Furniglass no. 2

[Sarge]

Hi-
Back in the 1970s/80s I used a product called Furniglass Home French Polish, which consisted of two parts: (1) a polish and (2) a liquid abrasive for finishing.
Furniglass 1 & 2 are no longer made it seems, but it's the no. 2 that's really interesting. I would dearly like to know what it is and, if possible, where to get some - or better still, how to make some.
No. 2 was simply brilliant when used to restore old furniture. It would cut through the muck that had been deposited over the years (especially through the use of spray-on waxes), quickly bringing the surface back down to the original polish without losing the true patina. (Then, just finish with a quality hard wax for a beautiful restoration).
No. 2 was a 'stinky' liquid which quickly settled out into a whitish solid at the bottom, and it had to be shaken vigourously before use.
Does anyone know anything about this stuff?
Thanks,
Sarge

 

[KevM]

Sounds like perspex polish might be worth a try, I've got a bottle somewhere (I don't know if it's stinky!) but it's a suspension that settles out as you describe. I've also got some abrasive polishes from the Micromesh people which works fantastically for taking swirls out of plastic.

 

[Sarge]

Thanks Kev. That's worth knowing.

 

[Plane Speaker]

Regarding the Furniglass French Polishing system.

I've researched this and found that Furniglass was taken over by Evode Ltd in the 1980's when production ceased and no one at Evode now has any knowledge of Furniglass.

I recently stumbled over and immediately bought an original (and possibly the only existing) unused pack of this excellent French Polishing system on eBay, complete with instructions.
The bottle labels mentioned a Patent number and after considerable research I now have a copy of the original Patent application with the ingredients list for the No 2 Finisher.

However whilst it is 70% water it does (as I suspected) contain several potentially harmful chemicals including Hydrochloric Acid and Stannous Chloride which itself is a mild solution of Hydrochloric Acid and Tin plus other items.
Also, not surprisingly, a very fine abrasive medium called 'diatomaceous earth' a type of silica, a harmless, naturally occurring sedimentary rock, apparently.
Theoretically, it should be possible to reproduce the No 2 Finish - or something approximating to it - if the ingredients are available at retail level.
Though clearly, it's not something you could 'knock up' one Saturday morning.

Should anybody require further info please text or call 07813 773378.

 

[RichardLB]

Hi-
Back in the 1970s/80s I used a product called Furniglass Home French Polish, which consisted of two parts: (1) a polish and (2) a liquid abrasive for finishing.
Furniglass 1 & 2 are no longer made it seems, but it's the no. 2 that's really interesting. I would dearly like to know what it is and, if possible, where to get some - or better still, how to make some.
No. 2 was simply brilliant when used to restore old furniture. It would cut through the muck that had been deposited over the years (especially through the use of spray-on waxes), quickly bringing the surface back down to the original polish without losing the true patina. (Then, just finish with a quality hard wax for a beautiful restoration).
No. 2 was a 'stinky' liquid which quickly settled out into a whitish solid at the bottom, and it had to be shaken vigourously before use.
Does anyone know anything about this stuff?
Thanks,
Sarge

Hi Sarge
Only just seen this post as I just used an unopened old pack of this which I think my dad bought in the 60’s as he died 1971 and the pack is priced in shillings and pence. I wondered if they still made it but seemingly not. The polish bit smells as if it has another solvent in it apart from alcohol. Smells a bit like briwax which I think has something like toluene in it. It works very well and dries quickly in seconds. The no 2 bottle just seems to be an abrasive solution. Looks like fullers earth (Kaolin) which is in some anti-diarrhoea medicines but it’s probably not that. Would jewellers rouge work instead?

 

[MikeG.]

Brasso and T Cut work for this.

-

Given the pattern in this thread, the next response will be in about 2024.

 

[profchris]

This is shellac polished up with T-Cut. This was a few years ago, I can get a little shinier now using the same method.

 

[Cozzer]

Brasso and T Cut work for this.

-

Given the pattern in this thread, the next response will be in about 2024.

And right on cue, here I am!

Yes, Furniglas no longer available, more's the pity.
Great for my marquetry back in the day, although I also messed around with Rustin's Button Polish and their "Plastic Coating" product (both still available as far as I know).

Found out that although I seemingly had the patience level for the woodwork, I tended to always rush the finishing to my cost! Any product claim along the lines of "touch dry in 5 minutes!" was my game!

 

[Cozzer]

Crikey!
Two posts in the same year!

Just been delving in the attic and came across this effort from days of yore...

 

[HappyHacker]

'diatomaceous earth' is available from Animal Feed suppliers for treating red mite on hens. it is safe to apply directly to the hens as it is inert. The sharp edges damage the hard shell on the mite which leads to its death due to dehydration if my memory is correct..

I have used T-Cut on cars and other polishing tasks including foggy car lights, but I find it dries out while being applied, there are now lots of alternatives for car paint work which from my very limited use may be better but I dont have the names handy. I have a car and two caravans to polish up so may be able to recommend an alternative in due course.

Cant help with the other ingredients but I would not fancy using a product with them in.

 

[Lons]

I use G3 and for finer polishing S20 compounds on our vehicles and motorhome when necessary.

I still have some Furniglas polish from the 70s, opened but still usable surprisingly as I used it on a couple of pens a few weeks ago. Like Cozzer I used it mainly for marquetry "pictures" in the old days.