# how to darken french polish



## frosties (9 Jun 2012)

Hi, I've used 2 coats of sanding sealer then 2 coats of french polsh to this marine ply. Its turned a very orange colour and I'd lke it to be far darker brown and not orange. How can I make french polish dark brown in colour?

is there a pigment I can add to french polish to make it darker and not orange?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7337558448/


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## frosties (9 Jun 2012)

Untitled by frostie's, on Flickr


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## houtslager (10 Jun 2012)

Burnt umber wll make it brown, bt it will hide to some extent the timber grain.

hth,

K


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## frosties (10 Jun 2012)

Cheers. Thats kind of the idea. The ply end grain is too in your face. I hope if its darker it will be a little more subtle


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## Sgian Dubh (10 Jun 2012)

You can also adjust the colour by adding an appropriate dye. In this case you use a spirit dye because the solvent used in the dye is alcohol, the same solvent that's in the shellac polish. This technique is common practice and known as toning. It's a technique I introduce learners to, as well as a lot of other finishing, and particularly useful if you are spraying the polish. I can't tell from your question if you are applying the shellac with a spray gun, a rag, or a brush.

Adding solid undissolvable pigment makes the polish more like a paint (opaque) which will tend to hide grain pattern, whereas tinting the polish with dye doesn't and the applied polish is translucent (light passes through) meaning it doesn't obscure the grain so much. You'll need to decide which effect you either need or prefer. Slainte.


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## [email protected] (10 Jun 2012)

to get rid of orange you would need to tint extra coats of french polish with blue spirit powder but be careful and use only the tiniest amounts to achieve the most subtle of changes. Best to try on some scrap. If brush coating I would expect to have to brush 2 further coats to achieve a result, each with the tiniest tint of blue. Black is another option but be aware that both blue or black will produce coldand dirty looking colours if you are not careful.

and then the whole lot fades in 5 years time and you're back to square one :lol:


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