# Any french polishing tips



## suprasport (20 Mar 2007)

i have just ordered some items for french polishing including: -
extra pale shellac flakes
2.5lb cut pre-mixed shellac (just in case i get stuck)
meths
raw linseed (but i may get some pure olive oil ? )
cotton wadding
pumice powder
sanding sealer.

I will be following this guide http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html

I have ever one this before or even heard of shellac before i found you guys, nor for that matter ever touched hardwood, but i love a challenge :-k 

Has anyone got any tips before i dive in ? apart from send the stuff back and get some wax :shock:


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## MIGNAL (20 Mar 2007)

All the tips you need are in the link you gave. It's about the best tutorial I've come across - and that includes both the internet and books. The rest is up to you and results will come with practice. I think the hardest part is the pumicing, just remember to 'clear the pumice'. Even if your first attempts are less than stellar FP is very forgiving in that it's relatively easy to remedy the situation. Don't sand after you are done with the grain filling or at least be very careful - often you cut through the pumice and get the dreaded white pores.


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## suprasport (20 Mar 2007)

Thanks for that Mignal, i feel a nit more confident now :wink: 
will let you know how i get on


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## Chris Knight (20 Mar 2007)

Suprapsort,
It is a pretty good guide and you won't go wrong if you follow it. One thing I would suggest is that you learn to make a bigger rubber (The yanks use this word for a condom, hence I suppose their use of a Spanish word for doll or a bone in the wrist) than the tiny little Muneca shown.

Cotton wadding or woolen socks make a good fad (the inside of the rubber) and it needs to be wrapped very tightly in the outer cover. I will try and find a picture for a good example). If finishing a piece of furniture rather than a guitar, a bigger rubber will make it a lot easier and quicker.


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## suprasport (20 Mar 2007)

excellent thats the one bit i only glanced over :wink:


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## Chris Knight (20 Mar 2007)

If my workshop was accessible I could take a few pictures of some I use - however, these will serve to give some idea of the size that is more usual. A useful shape is one that looks in plan rather like an iron with a point at the front end. The middle one is almost there but could do with a bit more of a point - useful for getting into corners.

Another point worth mentioning is that if working, say, on a table top, give more attention to the edges of the top surface - this will help counteract a normal tendency to do much more in the middle which is what most folk starting out tend to do.


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## suprasport (20 Mar 2007)

thats brilliant thank you, it looks an art in itself.
cant tell which is shinier though the table or the head :lol: 

about the oil; i take it linseed is ok or should i make a trip to tesco for the pure olive oil ?


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## MIGNAL (20 Mar 2007)

Linseed is a drying oil so it will become part of the finish, perhaps making for a more flexible film. Olive oil is non-drying so you will have to spirit it off. I've tried both (and others) and found the linseed resulted in longer curing times but I was using the linseed with no added driers. Doesn't really matter -both work.


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## gavin e (20 Mar 2007)

Wow, what a great link that site is! I've been polishing for a few years now and it's always interesting to see what others have to say about it. That's definetly the best I've seen so far.

With regards to the oil, a lot of people don't use any because they find they get on better without it, but if you're going to follow the instructions on the site I'd go with the pure olive oil he suggests and see how you get on.

I haven't completely read everything in the link, just skimmed through it so far, but I didn't see anything in there regarding room temperature. French polish doesn't like the cold, so make sure your work area is at a nice 'comfortable' room temperature and that the piece you are working on has stood in it for a couple of days so it isn't cold. If it is too cold, or the weather is a bit damp, you can find that the polish 'chills' and starts to form a milky white bloom after a few seconds. It's worth having a hair dryer plugged in and ready to go just in case this happens. If you get any bloom, just GENTLY play a little heat over it asap and it should go away. Sorry if this is mentioned on the site, but i thought I'd mention it just in case.

Good luck with things.


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## MIGNAL (20 Mar 2007)

In guitar making circles it's actually become known as the 'Milburn tutorial'. Not all guitar makers agree with their methods, techniques or even materials.
The library at mimf.com has so much information on FP it's enough to leave most people dazed and confused - including me. There are makers that claim they can FP a guitar in one day - start to finish but I'm certainly not one of them, 3 weeks is nearer the mark.


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## AndyBoyd (20 Mar 2007)

Dick the German tool seller do a rather good DVD on french polishing, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

http://www.dick.biz/cgi-bin/dick.storef ... iew/713753


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## suprasport (20 Mar 2007)

thanks for all that =D> it is on board and hopefully it will all go well


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## White House Workshop (1 Jun 2007)

Interesting in the pics above that the person does not appear to be wearing gloves. I am a newbie to FP, and not very good at it yet, but having got some on my fingers I quickly started wearing disposable gloves!


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