Spare Parts #14 - French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl

French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl, by Clickspring.

In this video I use the traditional French Polishing technique to apply a shellac coating to the Large Wheel Skeleton Clock base.

This Spare parts video is related to the full length project video titled "How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop - Part 19 - Making The Legs And Base":    • Clockmaking - How To Make A Clock In The H...  

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A very special thank you to Patrons Dan Keen, Samuel Irons and Sean Kuyper.
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Cameras used in this video:
Panasonic GH5 - https://amzn.to/2rEzhh2
Panasonic X920 - https://amzn.to/2wzxxdT

Abbreviated Transcript:

00:05 I've just completed machining this piece of Red Morrel Burl that I'll be using for the base of the clock. Its a beautifully figured piece of wood, and I think an ideal candidate for a French Polish. But I do need to do some work on the surfac finish before I can get started.
00:22 For the most part its a case of going over each surface with fine grit abrasive paper, and filling the small cracks where necessary. The 2 large cavities on the underside I'll be leaving as is. They're what remains of the original surface of the wood when the burl was harvested, and I like the idea of them remaining in place as a feature of that surface.
00:53 The shellac solution can be purchased ready mixed, but it's also quite easy to make a fresh batc from raw shellac flakes and denatured alcohol. In this case I'm making what is referred to as a "2lb cut" solution, which seems to be a good general purpose mix. Check the description box below for some more information on the quantities.
01:23 The mix starts out quite thick, but after an hour or so the shellac flakes fully dissolve, and the solution can be transferred to a more convenient bottle. I need a small amount of olive oil, to lubricate the pad during the polishing process. And for the pad itself a section of linen, and some cotton wadding that'll go inside to act as a reservoir for the polish.
02:19 Now strictly speaking the term "French Polish" refers to the process of applying the shellac, rather than the shellac solution itself. Each wipe of the pad applies a thin film of the solution, and as the alcohol evaporates, the barest hint of a layer of shellac is left behind. Its a slow and repetitive process, that gradually builds up the coating, layer upon layer.
03:20 Again charging the pad with a small amount
of shellac, and then lubricating with a drop of oil as the friction increases. A good sign that all is going as it should, is a visible trail left by the alcohol as evaporates. That trail gets shorter and the alcohol flashes off faster as the pad continues to dry out.
:03:46 Eventually, a shiny crust of shellac forms on the surface of the pad, which makes its action across the surface sleek and smooth. It now becomes possible to burnish the surfac for the first time. I'm pressing quite firmly here, and you can see the sheen of the surface immediately start to improve.
04:05 Even with considerable pressure, the pad glides smoothly over the shellac coating which is still soft and pliable, so it gives a little under the pressure, evening out the fine stroke marks and forming a more uniform surface.
04:25 As the surface continues to develop over subsequent polishing sessions, I stop adding additional shellac, and instead add pure alcohol to the inside of the pad. This dissolves the residual shellac in the wadding, and so further dilutes the solution being applied. And with the completion of this third polishing session,
04:49 I'm going to leave the top surface as it is, and give it a light wipe with a dry pad to remove the majority of the oil. Another 12 hours of curing, and then I can safely flip the workpiece and apply a similar coating to the other surface.
05:44 Now there's no avoiding the fact that this is a very time consuming process, and I guess for that reason alone French Polishing has largely been replaced by more convenient wood finishing processes. Its reasonably fragile and susceptible to being marked by water and alcohol. But its also quite easy to repair, and for a cheap, environmentally friendly, and thoroughly traditional
wood finish, its certainly hard to beat.

Music:

"Manifested" By Ketsa.
www.ketsamusic.com

Quantities for a "2 lb Cut"
https://www.shellac.net/PoundCutChart...

Burl sourced from Djarilmari Timbers in Western Australia
http://www.djarilmari.com/

French Polishing A Piece Of Red Morrel Burl, by Clickspring.