thinner shellac.

(grrr, retyped after a timeout)

I completely forgot to mention that IMS can also be obtained from Sydney Solvents. 5L is $14.95

Industrial Methylated Spirits IMS 5 Litre | Sydney Solvents

They also stock 20L and drums.

Delivery can be expensive though, so I get it with other nasties at the same time.

Yep, that's where I bought mine in the end. :)

Well, I'm finally calling the french polishing done. It's not perfect, but I could go forever.

A few things I learned on the way...

I switched from the t-shirt-like cotton material, and instead used an old pillow slip to wrap the pad. It was a high-thread-count cotton, and seemed to make a smoother finish than the stretchy t-shirt cotton.

I did try the Tripoli powder, but I'm sad to say that after many experiments, I have decided that Tripoli powder is not suitable for final buffing of French polish, as it claims. It seems to be quite an aggressive abrasive, and leaves the surface dull and scratched. In none of my tests did I get any sort of polished finish at all. I tried using it dry, mixed with wax or parrafin oil, different amounts of polish, different polish cloths, light pressure, hard pressure, and other variations. I tested it on french polish that had been left for a week to harden. I buffed and buffed for a long time, and it did not improve. I tried it over an already polished surface, and it just made it worse.

The best thing I found for the final polish was Scratch-X, which is a car polish. In my initial tests, it wasn't playing nicely with the shellac, but I found that with well-dried shellac, lightly wiping paraffin oil over the surface before polishing, and lubricating the polish with a drop of paraffin oil, it seemed to go quite well.

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