French polish

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xtian
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French polish

Post by xtian »

I bought a nice plank of claro walnut for a small head box, and am planning to French polish with shellac flakes, alcohol and oil. The only finish I've applied before is gun stock oil.

Anyone have a favorite one-stop shop for supplies, including the above, and cloth, sandpaper, everything needed for the job?

There are lots of resources online, of course, but overwhelming. If anyone wants to give me the benefit of their experience, all mo' better!

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telentubes
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Re: French polish

Post by telentubes »

You can get everything you need at Homestead Finishing http://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/ or Woodcraft Supply. I've French Polished a handful of instruments and will say up front, it ain't easy. There's a steep learning curve and an art to the technique but the results can be spectacular. It's way easier to get a sticky mess that takes months to dry. Better fact check what I'm telling you because it's been a while, but for starters you want the shellac that still has the wax in it.Even the flakes have a shelf, life so shouldn't be too old. You can use denatured alcohol or Bekhol, or Everclear (even better) if you can get it. You want the purest you can get as there can be water in the mixture which complicates the process. Everclear is great because you can take a swig out of the bottle to calm your nerves and get you in the zone. Uncured Walnut oil and Olive oil are pretty standard for the oil part of the mixture, but I was talking to a friend, who does a lot of French Polishing, about a month ago and he said he switched to a different kind of oil that was much much better (can't remember). I'll try and track down that info for you. Lastly, it's not a bad idea to brush or spray a few build coats of shellack onto the wood, level it with sand paper after it's dried, then do your French Polishing at the very end for the shine.

If you decide not to French Polish, there is a gun stock product called True Oil that rocks. Easy to use and hard as nails. You can wipe it on the same way, and build up coat, but it is way more forgiving than French Polish.
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Re: French polish

Post by telentubes »

There is a video on this page of a mandolin being French Polished. It will give you an idea of how to charge your pads. That's the hardest thing to get a feel for.
http://www.clarkmandolins.com/shoptour.html
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Re: French polish

Post by Leo_Gnardo »

telentubes wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2017 2:03 am or Everclear (even better) if you can get it. You want the purest you can get as there can be water in the mixture which complicates the process. Everclear is great because you can take a swig out of the bottle to calm your nerves and get you in the zone.
FWIW Everclear is 5% water, 95% ethanol aka ethyl alcohol. You may be able to find 100% at a scientific supply place, but here's the problem: ethyl is hygroscopic, it absorbs water from the air and eventually settles at it's stable ratio 95%. It does make a top quality alcohol though. BUT I'd strongly advise against drinking it straight, it will damage your throat tissue. If you must, cut it half & half with water then you have more or less 100 proof vodka. Or add just a dab to fruit juice or whatever. I stock Polmos, the Polish version. It's terrific for cleaning up circuit boards, wiping off old sharpie markings, dissolving sticky tape gum etc. I suppose you could use it in french polishing too, just treat these hi-test alcohols like gasoline, no smoking, no sparks - they'll catch fire like crazy. Have fun & be safe!
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Re: French polish

Post by MakerDP »

I prefer Rockler.com for all my needs. Better still, I prefer to go into a local store but the closest one to me is either in Bay Area or Rocklin/Roseville.

You can usually get free shipping on everything if you sign up for their email list. Never any problems with them either in-store or online. Always very helpful and they know their stuff if you have questions!

Shellac is probably my favorite finish. SOOOO easy to do and relatively cheap.
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Re: French polish

Post by telentubes »

I dig shellac as well. Great stuff, and yeah Rockler is a good source.
I forgot that you can't buy True Oil in California as of a year or two ago because of the VOCs.
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xtian
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Re: French polish

Post by xtian »

Aw poop. I like Tru.
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Re: French polish

Post by pompeiisneaks »

Interesting that you say you love shellac, I used it on my first cabinet build and getting it to cure took forever... I had a real hard time with it. Now it wasn't this original real french shellac, but man I didn't like it.

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Re: French polish

Post by telentubes »

I'm still waiting on the answer to the oil question. Get back to you when that's in.
pompeiisneaks, Shellac has a shelf life and won't dry when it gets too old. Yes, a sticky mess, which I've had to scrape off more than once. I remember getting an instrument I built, back from a summer festival, where it had been left in the case in the sun. We had to struggle to get the case open as the finish had melted in to the fabric inside. The instrument finally came out completely covered with fuzz that had been impregnated into the finish. Shellac can also craze and do lots of other crazy things, but I still love it. I mix shellac from flakes, but will use Bullseye in less critical applications (like tweed cabs). Bullseye figured out a formula to extend the shelf life, but you should always look at the date on the can and get the freshest available. Typically 6 months out can be risky. When mixing from scratch, I won't use it for critical applications after 3 months.
Leo is of course right about drinking full strength Everclear. I was attempting humor, although I did drink the stuff in my younger years. 151 Rum was another favorite. Gave that up though long ago.
One more comment about Everclear. I really like it with shellac, but I know others who don't because it is "hot", meaning that it shortens your work window as it flashes off so quickly. I liked that aspect, but others didn't.
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xtian
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Re: French polish

Post by xtian »

Well, I ordered some shit, so we'll see. I'll obviously do some practicing on scrap.

Does walnut need to be grain filled? Because that's a whole 'nother area of research...
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Re: French polish

Post by telentubes »

This just in from the guy in the video. I've seen his finishes and and they are beautiful...

"I've switched to butcher block (food grade) mineral oil. It's much easier to work with than the seed oils."

There is a technique in French Polishing for grain filling that uses pumice. Whole nuther rabbit hole.
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Re: French polish

Post by johnnyreece »

Walnut is an open grain wood. If you want a mirror-smooth finish, you'll want to grain fill.
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xtian
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Re: French polish

Post by xtian »

I've finally finished sanding and grain-filling my walnut cabinet. And over the past two days, I applied the shellac to a test piece. Not too difficult, and I love the finish.

Here we go!

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Re: French polish

Post by pompeiisneaks »

Man that looks outstanding!
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xtian
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Re: French polish

Post by xtian »

Magic! After one coat (lots of passes with the boule).

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