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    The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique
    The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique
    The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique
    Ebook89 pages1 hour

    The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique

    By Anon Anon

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    About this ebook

    Contained within this book is a detailed guide to French polishing, including information on technique, tools, materials, and much more. Comprising simple, step-by-step instructions coupled with detailed, helpful illustrations, this text is perfect for those with little or no experience in the subject and makes for a valuable addition to collections of DIY or woodworking literature. The chapters of this book include: 'The Workshop', 'The Bench', 'Brushes and Miscellaneous Items', 'Polishes and Varnishes', 'Fillers', 'Preparation', 'Staining', 'Filling-In', 'Fadding-In', 'Colouring and Matching', 'Varnishing', 'Bodying', 'Finishing', 'Polishing Period Furniture', 'Preservation and Renovation', and many more. We are proud to republish this text here complete with a new introduction on French Polish.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateSep 6, 2016
    ISBN9781473357198
    The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique

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      Book preview

      The French Polisher's Manual - A Description of French Polishing Methods and Technique - Anon Anon

      THE FRENCH POLISHER’S

      MANUAL

      A DESCRIPTION OF

      FRENCH POLISHING METHODS

      AND TECHNIQUE

      Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

      This book is copyright and may not be

      reproduced or copied in any way without

      the express permission of the publisher in writing

      British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the

      British Library

      French Polish

      French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. The technique of applying shellac by rubbing it onto the furniture with a 'rubber' is widely regarded to have begun in France in the early 1800's, hence the description 'French Polish'. This procedure consists of applying many thin coats of shellac, dissolved in alcohol using a rubbing pad lubricated with oil. The rubbing pad is made of absorbent cotton or wool cloth wadding inside a square piece of fabric (usually soft cotton cloth) and is commonly referred to as a fad, also called a rubber, or muñeca, Spanish for 'rag doll'.

      'French polish' is a process, not a material. The main material is shellac, although there are several other shellac-based finishes, not all of which class as French polishing. 'Lac' is a natural substance that is the secretion of the Lac insect 'Laccifer lacca', which is found on certain tress principally in the provinces of India and Thailand. The protective coating secreted by the lac insect is a yellow to reddish resin, which is heated, then purified and dried into sheets or flakes for commercial use.

      French polishing became prominent in the eighteenth century. In the Victorian era, French polishing was commonly used on mahogany and other expensive woods. It was considered the best finish for fine furniture and string instruments such as pianos and guitars. The process was very labour intensive though, and many manufacturers abandoned the technique around 1930, preferring the cheaper and quicker techniques of spray finishing nitrocellulose lacquer and abrasive buffing. In Britain, instead of abrasive buffing, a fad of 'pullover' is used in much the same way as traditional French polishing. This slightly melts the sprayed surface and has the effect of filling the grain and burnishing at the same time to leave a 'French polished' look.

      The finish is considered by many to be a beautiful way to finish highly figured wood, but it is also recognised to be fragile. It is softer than modern varnishes and lacquers and is particularly sensitive to spills of water or alcohol, and especially heat, i.e. from hot cups - which often produce white cloudy marks. However, it is also simpler to repair than a damaged varnish finish, as patch repairs to French polish may be easily blended into an existing finish.

      BRUSHES USED IN FEENCH POLISHING

      CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      CHAPTER 1.—MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

      The Workshop

      The Bench

      Brushes and Miscellaneous Items

      Polishes and Varnishes

      Stains, Solvents and Powdered Colours

      Fillers

      CHAPTER 2.—FRENCH POLISHING STAGE BY STAGE

      Preparation

      Staining

      Filling-in

      Fadding-in

      Colouring and Matching

      Varnishing

      Bodying

      Finishing

      CHAPTER 3.—POLISHING PERIOD FURNITURE

      CHAPTER 4.—PRESERVATION AND RENOVATION

      CHAPTER 5.—USEFUL HINTS

      INDEX

      ILLUSTRATIONS

      FRONTISPIECE.    Brushes used in French Polishing

      FIG.    1. The Bench

      FIG.    2. The Bench Pad

      FIG.    3. The Beazer

      FIG.    4. The Fad

      FIGS.    5, 6, 7, 8. Folding the Rubber

      FIGS.    9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Polishing Movements

      FIG.    14. The Spray Gun

      Introduction

      French polishing is both an art and a craft and it is the purpose of this manual to give the reader, whether professional or amateur, a description of the various methods normally employed by successful workers. It must be appreciated, however, that in a book of this size it is not possible to cover the whole field of operations but, nevertheless, by a careful study of its contents, the reader will be able to acquire more than an elementary knowledge of the subject.

      It must be emphasized that mastery of the art is dependent flot only on a knowledge of the subject but also on the acquisition of that necessary manual dexterity which can best be obtained by perseverance and practice.

      The process of French polishing was originally developed in France as a speedier alternative to the older and rather tedious practice of obtaining a polished surface by repeated applications of oils and bees-wax. During the inter-war years the increased demand for polished goods led to the development of the polishing machine, through which the process has lost much of its artistic quality. Mechanization made a further advance with the introduction of cellulose applied by the spraying machine. These newer processes have their specific merits, chief of which is the ease and cheapness with which they can be applied to large-scale production. The peculiar charm of the original French polish, however, remains and is sufficient to ensure its survival in work of the very highest quality.

      This manual is intended primarily to appeal to those who wish to practise French polishing as a hand-craft, but some details of the modern mechanical processes have been given, as they call for some modification of the normal polishing procedure, when renovation or repolishing is contemplated.

      Chapter 1

      Materials and Equipment

      While it is possible for superlative skill to produce, on occasion, a satisfactory result with make-shift appliances, the many practical difficulties will be appreciably diminished by taking advantage

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