My shellac finish on oak question - pictures included

[Tetsuaiga]

I have beeng doing a polish applied with the padding method, the polish is button and the wood is oak - some kind of quartersawn features I think.

I'm not sure if im doing something wrong though I seem to have marks left on the suface that can be seen in the right lighting. If i can get rid of them i'd like to but i'm not really sure what makes them. I did use grain filler and did 1 wet sanding possible two, perhaps I didnt do the grain filling well enough. The last few coats I applied were much more diluted.

Here are the picture, if you have any idea whats going or if this is normal it would be good to hear. Maybe theres just not enough polish built up yet?

As you can see in most lighting it looks okay.

 

[Tetsuaiga]

Since posting this I had a look at it closer with a magnifying glass and could see it was a problem at the surface.

I very gently sanded it with 600 wet and dry then reapplied my finishing coats with a very weak mixture. The valleys are still there but are probably a something like an eight the size of what they were before.

I'd like to get it as perfect as possible so maybe next time i'll try a higher grit sandpaper. I'm not sure what caused the valleys in the first place when doing bodying I used clockwise, anticlockwise, figure of eight and usually finished the session with strokes up and down the grain.

 

[Leif]

That's very nice, I'm not sure I've seen French polished oak before, my late mother's old items were French polished mahogany and rosewood, the oak items being oiled since they were made in ~1800.

 

[Tetsuaiga]

Thanks. At first I really didn't like the colour but as more went on it became darker and it looked a bit nicer. I'd still like it a bit more reddish though so might look at adding some kind of colouring or use some garnet shellac.

 

[riclepp]

Hope this don't sound too foolish. But do you go through the grades of abrasive.. I always start at 120 grit and finish at 400 grit after doing the scraping. Then wet and denib at 320 grit. Grain fill and sand at 320 again, then a gental rub down between each finish coat and for the nice things I finish at 500 grit. I do not wish you to think I am teaching you to suck eggs, but I didnt see what your method was in your post. Anyway thats the way I do it and it comes out very nice...I've yet to try a french polish this way though.

HTH

 

[Tetsuaiga]

Yes I go through grades up to 240. Usually i start at either 80 or 120, then go 180 to 240. I have 320 but i'm not sure if it was necessary.

I think sanding between a few coatings is where I need to make improvements. It already improved what was in the picture when I returned and did more sanding how much more I can get it to having absolutely no detectable ridges im not sure.

 

[Matt@]

you say you are using button polish - where did you buy it from?
Ropeiness as shown in the pic is often caused by polish being applied too thickly. Another factor might be old polish that remains sticky so that when you apply it you are to an extent agitating waht you have already put down rather than compressing, burnishing and adding to it.

 

[Ian]

I would think this is just sinkage and is sinking into marks on the bear wood. Shellac takes a while to go fully hard and I would recommend first mixing your own from dry flakes so you have a fresh amount (as shellac gets older it takes longer to dry) once you have filled the surface and applied enough to have a a full gloss let it sit for at least 2 weeks and the level with 2000 grit - sand wet with either baby oil or white spirit or a mixture of both, Easier sanding is done with micro mesh. Then with a thinner mix apply with your pad to build a high gloss, But depending on your workshop conditions once this piece comes into the house it will sink again due to temp.

HTH

Ian