French Polishing

Time permitting, the following areas are covered in detail during the course:

French Polishing: types of shellac polish, ebonising, rubbers, wads, fads; stains and colouring; traditional grain filling with pumice powder and shellac; other grain filling techniques, methods of filling and disguising cracks and blemishes, sealing, bodying up, stiffing, cutting back, spiriting off, burnishing and many little-known trade skills are revealed.

Restoration: degrees of stripping, from minor removal of old wax etc. without damaging underlying surface finish through to severe cases where chemical stripping is required. Repairing marks, blemishes and indentations, steaming out dents, staining methods and use of pigment powders.

Tasks: Prepare work pieces (practice boards) and items of furniture etc - cleaning, de-waxing as needed; sealing coats of shellac; rubbing down and re-coating; understanding polishing sessions; traditional method of grain filling open pore wood using pumice powder and shellac, as well as other pore-filling techniques for different situations. Make up rubbers and build up polish layers (bodying up), cutting back between coats; stiffing, spiriting off; polishing patterns; use of oil; adjustment of polish concentrations; burning off oil; burnishing methods and creams; how to achieve matt, satin and gloss surface finishes; learn how to cultivate a top quality, beautiful surface; use of stains, fillers, shellac sticks. How to avoid common problems.