DIY French Polish Repair

[Edislaw]

I have a 2.7m x 1.5m French polished table which has in the past been very slightly heat damaged. When I saw Coloron Ring Remover in my local Homebase my immediate thought was, great, I can remove the ring. I purchased the product at a price of over £6. Expensive for one ring but acceptable if the table was brought back to it's previously pristine condition.

I read the instructions which conclude with the advice that the finish can be brought back using Coloron finishing products. Being a prudent person I checked first with Coloron Customer services that the product was suitable for use on a French polished table. After checking the young man I spoke to advised me that the product was suitable for use with French polish.

I then asked about the advice on the tin which suggests the use of steel wool on the surface and was told that this is to break up the surface but that a soft cloth may be adequate. I then checked on the advice on the tin that the finish may need to be rebuilt with another Coloron product. I was advised that this was the case and that Coloron sell a French polish. I asked whether I would need to do only the area damaged by the repair or the whole table and was advised that I would need to make that decision once the first application of the second product had been made.

The attitude of the customer services person was entirely polite but quite surprising. When I asked for more exact advice I was basically told that I'd had the advice and it was up to to me to decide. I suggested that I would rather be speaking to Coloron about the problem but if he preferred I would refer it to my local consumer advice service. I was told that was my choice.

I suggested that the advice on the product was inadequate and asked to speak to a manager which I was told was not possible. I then decided to look for further advice on the web which is when I found the Coloron website. Interestingly, the headline on the Google link described the product as a "Professional painting tool".

I then called a couple of French polishers to ask whether this was a suitable treatment and both, without hesitation told me that the one guarantee they would give is that use of any turpentine based product would setroy the French polish and result in complete repolishing of the whole surface.

My loss is time and a few pounds it could have been hundreds of pounds.

 

[Lazurus]

We have a small coffee table which is prone to water ring marks, this has made me a dab hand at French polishing this small area, a rub over with very fine wire wool, wipe with meths then apply the polish with a rubber, I wouldn't want to try and do a large area though, getting a consistent finish to the polish really is an art.

 

[marcros]

I would post a pic or two. There are at least a couple of experienced restorers on the forum that can make suggestions on possible fixes, and the likelihood of success.

 

[Ttrees]

I wonder if naphtha would work, or if it would destroy the finish also?
You can easily and cheaply buy zippo style lighter fluid, which I believe is the same stuff.
If I recall correctly, I remember seeing it being used to make the coffee cup stains evaporate if just dabbed on and left a while.
Might be worth looking into ?

Just a thought
Tom

 

[Sgian Dubh]

You can usually fix white rings in shellac finishes with some cotton wool, a wrap of fine cotton such as an old handkerchief, and industrial alcohol, aka, meths. Take a hank of cotton wool, about golf ball to satsuma size squashed up reasonably tightly, poor on some meths until the cotton wool is a bit beyond damp, i.e., not dripping, and then wrap this in the cotton cloth without creating wrinkles: this means you end up with a sort of tail or handle and you've created a polisher's rubber (see image below from David Savage's website).

The technique is to grip the tail of the rubber, squeeze gently to get some of the meths onto the cotton cloth, and than gently sweep over the affected area without actually bearing down hard on the damaged polish. It's a bit like almost landing an aeroplane on each backwards and forwards sweep but taking off again, never quite touching the surface, or just barely touching the surface.

The idea is to just soften the shellac enough to allow the trapped water in the polish (the white ring) to evaporate out leaving the polish clear again. Patience is the key, and a very gentle action. Slainte.

 

[profchris]

Lighter fluid is fine on French Polish (i.e. shellac) finish. I finish my musical instruments with shellac.

However, that only applies if you have a genuine French Polish finish. Something which looks equivalent might dissolve in naphtha. However, instrument makers and restorers use naphtha to clean up most finishes, so it's likely to be safe (test on an inconspicuous corner of course!).

No idea if it will remove the mark though. I'd try Sgian Dubh's method first - I think of it as repeatedly kissing the surface with the rubber, and definitely not rubbing with it.