I failed to do french polishing properly

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Ahmed Flamenco

Posts: 163
Joined: Feb. 22 2014
From: Egypt

I failed to do french polishing properly

I tried on remaining pieces of woods the shellac
At first I sanded to 240 grit then applied with a piece of cotton the shellac on the wood in the direction of the grain many times then left it until it dried then sanded it with 1200 grit sanding paper then applied shellac,waiting until it dried then sanding and so on
it did not become glossy
I'm using white shellac that comes in the form of strips not the flakes
the man of the paints shop told me to add some rosin to get it glossy I tried so but the same thing happened.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 14 2015 9:45:26

estebanana

Posts: 9352
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)

Try putting two or three coats of shellac on your sample. Then sand lightly with 240 sand paper. Then apply more shellac. Do that process about 3 or 4 times and see how it goes. Then you will to see how much shellac you need to make glossy surface. You don't need any resins mixed in the shellac.

Don't worry about it too much, just keep practicing and soon you'll see how it works.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 14 2015 11:19:05

Ahmed Flamenco

Posts: 163
Joined: Feb. 22 2014
From: Egypt

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to estebanana)

ok I'll try but do you think that ratio of shellac to alcohol affect anything?

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 14 2015 11:39:39

Stephen Eden

Posts: 914
Joined: Apr. 12 2008
From: UK

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)

Why not as a test just brush on a thick layer of polish and let it dry. Once dried it should look glossy. you may just need to build up a lot more. One of the more difficult aspects of FP

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 15 2015 11:11:59

estebanana

Posts: 9352
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)

quote:

ok I'll try but do you think that ratio of shellac to alcohol affect anything?

Yes that is important, but French polishing is a thing you learn by doing. So any ratio of shellac to alcohol will eventually build up to surface above the wood.

If you have a 'thin cut' mix it will still build up, only take longer. You can try to make two ratios, one thin and one thicker....and see how they each work.

And when the surface is built up you can add a drop of oil to your pad an see how that works.

If I may ask, just to understand where are your instructions are coming from? The important thing is to keep practicing on scrap pieces of wood.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 15 2015 13:07:14

Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3023
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)

Yeah just keep putting more on... eventually it has to build up enough that it will get glossy. As Stephen pointed out, the amount of alcohol in it won't matter to the finished product as it's just a way to get the shellac on the wood, and should evaporate leaving only the shellac itself.

For what it's worth I mix my shellac at 2 pounds per gallon (2 pound cut), and then when I go to use it I thin it down to about a 1 1/3 pound cut.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 15 2015 23:23:47

constructordeguitarras

Posts: 1677
Joined: Jan. 29 2012
From: Seattle, Washington, USA

RE: I failed to do french polishing ... (in reply to Ahmed Flamenco)

quote:

I failed to do french polishing properly

That's the best way to learn!

You say you applied it with "cotton." I hope you mean cotton fabric and not cotton wool.

It's not necessary to apply it with the grain.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 16 2015 5:13:42