How can I revive this old french bed frame?

[el_Pedr0]

Hmm, I'm starting to wonder if the Liberon description might have been a bit misleading. Images on the web like the one below suggest that Garnet does not hide all the grain:


In which case, seems like Garnet would be ideal.

I'd still be interested to hear your thoughts though.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Garnet absolutely does not hide the grain, it enhances it and gives a lovely soft golden hue. If you kept slathering it on it would of course hide the grain as would button but you would have to be applying it all day every day for several days for that to happen. Whoever wrote that is an ***** and if you ever meet them you can tell them I said so. I was using garnet just yesterday on a large oak refrectory table to warm up the base and it looked great, the client was delighted.
I usually differentiate between the two by saying button is a warm gold and garnet is a cold gold. But I appreciate a description like that can be misleading!

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

“silly” that’s not what I wrote

 

[el_Pedr0]

Thank you, And excuse the pedestrian questions, but how much garnet do you need to polish a bed? I can get 250ml of Liberon, or 1l of either Liberon or fiddes or mylands (the latter currently reduced to 25 quid, which puts about the same cost as the others).

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

250ml is plenty for that bed, I doubt you will use a quarter of that if you are putting it on with a rubber.

 

[el_Pedr0]

@mrpercysnodgrass how long do I need to wait between doing the reviver and going over with the shellac? I think I read somewhere that raw linseed oil takes a long time to cure /soak in or do whatever it does. But I've read so much that my head is full and I might be starting to get things muddled.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Overnight is plenty of time. You should be able to tell from touching the surface whether it is dry/hard enough to go ahead with the shellac.

 

[el_Pedr0]

Just tried a bit of French polish on the underside of one of the rails. It's looking great and really makes the wood sing. And it's really satisfying to do.

But it is very glossy. Perhaps I had got used to the slightly dull sheen after the reviver so this is a bit of a shock.

Will I be able to knock the gloss back a bit somehow? Or will a bit of micro crystalline wax calm the gloss down a bit?

The only bit I've polished so far is on the underside of a side rail, so out of sight. I love the idea of finishing the bed properly, but don't want to live with it being too glossy. Advice greatly appreciated, please.

Here are some photos of the two rails - one polished, one not.



And the polished rail from the other end so not to catch the reflection of the light

 

[el_Pedr0]

I think I'm answering my own question. From the Liberon site:
Step Eleven – Burnishing
A French polish finish does not have to be a high gloss mirror finish every time, sometimes a softer level of sheen is required. To achieve this all you have to do is to allow the polished surface to harden for a few days then cut back the polish using Liberon Ultra Fine Steel Wool (Grade 0000) to remove any imperfections. Finally finish with a coat of Liberon Wax Polish Black Bison.

 

[el_Pedr0]

Some before and during photos.. .
Before :


After reviver

During Polishing :

 

[jcassidy]

Check out that Fenman site posted earlier. I just read the entire thing. He also softens the finish.