How To Polish

[kevin dwyer]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Matt@]

one rule never covers all. finishing as a subject is vast with so many variables to take into account - whats good for one job will look rubbish on another. Vandyke and sealer can work ok but is far from a universal finish...

 

[yetloh]

Not a finish I would use, for several reasons. First, why the Vandyke crystals? I prefer to let the wood speak for itself rather than colouring it to represent something it is not. If you are doing a repair to an antique, OK but otherwise, I can't see the point.

Second, a coat of wax will only give a transient alteration to the finish which will need to be renewed. For the sort of low wear situation for which this finish might be used, I would apply three or four coats of shellac, then cut it back with wire wool and burnish to the level of sheen desired which, unlike a wax sheen, will last indefinitely.

Jim

 

[kevin dwyer]

Think you guys missed the point completely, the post is aimed at helping people learn to polish. since you ask why vandyke because they cost £5 for enough stain to make gallons and it doesn't pull when spirit based lacquer is applied.

 

[Blister]

How did you get the darker stripes running across the top and down the leg ?

nice effect

 

[kevin dwyer]

hi blister, that's just the sun thru the blinds !

 

[Matt@]

theres a knack to using vandyke crystals and the main problem with them is that the staining effect is only very subtle unless you mix it very strong. Its the staple staining product in the furniture restoration trade as you can replicate original hues very successfully and you can also put it on very very thick and brush it out leaving almost an opaque film of colour. As mentioned, it doesnt drag off when brush polished as it has a sticky nature. Dilution strentgh of the crystals is critical otherwise all you will get is orange. Its quite a specialised product to use....

 

[yetloh]

Think you guys missed the point completely, the post is aimed at helping people learn to polish. since you ask why vandyke because they cost £5 for enough stain to make gallons and it doesn't pull when spirit based lacquer is applied.

Not at all. I was merely pointing out that there is what I consider to be a better solution. I wasn't asking why you use vandyke crystals in preference to anything else, but why you think it necessary to use any sort of stain. I also use them on the very rare occasions when I do stain; at my rate of usage I have enough for at least 100 years.

Jim

 

[kevin dwyer]

This old chair, 1840 ish has a new front leg in oak and four inches of new seat to the far side, some mahogany I joined onto the existing elm. It's original legs are beech, arm rests are mahogany, spindles above the seat were oak and back was beech. So in order to give an eveness of appearance it's stained but not too much and I would have preferred it slightly warmer.

 

[yetloh]

Looks great. An entirely appropriate situation for staining.

Jim

 

[Matt@]

the pic is saturated - its hard to see how it looks in real life! No amount of staining will make one wood look like another eg mahogany v elm and oak v beech. Its more important to get the timbers right in the first place....

 

[kevin dwyer]

Hi Matt, I've really no idea what this has to do with me giving some basic advice on a traditional polish finish to beginners. If you don't like like it so what.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Staining and polish / finish are slighty different things. I'm sure the auctioneer will appreciate the splicing of mahogany to elm.

 

[soulboy]

Hi Matt, I've really no idea what this has to do with me giving some basic advice on a traditional polish finish to beginners. If you don't like like it so what.

think what the other posters are hinting at is the tone & quality of your advice, you sound pretty made up over a very basic bit of colouring, which is ok but then passing it on to someone else as THE way to polish. If you bothered to take a look at Matt's posts he has a depth of knowledge which makes yours look un-vandyked by comparison.
phil.p is hinting at absolute travesty of splicing mahog to elm on a chair you estimate at being more than 150 years old, then vandyking it up to look new thus devalueing it!
these other posters have been trying to give YOU some basic advice, if you don't like what they are posting, so what?
hope this helps, chris.

 

[kevin dwyer]

why would the antique restoring master want your advice chris ?

 

[Woodfinish Man]

The simple answer for all beginners is to get themselves on our 1 day french polishing course They will learn all about working with spirit stains, water stains, grain fillers, sanding sealer, french polish and wax....all in one day. It's a no brainer!

Ian

 

[kevin dwyer]

sounds more like product placement to me ..

 

[yetloh]

Just because it comes from someone in the business who really knows what he is talking about (and having read his advice here for years, I know that to be true) it doesn't mean it is bad advice.

Jim

 

[kevin dwyer]

it's a joke jim, really don't know how you guys can take this stuff so seriously. I spent years working for an antique restoring factory, stripping furniture outside all year long after which I'd do the woodwork, stain it and then pretty much all of it got sprayed. If I wasn't doing that I'd be cutting sheet material and timber for a for a timber yard and another year was spent flatting and polishing for a veneer factory.

You guys seem to be arguing the toss about a simple method for beginners.

 

[soulboy]

why would the antique restoring master want your advice chris ?

I wasn't offering any. who might this restoring master be? you?
I guess the reason why we guys take it seriously is because if not lots more pieces of valuable furniture could be spoiled by stripping, van dyking and poorly finishing. Your past experience doesn't qualify you to give basic advice on traditional finishing, you probably haven't done any in your furniture factories as spraying then flatting is modern practice.